Kim, Hak-Soon Halmoni* (1924–1997)
Image credit: The Korean Council
Design credit: Kevin Lu
On August 14, 1991, Hak-Soon Kim gave the first public testimony as a survivor of the Japanese military sexual slavery system. In 2012, at the 11th Asian Solidarity Conference for the Issue of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan hosted and organized by the Korean Council, August 14 was declared as the International “Comfort Women” Day.
In South Korea, beginning in 2018, August 14 is observed as the National Memorial Day.
*Halmoni means ‘grandma’ in Korean. Activists began calling the Korean victims and survivors of Japan’s WWII military sexual slavery system “grandmothers” rather than referring to them euphemistically as “comfort women.” The girls and young women who were once Japanese military sex slaves had grown old by the time they broke their silence.
In South Korea, beginning in 2018, August 14 is observed as the National Memorial Day.
*Halmoni means ‘grandma’ in Korean. Activists began calling the Korean victims and survivors of Japan’s WWII military sexual slavery system “grandmothers” rather than referring to them euphemistically as “comfort women.” The girls and young women who were once Japanese military sex slaves had grown old by the time they broke their silence.
YouTube Links
Hak-Soon Kim's Last Interview (in Korean)
뉴스타파 목격자들 - "나의 소원은..." 故 김학순 할머니의 마지막 증언.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgBj0dEJy50
Hak-Soon Kim and Soon-Duk Kim (August 1992, In Korean)
[전쟁과여성-공개증언 30주년] 91년 국내 최초 증언한 김학순할머니와 김순덕 할머니가 생방송에서 일본의 만행을 낱낱이 고발했다. (KBS방송, 9/23/2020)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwDxgG-QfVM
뉴스타파 목격자들 - "나의 소원은..." 故 김학순 할머니의 마지막 증언.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgBj0dEJy50
Hak-Soon Kim and Soon-Duk Kim (August 1992, In Korean)
[전쟁과여성-공개증언 30주년] 91년 국내 최초 증언한 김학순할머니와 김순덕 할머니가 생방송에서 일본의 만행을 낱낱이 고발했다. (KBS방송, 9/23/2020)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwDxgG-QfVM