Ex-comfort woman donates W20m to history hall project

Kim Bok-deuk, Korea’s oldest surviving former “comfort woman,” donated 20 million won ($18,800) Monday to a civic group’s project to set up a comfort women history hall.

The 95-year-old gave the money she has saved from contributions by the local government and people from all walks of life to an advocacy group seeking to build the hall.

Kim is one of about 200,000 women taken by Japan to provide sex to its soldiers during World War II, when Korea was its colony.

The donation ceremony took place at the city hall of Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province.

“It is an obligation for the provincial office to build a history museum for former comfort women,” said an official of the group in the ceremony. “We should dedicate the hall while a handful of comfort women are still alive.”

According to the group, just eight former comfort women survive in the province, from which about 31 percent of comfort women were drafted. All of them are in their 80s or 90s.

“I have lived a life of tears and sorrow,” said Kim, “I decided to donate most of my money to prevent women from being victims like me.”

Taking her donation as momentum, the group plans to launch a fund-raising campaign to set up the history hall in the province.

Born in Tongyeong, Kim was deceived into believing she would be working at a factory and boarded a ship in 1937. She belatedly found out the boat was bound for an overseas comfort station.

She arrived in Japan shortly before Korea gained independence in 1945 and came back to her home via Busan.

In March, the provincial education office published her memoirs about her life as a Japanese military sex slave, titled “Don’t Forget Me.”

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)