'Comfort women' history urged to be archived in Taiwan

呼籲“慰安婦”歷史入台灣國史館

Advocates call for public attention to military sex slaves on Comfort Women Memorial Day


TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—The Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation urged the government to add the history of “comfort women” to Academia Historica’s archives and the national curriculum on Aug. 14, Comfort Women Memorial Day.

According to the foundation, the history of comfort women is the collective memory of all women in Taiwan, which should not be ignored. However, there is little public attention paid to the topic.

Academia Historica has no section specifically dedicated to comfort women, while teachers seldom teach the history to students and some books about Taiwanese history often ignore the topic as well.

Lack of education and recognition leads some to incorrectly thinking these victims became comfort women voluntarily. Using the slogan "Know the history. Know the truth,” the foundation called on the government to emphasize comfort women’s role in history instead of overlooking it.

“As the victims withered, there’s only one left now. We hope to record their history as soon as possible, but it’s not enough. We want the stories to be a part of Taiwan history,” said Tu Ying-chiu (杜瑛秋), CEO of the Taipei Women Rescue Foundation, at the press conference commemorating the memorial day.

According to a survey done by the foundation in July 2022, out of 677 respondents, over 90% agreed that books about Taiwan history should talk about comfort women, this issue should be included in the national curriculum, and the term “comfort women” does not reflect the violent nature of their experience, so they should be referred to as “military sex slaves.”

Founded in 1987, the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation is dedicated to issues involving human trafficking, Japanese Military Sex Slaves (comfort women), and domestic violence. It aims to empower women and give assistance when needed.

Since 1992, the foundation started to provide legal counsel and psychological support for the victims of Japanese military sex slavery. The foundation brought the victims, mostly elderly, to participate in international conferences related to this issue, and collaborated with other countries that also have comfort women victims to urge Japan to apologize.

In addition to filing lawsuits against the Japanese government, the foundation also holds a healing workshop to help victims deal with their trauma.

To tell the story and teach the history of these victims, the foundation opened a museum called AMA Museum (阿嬤家-和平與女性人權館), collecting and exhibiting these victims’ documentaries, documents, and artworks. The museum hopes to educate visitors about the history of military sex slaves, show them the strength and resilience of these “Ama” (grandmas), as well as promote human rights and gender equality.

Comfort Women Memorial Day honors Hak-sun Kim and commemorates comfort women all over the world. In 1991, Hak-sun Kim from South Korea broke a 50-year silence about her experience as a “comfort woman.”

During World War II, women from the Japanese-occupied countries were forced into prostitution to serve Japanese soldiers. Hak-sun Kim’s action has encouraged more victims to speak out and ask Japan to apologize, which has continued to deny most of these accusations.

On Comfort Women Memorial Day every year, advocates in different countries commemorate the history and call on people to listen to their stories. Victims were mostly from Asian countries occupied by Japan during World War II, including China, South Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan.

It is estimated that there are about 200,000 to 300,000 victims. After the war ended, many victims were shunned or ostracized by their families and chose not to reveal their painful past to the public.

Many suffered physical pain and psychological distress, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), even decades after the war. According to a Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation estimate, there are around 2,000 comfort women in Taiwan, while only 59 have gone public about their experiences.


Wu Hsiu-mei (1917-2012) was abducted at the age of 23 and taken to Guangdong, China, to serve as a "comfort woman," also known as a sex slave for Japanese soldiers at the frontlines. The museum label reads that Wu had to serve over 20 soldiers a day when she was forced to work at military brothels. After returning home, she had two unhappy marriages. The first one ended in divorce because she was unable to conceive a child. Her repeated abortions during her unwanted sexual service was believed to cause infertility, the museum label read. (Rungfang Chung photo)