When you grow up in an environment like Korea, antagonism against Japan can easily and naturally blossom as you learn about the historical time period during and after Japanese colonial rule. The facts are like this: The Assassination of Empress Myungsung which was orchestrated by the Japanese minister, and that served as the decisive factor in the annexation and Japanese occupation of Korea; beginning with the signing of the humiliating Korea-Japan Annexation Treaty in August of 1910. Since then, our farm land was transferred to the Japanese under the misleading and false name of “land surveys”. Korean entrepreneurs and their businesses became inferior to their Japanese counterparts because of highly imposed taxes on them. Political rallies and activities, freedom of speech, pursuing a secondary education and speaking the Korean language itself were outlawed. School Teachers carried guns to the class. Japanese authorities were given free rein to investigate and to torture ‘uncooperative’ citizens. A result of these draconian policies was the March 1st movement in 1919 where 2 million people stormed into the streets with Korean flags in their hands, was one of many attempts by Korean patriots to fight for our independence. Japanese authorities exercised brute force which resulted in 7,500 deaths, 15,000 wounded, and more than 46,000 imprisoned or tortured over course of six weeks. One of several examples of brutality was that the Japanese forced every villagers of Cheam to assemble in the village church and had the villagers massacred by setting fire to the building.
Just before the Japanese troops marched into the land of China, the Japanese army presence in the peninsula had increased. Food and necessary goods were rationed and people were forced to wear wartime uniforms. Traditional clothing was banned, and clothing was regimented on Japanese lines. Students in schools were to bow to the east in the direction of the Japanese emperor’s palace and recite a pledge in Japanese: “We are loyal subjects of the Great Japanese Empire... We swear wholeheartedly our allegiance to the emperor.” Monthly attendance to Shinto temples was mandatory, and Koreans were to adopt Japanese-style surnames.
During the war, about 200,000 Korean men were drafted into the Japanese army and navy. Korean men were also being forcefully drafted into compulsory labor. By the end of the war, more than 1 million Korean men had been pressed into service for the Japanese Empire in the mines, factories, and on the battlefield. “Comfort Women” were also employed by the Japanese during their occupation of Korea. Women from all parts of Korea were drafted into military bondage during the course of the war. Women were reportedly abducted from their homes against their will; who were then used as prostitutes and sex slaves by the Japanese military. Over 200,000 young Korean women were taken from their homes and used by the Japanese during the wars leading up to the defeat in 1945. Even to the present day, to the anger of several of the occupied nations and the victims of the Japanese, the Japanese government and people have often ignored the role of comfort women in Japanese history and have either avoided or outright denied the use of comfort women during the war.
Although I had knowledge of Comfort women issues through my education back in Korea, to me the word ‘Comfort Women’ only existed in some obscure corner of the history text book, along with the hatred towards Japanese for what they have done to the Korean people during 36 years of its occupation. However, my reluctant attitude and position towards this issue was soon to be changed.
My husband was involved in a Korean fundraising committee for Justice for Comfort Women last November when four Comfort Women survivors from four different countries were invited to attend various events in Toronto and Ottawa to promote motion to be passed by House of Commons. I reluctantly agreed to be a host and interpreter for a Comfort Women Survivor from Korea as if I was doing everyone a great favor.
When 84 year old grandma Jang walked into my front door, I saw my own grandmother. As her story unfolded throughout 2 weeklong events, her story became my own grandma’s, my own mother’s and mine. The knowledge I stored in my head finally hit home deep in my heart. She just happened to be at the wrong place and the wrong time. That is such an unjustified reason for her to endure what she has endured during and after the war. And also I realized that any men including our sons and fathers are capable of doing unthinkable things such as participating in Nanjing massacre, if they were born and trained to be patriotic soldiers under the Japanese imperial army. You can condemn the wrong doings but you cannot condemn the people. They are all unpleasant and inhumane products of war.
What frustrates me the most though, is that there wasn’t any proper closure to this grand scale of atrocities that happened in Asia which doesn’t even exist in the mind of most westerners and has barely a page in the history text books taught in schools. Thanks to Irish Chang, such a detailed and informative book about Nanjing massacre is widely open to the public. Thanks to the endless effort of Toronto Alpha, level of awareness among public on this issue has raised and adapting relevant historical facts into Gr. 10 history curriculum was possible.
I was given the opportunity to work as Korean coordinator for the trip, which was added this summer for the first time. We are planning to meet comfort women survivors and to hear their testimonies during our trip to Korea. There will be another press conference during our stay in Korea to raise awareness among Koreans. We are also scheduled to meet some of the Korean organizations already working independently on this issue. We will have the opportunity to learn from the experts about historical facts during the Japanese colonial period and the problems which are still lingering in the Korean society. Through this trip, I wish that not only will all the teacher participants bring back lots of valuable lessons and experiences which can be implemented in the classroom but also the Korean community in Toronto or people in Korea can realize that there are organizations like Toronto Alpha working relentlessly to instill humanitarianism among young Canadians and wishing to work with other communities in respect of preserving untold true stories of Asia during WW2. Yes, it is an old story as others say and we have millions of other issues requires our immediate attention nowadays. However, ‘if you can’t learn from the past, you are doomed to repeat the same mistakes’.
How I got involved in Toronto Alpha isn’t the result of neither my active searches for voluntary community work nor my ambition to be a representative of Korean community. Unexpected encounter with Grandma Jang and three other courageous women from other countries last November moved my heart deeply regardless of their ethnicity and made me feel ashamed of doing nothing about it, knowing what I know all these years. Even as the survivors pass away to time, the efforts to preserve their stories will continue. Toronto Alpha’s next project of revising the Ontario teacher’s resource guide on Asian WW2 history is one example. I would like to encourage experts from Korean community to give us their input so we can restore proper & relevant contexts to the teacher’s resource guide. In Korea, the initiation of building a war and women’s rights museum has begun. I know there are already a number of individuals and organizations to work independently to preserve our histories in different forms, such as publishing a book or creating a movie, which could be used as valuable tools to educate young Canadians. I would like to meet many of these individuals and communities during and after study tour so I can play a small part in integrating all these efforts and talents to achieve a bigger goal. And also I wish the stories and testimonies we will bring back to you from the study tour will touch many people’s heart as it did to mine.
