“Comfort Women” is a euphemism for 100,000 to 200,000 sex slaves held in Japanese military camps in the Northeast and Southeast during World War II. They were young women, as young as twelve, mostly from Korea, as well as other countries occupied by the Japanese Imperial Army.

In Japanese military camps these women were raped, tortured or killed. Many died from diseases. After the war, those who returned home lived in poverty and shame, with permanent physical and emotional problems. Most lived in solitude with their painful past.

Some of these women, now the age of grandmothers, began telling their stories of “crimes against humanity.” In 1992, several former comfort women moved into the House of Sharing for shelter and support. Today, eleven grandmothers and seven staff reside at the House.

The grandmothers sought art to express their feelings. The sketches and paintings quickly evolved into compelling expressions of their shame, anger, bitterness, lost innocence and the fervent desire for justice. The artwork has now become an extension of their efforts to publicize their story, “an experience to painful and vivid to forget.”

Joining us on November 4 will be Soon-Duk Kim, a former comfort woman and a resident to the House of Sharing. With a Korean translator she will give testimony of hellish life at the comfort stations. Hyejin, a Buddhist monk who is the executive director of the House will also be present.