Korean comfort women interviewed after whirlwind 1943 Japan tour visiting wounded Imperial Japanese soldiers who 'showed us again and again with their bodies, not with their words, that Japan and Korea were to be unified as one' and 'we were often moved to tears because we did not feel worthy'

 

Notes: This article contains an interview with the Korean comfort women who were part of a 'comfort team' which went on a whirlwind tour of Japan in 1943 visiting Imperial Japanese soldiers throughout the country. I highly recommend reading the related 'wipe out the Korean language' editorial, which I posted last month. This notorious editorial essentially says, to paraphrase, "These comfort women were not the brightest or the best educated, but look at how well they learned Japanese once they served Imperial Japanese soldiers! We should expand this out to all of Korea, so Korean women can learn Japanese faster." 

This is the horrific truth that almost no one mentions about Korean comfort women for some reason - their sexual exploitation was just a trial run as part of a much larger plan to wipe out the Korean language and ethnic identity and thoroughly instill the Japanese language and culture in all of Korea. The network of concentration camps for the young Korean girls was also going to be greatly expanded. The model of linguistic and cultural assimilation carried out in Korea was to be eventually replicated in all other territories occupied by the Imperial Japanese military. The only thing that prevented this grand plan from being carried out in its entirety was defeat in World War II. 

There is an editorial which I posted under the title, Editorial says the unity of god and man realized by the Japanese Imperial Way cannot be found anywhere else in the world, so Imperial Japan must 'turn the world into a single realm, let all nations take their places, and let all people rest in peace' starting with the colonization of Korea. It essentially says that the model of governance developed in Korea will be exported to all parts of the world that are occupied by the Imperial Japanese military. I won't link it here, because it contains some hateful language that led to me being banned from the r/badphilosophy subreddit, despite previously posting other Imperial Japanese editorials without any problems - apparently the content was so disturbing and distressing that the mods decided to ban me. If you still want to read it, you can find it on this blog by going to the 'philosophy' label. 

This article refers to Kisaeng, or Korean female entertainers who sing, dance, play musical instruments and write poems to entertain upper-class men. In earlier times, their work did not necessarily always involve sexual service, but during Japanese colonial rule of Korea, they were more closely associated with sex work. By the 1940s, the vast majority were involved in prostitution. One prominent former Korean comfort woman, Kim Hak-soon, went to a Kisaeng school before her abusive father took her to China to find her a job. That was where she was detained by Imperial Japanese authorities and then forced to work as a comfort woman for the Imperial Japanese military. 

This article is also significant in that Imperial Japan proudly and shamelessly publicized the fact that its soldiers were seeing comfort women. In fact, it celebrates the encounters between the Imperial Japanese soldiers and the comfort women as happy encounters. To an outsider who knows about the war crimes and atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese military, it may sound patently absurd and delusional, but sadly enough, there are still Japanese people in prominent positions of power in the Japanese government, businesses, and universities who still believe this unbelievable propaganda. I have described this intractable problem in a long essay here.

This article mentions the daily 7 am and 12 noon prayers that all Koreans in the Korean peninsula had to participate in. There were usually loud sirens marking those two times of the day, and you had to immediately stop what you were doing and perform the prayers. The 7 am Kyūjō Yōhai ritual (宮城遥拝) involved bowing several times in the direction of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo while standing, almost reminiscent of the Muslim salah prayer in the qibla direction of Mecca. The noon prayer was a moment of silence in honor of the Imperial Japanese soldiers.

(Translation)

Gyeongseong Ilbo (Keijō Nippō), August 15, 1943

Mother and son have a good time together

Heart-struck by the pure innocence of the heroes in white

A round-table discussion on the return of the performing arts comfort team

Moon Young-ja (문영자/文英子): "We were made to feel that the soldiers were really great men. The reason for this is that they showed us again and again with their bodies, not with their words, that Japan and Korea were to be unified as one. The pure and frank soldiers thanked us from the bottom of their hearts when we comforted them in Korean clothes, and they vowed to serve us again. We were often moved to tears because we did not feel worthy. It became clear to us why our heroes are the strongest in the world on the battlefield.

We, too, were made to realize that this was a 'divine country', and we were given a silent reminder that, soon, the Korean peninsula was also going to do its part on the home front. We saw a group of soldiers and their mothers at the Red Cross Hospital, where they were to be photographed after the comfort visit. One seriously wounded man said, 'I really want to join in,' and he invited an elderly woman who looked like his mother to go join him in the photo shoot, and they looked very satisfied. According to what we heard, the brave warrior had written to his mother from the distant countryside to invite her to come to the event, and he had been looking forward to it for several days, counting down the days with his fingers. Knowing what had happened, we were all touched by the news."

Kim Sook-gyeong (김숙경/金淑瓊): "It was twelve o'clock at night when we arrived in Hiroshima, and everyone was very tired. Our manager, Kim Geum-hong (김금홍/金錦紅), collapsed due to her chronic beriberi disease. However, she insisted on carrying on and forcing herself to perform by giving herself an injection, saying that she couldn't take a break seeing just how happy the soldiers were. But we implored her to take a break, since we could all work together to compensate for her absence, and she relented and took a break. That was how we all felt."

Kim Gang-chun (김강춘/金剛春): "I was completely pessimistic when I was asked what kinds of performances a kisaeng does, but once the performance was over, my attitude suddenly changed as I was inundated with soldiers holding autograph books (laughter). At times like these, I became happy and felt that it was worth it. In Shimonoseki, a soldier with a limp said, 'Thank you so much for today, please drink a little of this...' and offered us two bottles of Homare Sake. We tried refusing this sincere gift several times, but eventually we accepted it."

Kim Jeon-wang (김전왕/金田旺): "As I mentioned earlier, this was my third time in Japan proper, but it was my first time visiting a Shinto shrine. When I stepped into the shrine, I felt that I was touched by the nobility and beauty of Japan. I couldn't help but think that Japan is a divine country and that it is natural for strong soldiers to be born there, so we were compelled to adopt a more serious attitude. We Koreans, who have a low level of spiritual life, felt inadequate and ashamed of ourselves everywhere we went. We were determined to become strong and respectable mothers as soon as possible and raise our children to succeed us in the next generation. I have no parents or siblings, and if circumstances allow, I would like to become a volunteer battlefield nurse in the future."

Kim Wol (김월/金月): "When I came to Japan proper, I noticed something strange. In Korea, we pray at 7:00 a.m. bowing to the Emperor's palace in the Kyūjō Yōhai ritual, and at noon, we hold a silent prayer for the Imperial Japanese troops, but this is not the case in Japan proper. I wondered why. However, I gradually came to understand the reason. There are shrines all over Japan, and people worship at them with reverence in the morning and evening. You can even see them from the windows of the train.

This is why the people of Japan proper know that the gods are always with them, and they don't have to worship at set times like in Korea. I felt that we Koreans need to move forward to the point where we are always living with the gods in our daily lives."

Ahn Chun-il (안춘일/安春一): "When we went to a hospital in Japan proper, we saw women who were not nurses washing the soiled clothes of the soldiers. Asking around, we learned that there was a variety of women's groups performing labor service. We also began to feel like going to some hospital and helping out."

Keijō Nippō Reporter: "I see. I'm sure you've made yourselves mentally prepared as Korean women in a variety of ways."

Kim Geum-hong (김금홍/金錦紅): "I am amazed at how gentle and kind the local women are in Japan proper. This is something that I think Korean women should learn from. Unlike Korean women, the upper-class women in Japan are not pretentious, but are kind and sincere, and I enjoyed spending time with them wherever I went. Mrs. Takamiya, the wife of the president of the company who rode with us on the train to Yokosuka, paid special care to look after the luggage of people like us. We completely bow our heads in gratitude for all the help that we have been given. The kindness was so sincere, and we were so engrossed in our conversations on the train on our way home, that we even rode all the way to Tokyo Station, missing our stop (laughter). Even though Korean women are sometimes very stiff and formal, I think we need to train ourselves to be a little kinder to each other.

At any rate, in Tokyo and everywhere else in Japan proper, on the electric trains and on steam locomotives, we were very sorry to see so many brave men with the wounded soldier insignia on their chests. Fortunately, a conscription system has been established in Korea, and I believe that now is the time for Korean men and women of all ages to really rise up this autumn as Imperial people."

Keijō Nippō Reporter: "Thank you very much for spending so much time with us." 

Photo: The team comforting the seriously wounded soldiers in white clothes at the First Army Hospital.

Source: https://www.archive.org/details/kjnp-1943-08-15

(Transcription)

京城日報　1943年8月15日

母子揃って楽しい一時

胸搏たれる白衣の勇士の純情

芸能慰問隊・帰還報告座談会

文英子：兵隊さんはほんとに偉いと感じさせられました。内鮮一体を言葉でなく身をもって度々示されたからです。純真で率直な兵隊さんは朝鮮服で慰問する私共に心から感謝し再起奉公を誓って下さるのです。勿体なくて泣かされた事も度々でした。勇士が戦場に出て世界一強い理由がハッキリしました。

私共もこれこそ”神の国”だと悟らされ、半島の銃後も愈々これからだ、との無言の暗示を受けました。或る一組の兵隊さんとお母さんを見ましたが、やはり赤十字病院で慰問の後、記念撮影することとなり、一人の重傷者は『自分も是非入りたい』。それから、その日見えたお母さんらしい年老いた方をも差しまねいて一緒に入って、とても満足そうでした。聞く處によりますと、その勇士は半島慰問団が来るというので遠い田舎から手紙で母親を呼び寄せ、自分も幾日も前から指折り数えて充分楽しむことが出来たと非常な喜びようでした。事情を知って私達一同も今更胸をうたれた次第でした。

金淑瓊：広島に着いたのは夜中の十二時で、みんなも相当疲労して監督格の金錦紅さんは持病の脚気がつのって遂に倒れましたが、あんなに喜んで下さる兵隊さんの様子をみると休むことは出来ないと注射を打って無理に舞台を勤めようとするのを姉さんの分はみんなで勤めますから、どうか休んで下さいと無理に頼んで休んで戴きました。そんな風に一同張切りました。

金剛春：妓生の芸なんてどんなことをするんですかーと言われた時は全く悲観しましたが、講演が終ると俄かに態度を改めて『やあ全く素晴らしい』とサイン帳など持って殺到されるんです（笑声）。こんな時には、やはり甲斐があったと愉快になりました。下関では、足の不自由な兵隊さんが『今日はほんとに有難う、これは少しですがみんなでのんで下さい．．．』と”ほまれ”二個を差し出された誠意に何度もお断りましたが、結局戴きました。

金田旺：私は先程も申し上げましたように、内地は今度で三度目ですが、神宮参拝は初めてです。神域に一歩足を踏み入れると日本の気高さ美しさに触れた気がしまして、日本は神の国だ、強い兵士の生れるのは当然だと襟を正さずにはおれません。精神生活活程度の低い半島の私達は何処に行っても引け目を感じて全く恥ずかしい思いをしました。私達も一日も早く強い立派な母になって次代を継ぐ子供を育て上げねばと決意しました。それから親兄弟の無い私は境遇が許せば、将来は篤志願看護婦を志願して働きたい念願です。

金月：私は内地へ参りまして、不思議に思ったことがございます。それは朝鮮では午前七時に遥拝し、正午に黙祷をするのですが、内地ではそれが行われ居りません。何故であろうかというのが私の疑問でございました。ところが、それが段々分かったのです。それは内地では到るところに神社がありまして、人々は朝夕心から敬虔の念を持っておがんでいるのです。汽車の窓からもこれを見ることが出来るのです。

だから内地の人々は神様といつでも一緒に居るのだということが分かり、殊更朝鮮のように定められた時間にしなくともいいのではないかということが分かったのであります。私達も毎日の生活の中にいつでも神様と一緒に生きているのだというところ迄進まなければいけないのだと感じました。

安春一：内地の病院へ行って見ますと、看護婦さんと違った婦人達が兵隊さんのよごれたものを洗って居りましたので、よく聞いて見ますと色々の婦人団体の方々が勤労奉仕をして居られるのだと聞きまして、私達もこれからどこかの病院へ行って御手伝いして上げたいと思いました。

本社側：そうですね。半島女性としての覚悟も色々とできたことと思います。

金錦紅：内地婦人の淑やかで親切なことは驚くばかりです。これは半島婦人は是非学ぶべきだと思いました。半島婦人と違って、上流婦人といってもたかぶらず、優しく誠意があって何処へ行っても楽しく過ごすことが出来ました。横須賀行きの列車で御同車願った高宮社長婦人など私等の如き者の手荷物にまで気を配られて、何くれとなく御世話下さったのには全く頭が下りました。御親切が身に沁んで帰りの汽車中では話に夢中になって、東京駅まで乗り越した程です（笑声）。半島婦人は堅苦しい点があるのでも、少し親切を尽くし合う様お互いに修練を積む必要があると思います。

兎に角内地では東京初め何処に参りましても電車の中、汽車の中、到る處に傷痍徽章を胸に付けた勇士の姿に数多く持して、ほんとうに相済まなく存じました。半島にも幸い徴兵制が布かれましたので、青年も婦人も老若挙って今こそ皇国民として真に総起ちの秋だと存じます。

本社側：長時間に亘って色々と有難うございました。

【写真＝第一陸軍病院で重傷の白衣勇士を慰問する一行】

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/comments/sy6iuk/korean_comfort_women_interviewed_after_whirlwind/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3