Obituary: Kim Bok-dong, the South Korean ‘comfort woman’
ºÎ°í: Çѱ¹ÀÇ ‘À§¾ÈºÎ’ ±èº¹µ¿ ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï
By Flora Drury BBC News
¡ã South Korean campaigner Kim Bok-dong has died at the age of 92
Çѱ¹ÀÇ È°µ¿°¡ ±èº¹µ¿ ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï°¡ Çâ³â 92¼¼·Î ¼¼»óÀ» ¶ß¼Ì´Ù
The coffin passed the Japanese embassy in Seoul, accompanied on its final journey by mourners waving banners and holding yellow butterflies.
ÇÒ¸Ó´ÏÀÇ °üÀº ¼¿ï¿¡ ÁÖÀçÇÑ ÀϺ» ´ë»ç°ü ¾ÕÀ» Áö³ª°¬À¸¸ç, ÀÌ ¸¶Áö¸· Çà·Ä¿¡´Â ¸¹Àº Á¶¹®°´µéÀÌ Çö¼ö¸·°ú ³ë¶õ ³ªºñµéÀ» µé°í ÇÔ²²Çß´Ù.
It took Kim Bok-dong almost 40 years to find the strength to tell her story.
±èº¹µ¿ ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï°¡ ÀÚ½ÅÀÇ À̾߱⸦ ¸»ÇÒ ¿ë±â¸¦ ³»±â±îÁö °ÅÀÇ 40³âÀÇ ¼¼¿ùÀÌ °É·È´Ù.
She was just 14 when the Japanese soldiers arrived at her family’s home in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang. They said she was needed to work in a factory. If she did not come, they warned her mother, the family would suffer.
ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï°¡ °íÀÛ 14¼¼¿´À» ¶§, ÀϺ»±ºÀº °æ»ó³²µµ ¾ç»ê¿¡ ÀÖ´Â ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï °¡Á·ÀÌ »ì´ø Áý¿¡ Ãĵé¾î¿Ô´Ù. ±×µéÀº ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï°¡ °øÀå¿¡¼ ÀÏÇÏ´Â µ¥ ÇÊ¿äÇÏ´Ù°í ¸»Çß´Ù. ¸¸ÀÏ ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï°¡ µû¶ó¿ÀÁö ¾ÊÀ¸¸é °¡Á·µéÀÌ °íÅëÀ» °Þ°Ô µÉ °ÍÀ̶ó°í ÇÒ¸Ó´ÏÀÇ ¾î¸Ó´Ï¿¡°Ô °æ°íÇß´Ù.
But Kim was not taken to work in a factory. Instead, the teenager found herself transported to one of hundreds of “comfort stations” set up by the Japanese Imperial Army across the territory it had seized.
±×·¯³ª ±è ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï´Â °øÀå¿¡¼ ÀÏÇϱâ À§ÇØ Â¡ÁýµÈ °ÍÀÌ ¾Æ´Ï¾ú´Ù. ±× ´ë½Å ÀÌ ½Ê´ë ¼Ò³à´Â ÀϺ»Á¦±¹ ±º´ë°¡ Á¡·ÉÇÑ ¿µÅä Àü¹Ý¿¡ °ÉÃÄ ¼³Ä¡µÈ ¼ö¹é °³ÀÇ “À§¾È¼Ò” Áß ÇÑ °÷À¸·Î ½Ç·Á°¡°Ô µÇ¾ú´Ù.
First known footage of ‘comfort women’
‘À§¾ÈºÎ’¿¡ ´ëÇØ ¾Ë·ÁÁø ù ¹ø° ¿µ»ó
Afterwards, she said, the bed sheets were covered in blood. It was too much to bear, and she decided there was only one way out.
ÀÌÈÄ, ±×³à´Â ¸»Çϱæ, ħ´ë ½ÃÆ®´Â Çǹü¹÷ÀÌ µÇ¾ú´Ù. ±×°ÍÀº °ßµð±â Èûµç ÀÏÀ̾ú°í, ±×³à´Â ±×°÷À¸·ÎºÎÅÍ ¹þ¾î³¯ ¼ö ÀÖ´Â ±æÀº ¿ÀÁ÷ ÇÑ °¡Áö »ÓÀ̶ó°í ¹Ï¾ú´Ù.
They drank until they passed out, but it wasn’t enough. The three girls were found, and their stomachs were pumped.
±×µéÀº Á¤½ÅÀ» ÀÒÀ» ¶§±îÁö ¼úÀ» ¸¶¼ÌÀ¸³ª ±×°ÍÀº ÃæºÐÇÏÁö ¾Ê¾Ò´Ù. ¼¼ ¸íÀÇ ¼Ò³àµéÀº ¹ß°ßµÈ µÚ À§ ¼¼Ã´À» ¹Þ¾Ò´Ù.
When Kim finally woke up, she made a choice – no matter what happened, she would live to tell the tale.
¸¶Ä§³» ±ú¾î³µÀ» ¶§ ±è ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï´Â °á½ÉÇß´Ù. ¹«½¼ ÀÏÀÌ À־ »ì¾Æ³²¾Æ ÀÌ À̾߱⸦ ¾Ë·Á¾ß°Ú´Ù°í.
‘How could I tell anyone?’
“¾î¶»°Ô ³²¿¡°Ô ÀÌ·± À̾߱⸦ ÇÒ ¼ö ÀÖ°Ú³ª?”
The Japanese Imperial Army first introduced the idea of “comfort stations” in the early 1930s. It was supposed to stop their soldiers going on “raping sprees”, and keep them free of sexually transmitted diseases.
Á¦±¹ÁÖÀÇ ÀϺ»±ºÀº 1930³â´ë ÃÊ “À§¾È¼Ò”ÀÇ °³³äÀ» óÀ½ µµÀÔÇß´Ù. ÀÌ´Â ÀϺ»±ºÀÌ “¹«ºÐº°ÇÏ°Ô °°£ÇÏ´Â °Í”À» ¹æÁöÇÏ°í ¼ºº´À» ¿Å±â´Â °ÍÀ» ¸·±â À§ÇÔÀ̾ú´Ù.
In the beginning, it is thought they used prostitutes. But as Japan’s military grew, so did demand. Eventually, they turned to slavery.
Ãʱ⿡ ÀϺ»±ºÀº â³à¸¦ ÀÌ¿ëÇß´ø °ÍÀ¸·Î º¸ÀδÙ. ±×·¯³ª ÀϺ» ±ºÀÎÀÇ ¼ö°¡ ´Ã¾î³ª¸é¼ ¼ö¿äµµ ´Ã¾ú´Ù. °á±¹ ±×µéÀº ³ë¿¹¸¦ ã°íÀÚ Çß´Ù.
The men, Kim Bok-dong later recalled, would line up outside, waiting their turn.
ÈÄ¿¡ ±èº¹µ¿ ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï´Â ³²ÀÚµéÀÌ ¹Û¿¡¼ ÁÙÀ» ¼¼ ÀÚ±â Â÷·Ê¸¦ ±â´Ù·È´Ù°í ±â¾ïÇß´Ù.
Weekends were particularly dreadful. On Saturdays, she would work for six hours, the men arriving one after the other. On Sundays, it was nine hours.
ƯÈ÷ ÁÖ¸»Àº ²ûÂïÇß´Ù. Åä¿äÀÏÀÌ¸é ±èº¹µ¿ ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï´Â 6½Ã°£À» ÀÏÇØ¾ß Çß°í ³²ÀÚµéÀº ½¬Áö ¾Ê°í µé¾î¿Ô´Ù. ÀÏ¿äÀÏ¿¡´Â 9½Ã°£À̾ú´Ù.
Sometimes she would see almost 50 men in a day. Some days, she lost count. By the time her “shift” ended, she could barely stand up or walk.
¾î´À ¶§´Â ÇÏ·ç¿¡ °ÅÀÇ 50¸í °¡·®À» »ó´ëÇØ¾ß Çß´Ù. ¾î´À ³¯Àº ¼ö¸¦ ¼¼´Ù°¡ Àؾî¹ö¸®±âµµ Çß´Ù. ÇÏ·çÀÇ “±Ù¹«½Ã°£”ÀÌ ³¡³¯ ¶§¸é ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï´Â °ÅÀÇ ÀϾî¼Áöµµ °ÈÁöµµ ¸øÇß´Ù.
¡ã After first telling her story in 1992, she became a dedicated justice campaigner
1992³â óÀ½ ÀÚ½ÅÀÇ À̾߱⸦ ÇÑ ÈÄ·Î ±è ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï´Â ¿¼ºÀûÀÎ Á¤ÀÇ È°µ¿°¡°¡ µÇ¾ú´Ù.
It was 1947 when she was finally brought home to South Korea. She didn’t know how long she had been gone; she also didn’t know how to find the words to explain what had happened to her.
±èº¹µ¿ ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï°¡ ¸¶Ä§³» Çѱ¹À¸·Î µ¹¾Æ¿Â °ÍÀº 1947³âÀ̾ú´Ù. ±è ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï´Â ÀÚ½ÅÀÌ ¾ó¸¶ µ¿¾È ¶°³ª ÀÖ¾ú´ÂÁö ¾ËÁö ¸øÇß°í ¶ÇÇÑ Àڽſ¡°Ô ¾î¶°ÇÑ ÀÏÀÌ ÀÖ¾ú´ÂÁö¸¦ ¼³¸íÇÒ ¸»À» ãÁö ¸øÇß´Ù.
“How could I have told them about my experiences?” she asked. “I had things done to me that were unfathomable.”
±×³à´Â “³»°¡ °æÇèÇÑ °ÍµéÀ» ¾î¶»°Ô ¸»ÇÒ ¼ö ÀÖ¾ú°Ú³ª?”¶ó°í ¹°À¸¸ç, “³ª´Â µµÀúÈ÷ ÀÌÇØ°¡ ¾È µÇ´Â ¸¹Àº ÀÏÀ» °Þ¾ú´Ù”°í ¸»Çß´Ù.
She wasn’t alone in her silence, as the University of Connecticut’s Alexis Dudden explains.
Ä¿³×ƼÄÆ ´ëÇÐÀÇ ¾Ë·º½Ã½º ´õµç ±³¼ö°¡ ¼³¸íÇϵí ÇҸӴϴ ħ¹¬À» ÁöÄ×´ø À¯ÀÏÇÑ »ç¶÷Àº ¾Æ´Ï¾ú´Ù.
Kim did find her voice though, a few years after her return. Her mother wanted her to marry, and she felt she had to explain why she would not.
ÇÏÁö¸¸ ±èº¹µ¿ ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï´Â ¸»ÇÒ ¼ö ÀÖ°Ô µÇ¾ú´Ù. ±Í±¹ÇÑ ÈÄ ¸î ³âÀÌ Áö³ª¼¿´´Ù. ¾î¸Ó´Ï´Â ±×³à°¡ °áÈ¥Çϱ⸦ ¿øÇß°í, ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï´Â ÀÚ½ÅÀÌ ¿Ö °áÈ¥À» ÇÏÁö ¾ÊÀ¸·Á ÇÏ´ÂÁö ¼³¸íÇØ¾ß ÇÑ´Ù°í »ý°¢Çß´Ù.
“I confessed that, given all the abuse done to my body, I didn’t want to screw up another man’s life,” she told Asian Boss.
±èº¹µ¿ ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï´Â “³» ¸ö¿¡ °¡ÇØÁø ¿Â°® Çд븦 »ý°¢ÇÏ¸é ´Ù¸¥ ³²ÀÚÀÇ ÀλýÀ» ²¿ÀÌ°Ô ¸¸µé°í ½ÍÁö ¾Ê´Ù°í °í¹éÇß´Ù”°í ¾Æ½Ã¾È º¸½º¿ÍÀÇ ÀÎÅͺ信¼ ¸»Çß´Ù.
Her mother, she said, became distressed. Unable to share her daughter’s secret, she died shortly afterwards of a heart attack. Kim believed it was the pain of the secret which killed her.
±èº¹µ¿ ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï´Â ¾î¸Ó´Ï°¡ ¸¹ÀÌ ±«·Î¿öÇß´Ù°í ¸»Çß´Ù. µþÀÇ ºñ¹ÐÀ» °¨´çÇÒ ¼ö ¾ø¾ú´ø ¾î¸Ó´Ï´Â ÀÌÈÄ ¾ó¸¶ µÇÁö ¾Ê¾Æ ½ÉÀ帶ºñ·Î »ç¸ÁÇß´Ù. ±è ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï´Â ¾î¸Ó´Ï¸¦ Á×ÀÎ °ÍÀº ¹Ù·Î ±× ºñ¹ÐÀÇ °íÅëÀ̾ú´Ù°í ¹Ï¾ú´Ù.
‘It’s not about money’
“µ·ÀÌ ¹®Á¦°¡ ¾Æ´Ï´Ù”
It would take decades for Kim Bok-dong to talk again about what happened to her. She moved to Busan, where she ran a successful fish restaurant.
±èº¹µ¿ ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï°¡ ÀÚ½ÅÀÇ À̾߱⸦ ´Ù½Ã ÇÏ°Ô µÇ±â ±îÁö ¼ö½Ê ³âÀÌ °É·È´Ù. ±è ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï´Â ºÎ»êÀ¸·Î ¿Å°Ü°¡ »ý¼± À½½ÄÁ¡À» ¼º°øÀûÀ¸·Î ¿î¿µÇß´Ù.
And then Kim Hak-sun came forward, sharing her own story of being imprisoned as a “comfort woman” by the Japanese in China – the first South Korean victim to break her silence so publicly. It was 1991. By March 1992, Kim Bok-dong had come forward to tell the world her account.
±×·¯´ø Áß ±èÇм± ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï°¡ Áß±¹¿¡¼ ÀϺ»±º¿¡ ÀÇÇØ “À§¾ÈºÎ”·Î ºÙÀâÇô ÀÖ¾ú´ø º»ÀÎÀÇ À̾߱⸦ °ø°³ÀûÀ¸·Î ¸»Çß´Ù. ±èÇм± ÇҸӴϴ ħ¹¬À» ±ú°í °ø°³ÀûÀ¸·Î ¹ß¾ðÇÑ ÃÖÃÊÀÇ Çѱ¹ÀÎ ÇÇÇØÀÚ¿´´Ù. ±×°Ô 1991³âÀ̾ú´Ù. 1992³â 3¿ù, ±èº¹µ¿ ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï´Â ¾ÕÀ¸·Î ³ª¿Í ÀÚ½ÅÀÇ À̾߱⸦ ¼¼»ó¿¡ ¾Ë·È´Ù.
“The survivors of sexual violence in conflict from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, address Kim Bok-dong… as ‘our hero’, ‘our mama’, and ‘our hope’,” a spokesman for The Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan recalls.
Çѱ¹Á¤½Å´ë¹®Á¦´ëÃ¥ÇùÀÇȸÀÇ ´ëº¯ÀÎÀº “Äá°í¹ÎÁÖ°øȱ¹°ú ¿ì°£´Ù¿¡¼ ºÐÀï Áß ¼ºÆø·ÂÀ» ´çÇÑ ÇÇÇØ»ýÁ¸ÀÚµéÀº ±èº¹µ¿ ÇҸӴϸ¦… ‘¿ì¸®ÀÇ ¿µ¿õ’, ‘¿ì¸®ÀÇ ¾ö¸¶’, ‘¿ì¸®ÀÇ Èñ¸Á’À̶ó°í ºÎ¸¥´Ù”°í ȸ»óÇÑ´Ù.
She was derisive of the 2015 deal between the Japanese and South Korea, which saw her former captors pay 1bn yen ($8.3m, £5.6m) to fund victims.
±è ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï´Â ÀÚ½ÅÀÇ ³³Ä¡¹üµéÀÌ ÇÇÇØÀڵ鿡°Ô 10¾ï ¿£(830¸¸ ´Þ·¯, 560¸¸ À¯·Î)À» ÁöºÒÇϵµ·Ï ÇÑ 2015³â ÇÑÀÏ ÇùÁ¤À» ºñ¿ô¾ú´Ù.
“We won’t accept it even if Japan gives 10bn yen. It’s not about money. They’re still saying we went there because we wanted to,” Kim told lawmakers in 2016.
2016³â ±èº¹µ¿ ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï´Â ±¹È¸ÀÇ¿øµé¿¡°Ô “¿ì¸®´Â ÀϺ»ÀÌ 100¾ï ¿£À» ÁØ´Ù Çصµ ¹ÞÁö ¾ÊÀ» °ÍÀÌ´Ù. µ·ÀÌ ¹®Á¦°¡ ¾Æ´Ï´Ù. ±×µéÀº ¿ì¸®°¡ ±×°÷¿¡ °¡°í ½Í¾îÇؼ °¬´Ù°í ¾ÆÁ÷µµ ¸»ÇÏ°í ÀÖ´Ù”¶ó°í ¸»Çß´Ù.
South Korea’s President Moon Jae-In has since said he will renegotiate the fund, focusing more on the victims.
¹®ÀçÀÎ Çѱ¹ ´ëÅë·ÉÀº ±× ÀÌÈÄ Èñ»ýÀÚµéÀ» º¸´Ù ÃÊÁ¡À» ¸ÂÃç ±× ±â±ÝÀ» ÀçÇù»óÇÒ °ÍÀ̶ó°í ¹àÇû´Ù.
But it came too late for Kim. As she lay taking her final breaths, she expressed “strong anger” towards Japan, her friend Yoon Mee-Hyang told reporters. As Prof Dudden puts it, she “died screaming”.
±×·¯³ª ±èº¹µ¿ ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï¿¡°Ô´Â ³Ê¹« ´Ê¾ú´Ù. À±¹ÌÇâ ¾¾´Â ±âÀڵ鿡°Ô ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï´Â º´»ó¿¡¼ ¸¶Áö¸· ¼ûÀ» °ÅµÎ¸ç ÀϺ»¿¡ ´ëÇØ “°ÇÑ ºÐ³ë”¸¦ Ç¥ÇöÇß´Ù°í ¸»Çß´Ù. ´õºó ±³¼öÀÇ ¸»Ã³·³ ±èº¹µ¿ ÇÒ¸Ó´Ï´Â “Àý±ÔÇϸç Á×¾ú´Ù.”
But her legacy will not be lost. In among the crowd at her funeral was Kim Sam, 27, who first met Kim “sitting up straight even in the rain as she spoke about her struggle”.
ÇÏÁö¸¸ ±èº¹µ¿ ÇÒ¸Ó´ÏÀÇ À¯»êÀº ÇêµÇÁö ¾ÊÀ» °ÍÀÌ´Ù. Àå·Ê½Ä¿¡ Âü¼®ÇÑ ±ºÁßµé Áß¿¡ 27¼¼ÀÇ ±è»ï ¾¾´Â ÇҸӴϸ¦ óÀ½ ¸¸³µÀ» ¶§, “ÇÒ¸Ó´ÔÀº ÅõÀï¿¡ ´ëÇØ ¸»ÇÒ ¶§ ºø¼Ó¿¡¼Á¶Â÷µµ ÀÚ¼¼¸¦ ¶È¹Ù·Î ÇÏ°í ¾ÉÀ¸¼Ì´Ù”°í ¸»Çß´Ù.
“Upright, dignified – that’s how she always was, first as a victim and later as a human rights activist,” she recalled.
“°í°áÇÏ°í Ç°À§ ÀÖ°Ô, ±èº¹µ¿ ÇÒ¸Ó´ÔÀº ´Ã ±×·¯¼Ì´Ù. óÀ½¿¡´Â Èñ»ýÀڷμ, ³ªÁß¿¡´Â Àαǿ°¡·Î¼”¶ó°í ±×³à´Â ȸ»óÇß´Ù.
“She’s a role model I respect the most.”
“ÇÒ¸Ó´ÔÀº ³»°¡ °¡Àå Á¸°æÇÏ´Â ·Ñ¸ðµ¨À̽ôÙ.”
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