Kim Hak-Sun- The First to Speak Out
Born: 1924, Jilin, China
Died: December 16, 1997
Kim Hak-sun spoke publicly about human rights violations occurring in World War II.
Kim Hak-sun was born in 1924 in Jilin, China. Her parents had moved there from Korea during the years of Japanese colonial rule. When Hak-sun’s father died, her mother returned to Korea and remarried. Life with her stepfamily was difficult, and Hak-sun was eventually sent to live with a foster family. Her foster father later took her to Beijing, hoping to find work for her.
Instead of finding a safe job, Hak-sun was kidnapped by Japanese soldiers and forced into a “comfort station.” These were places where young women, many still teenagers, were taken and repeatedly assaulted by Japanese soldiers. Hak-sun endured months of violence before escaping with the help of a Korean man who visited one of the stations. She later married him and had two children, but her husband was often cruel, calling her names because of her past. After his death, and after losing her children to illness, Hak-sun lived in poverty, working odd jobs in Seoul.
For decades, she carried her pain in silence. Speaking about being a “comfort woman” was considered shameful, and survivors feared rejection from their families and communities. But in 1991, nearly fifty years after the end of World War II, Hak-sun made a historic decision. On August 14, she bravely testified before the public, becoming the first woman in Korea to share her story about life as a comfort woman.
Her voice opened the door for hundreds of other survivors across Asia, from Korea, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, and beyond to come forward. Together, they revealed the scale of the Japanese military’s system of sexual slavery. Their testimonies pushed the Japanese government to finally acknowledge its role. In 1993, Japan issued the Kono Statement, admitting that women had been forced into the system through coercion.
Hak-sun did not stop at one testimony. She became a leading activist, speaking at rallies and joining lawsuits that demanded reparations and an official apology from Japan. She regularly appeared at the Wednesday Demonstrations, weekly protests held in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. These demonstrations began in 1992 and continue to this day, calling for justice for the surviving “comfort women.”
Even as she grew ill, Hak-sun’s voice never wavered. In one of her final interviews in 1997, just months before her death, she explained why she first decided to speak: “I started sharing my story because I had to say what I wanted to say before I died. I am furious! After all that Japan has done, nothing has changed!”
Hak-sun passed away from lung disease on December 16, 1997. But her courage left a lasting legacy. August 14, the date of her first testimony, is now recognized in South Korea as the official Day of Comfort Women. On this day each year, people remember her bravery and honor all the women whose voices were silenced for too long.
Hak-sun’s testimony also inspired survivors from around the world to demand justice, even into their 80s and 90s. Women like Ok-sun Lee, Il-chul Kang, Bok-dong Kim, and Yongsoo Lee continued to protest, declaring that dignity and truth could never be bought or erased. Their words carried the same determination as Hak-sun’s, proving that her choice to speak out had changed history.
Kim Hak-sun’s story is not only about suffering but also about strength. For decades, she lived with unimaginable pain in silence. But when she spoke, she spoke for thousands of others who had been silenced. She showed the world that truth, once revealed, cannot be ignored. Her life reminds us that even one voice can break through years of silence and change the course of history.
References:
“70 Years on, the ‘Comfort Women’ Speaking Out so the Truth Won’t Die.” Amnesty International, 11 Oct. 2021, www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2015/09/70-years-on-comfort-women-speak-out-so-the-truth-wont-die.
“Kim Hak Sun.” Project Sonyeo, www.projectsonyeo.com/kim-hak-sun.
Keywords:
Civil Rights, Justice, Courage, Perseverance, Freedom, Responsibility, Challenge Injustices, Stand Up for Your Beliefs
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Kim Hak-Sun Artworks
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Kim Hak-Sun - Discovery Award 2022
