Comfort Women in South Korea Who Served U.S Forces

Introduction 

‘ Comfort Woman’ was a term that was used for a woman that was forced to engage in sexual activity. The act of sexual slavery is not permitted by many countries, but the matter was a booming one during wartime. The prostitutes that served the women were in most instances used to please the troops that were in the war. In the battle between South and North Korea, comfort women were widely used so that they would entertain the soldiers that were at war for a long time. That was with the aim of making sure that the soldiers were able to feel good and for them to have a life that was satisfying. South Korea permitted the use of comfort women, and it is no surprise that they used their women with the aim of making sure that American soldiers remained in the country. Comfort women were employed in South Korea during the Second World War i . 

As comfort women continued servicing the American troops, there was a break of a dangerous disease by the name of Venereal Disease (VD), and it exposed the comfort women to a lot of problems. The prostitutes were forced to take tests so that it could be known if they had the disease. In cases where the comfort women were discovered to have the venereal disease, they would be left for the dead. The women were chased from the stations that they were serving and they would not be given any amount of money. The aim of the brothels that kept the women was to get a required currency in the running of their affairs. After over 60 years of engaging in the trade, the women accused the government of misusing them. The women claim that they were forced to serve in the trade and they say that they were told to do so to show patriotism to their country ii . 

South Korea engaged in the trade of prostitution so that it could be able to make money for itself. At the same time, the government of South Korea wanted to keep money that was from the American troops to have a country that would run smoothly. As South Korea engaged in the illegal trade, it did not care about what it was doing to its citizens. The women that were being used in the business no longer owned their bodies, but, and even the government itself did not have mercy to its people. Long after the war was over, the women came up as they expressed their dissatisfaction with having been misused. A majority of the surviving women were able to mention the problems that they went through during the whole period, and that was with the aim of making sure that they were compensated iii . 

During the trial, the women said of how they were forcefully taken to the camps to service the American troops without their own will. However, the government tried to say that the women made themselves into the fields as it attempted to defend itself from engaging in wrongdoing. The surviving women continued to explain the problems that other girls went through in the hands of their tormentors who were the pimps. The punishment that was given aimed to make sure that other women did not run away or question their tormentors as they were placed in the sex dens iv . 

It is shocking to get to know that the girls who tried to run away would be beaten up to a point where their legs would be broken. The women continued to say that they would be beaten on many of the occasions if they did not follow the instructions given to them. After the women finished their service to the Americans, they were forgotten, and neglection was the other thing. The comfort women complained that even when they got ill, they were not cared for in any way. The sick would be taken outside the camps, to rivers or mountains and left for dead v . 

During the hearing of how the women were sacrificed for the sake of their country, the judges gave out their verdict, and it was decided that about 57 women out of 123 would be compensated. The judges also said that the women should be apologized to so that they would be able to feel as if they belonged to their country. In recent times, South Korea has been able to listen to the woos of the comfort women as their grievances get addressed. That has been a way to make sure that the women are well treated and so that they are not able to go through the problems that they went through vi . 

As the women served the soldiers, they were at times put into humiliation as they were made to serve more than one soldier. It then goes to show that the women were not in any way able to enjoy what was theirs as they were made to live a life that was decided. There are cases where the women would be raped and all that took place in the sex camps. There was no way the women would be able to complain as they would be beaten mercilessly. That was a way to make sure that they kept quiet and they did not speak any word. Children at the age of 14 who had not reached puberty were also taken to the sex camps, and that shows that the women were not respected in any way. At the end of it all, the women were made to suffer in ways that were unimaginable. It was so bad for the country to make its women go through the problems that they went through. It is good that the courts were able to offer justice as it was required vii . 

During hearings conducted of how the comfort women suffered under the American troops, it is revealed that officials of South Korean government got involved immensely in the mistreatment of its people. The soldiers were told to spend a lot of money as they seek pleasure from the women. On the other hand, the South Korean officials did their best to make the Korean women know how to speak in English so that they would be able to trade with the American soldiers. As the illegal business went on, the government of South Korea encouraged the women to continue taking part in the trade as they make a lot of money. The government was however keen to make sure that there was no spread of diseases to great heights viii . 

In their testimonies, the women say about how they were tormented while in their sex camps. There was a lot of trauma that was encountered by the women, and it goes to show that there was no peace for the women in any way. Human trafficking is another thing that came up during the hearing. Some Asian countries were tricked to give their girls to South Korea in the name of working for entertainment agencies. That was however not the case as they would get themselves engaging in a trade that they did not know. Girls would be raped while in their camps, and the issue was very traumatizing to many of the women that got to witness the ordeal. 

The hearings also revealed that comfort women came from different nations. The Philippines was one of the countries that produced the comfort women. The comfort women had nicknames as they engaged in the trade. As time went by, some rights groups and activists rose up to condemn the problems and the undermining of the rights of the comfort women. The activists tried all their best, and that is what led to the hearing that listened to the grievances of the comfort women. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, there is no doubt that the hearing on the plight of the once a time comfort woman, bore fruits. That is because they were compensated and even apologized to by their government. At the end of it all, the women got their rights also though they faced a lot of rejection even in society. The government of South Korea has continued to condemn the act even today. 

End Notes 

i Clifford, M. L. (2016). Troubled tiger: Businessmen, bureaucrats and generals in South Korea . 

Routledge 

ii Dudden, A. (2014). Troubled Apologies among Japan, Korea, and the United States . 

Columbia University Press. 

iii Fackler, Martin. "US Textbook Skews History, Prime Minister of Japan Says." New York 

Times, January 29 (2015): 2015. 

iv Henson, M. R. (2016). Comfort woman: a Filipina's story of prostitution and slavery under 

the Japanese military . Rowman & Littlefield. 

v Kim, J. (2016). Instant mobility, stratified prostitution market: The politics of belonging of 

Korean women selling sex in the US. Asian Journal of Women's Studies , 22 (1), 48-64. 

vi Ku, Y. (2015). National interest or transnational alliances? Japanese policy on the comfort 

women issue. Journal of East Asian Studies , 15 (2), 243-269. 

vii Stetz, M. D., & Oh, B. B. (2015). Legacies of the comfort women of World War II . 

Routledge. 

viii Ward, T. J., & Lay, W. D. (2016). The Comfort Women Controversy: Not Over Yet. East 

Asia , 33 (4), 255-269.