Reaction #7:

Why were the Korean Comfort Women “silent” so long? To answer this question, one thing you will need to think about is how much women’s “worth” is tied to their status as virgins or “sexually pure” and how women who are not “pure” are shamed in societies. You also need to reflect on how rape has been characterized as simply an “unfortunate consequence” of war—this is not true, of course; rape does not “just happen.” Why could the words and actions of Japanese officials and government be interpreted as attempts to further silence them?

I think the main reason the women were silent so long was because they were so ashamed about what had happened to them. Maybe they thought it would be better not to speak of it, that it would help erase the memory. Some women felt differently and were not embarrassed or shy about telling their story, but it was a select few. Another reason was that Japan denied it ever happened. I guess that the former comfort women did not think anyone would believe they were forced into doing something so terrible. Maybe they thought people would blame them for their own misfortune, label them as prostitutes and they would become outcasts. Perhaps they were afraid that if they told of their experiences people would see it less as an act committed against the women and more as their own wrongdoing.

As far as the history of the comfort stations, I cannot believe they were seen as a “solution to the 223 reported rapes by Japanese troops”. So if the rapes were simply characterized as unfortunate consequences, imagine how the Japanese viewed the women at the comfort stations. And the way the women were recruited for the stations is even more disturbing. Dragged from their homes or deceived into believing they were going to work in factories. The women were herded into the stations and treated more like cattle than people. I wouldn’t be surprised if they remained silent merely out of fear. The Japanese government denied having forced women to work at comfort stations and even denied involvement in operating comfort stations. That is, until 1992 when a college professor found wartime documents in the Library of the National Institute for Defense Studies that confirmed Japanese Forces had indeed operated the stations. Only then did they admit involvement but still have not provided satisfactory reparations to the former comfort women or made a public apology.

Their refusal to address the issue and their obvious omission of it from their history books and educational courses only shows that the Japanese government intended to move on and forget it ever happened. If not for the bravery of the former comfort women in speaking out and telling their stories, demanding recognition of and an apology for what happened, these events just may have disappeared completely. Speaking out against the Japanese government at that time must have seemed truly intimidating. I think that is another reason it took the women so long. They were later encouraged by people taking interest in the comfort woman issue to speak up about what had happened. Imaging how the women must have felt returning home: unclean, soiled, worthless women who had been abused by more than 20 men each day, returning home to try and make something of themselves. Who could they turn to? How could they confront the mighty Japanese government about what had happened to them? Wouldn’t it seem like a better option to just remain quiet about it and be thankful you escaped?