Manga on Comfort Women

Disturbing images: Visitors look at some of the manga depicting wartime sexual slavery.. Image credit: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/01/31/national/japans-wartime-sex-slavery-featured-at-manga-festival-in-france/











Visitors view “Butterfly’s Song,” by artists Kim Gwang-sung and Chung Ki-young, which depicts the plight of the women who were sexually enslaved by the Japanese military during World War II. Image credit: http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2984351&cloc=joongangdaily%7Chome%7Ctop

Japan is upset with South Korea and all because of one event – the 'Festival international de la bandedessinee' in Angouleme, France. Or in English, the International Comics Festival – considered the Cannes Film Festival of the comic world and which draws some 200,000 visitors each year, 

This year, there was a special exhibition on sexual slavery of Korean women by the Japanese military during World War II. The exhibit at the 41st annual event kicked off last Thursday and depicts the experiences of those euphemistically known as “comfort women”. 

Over the course of four days, it was estimated that close to 20,000 people gathered at the Korean showcase titled “The Flower That Doesn’t Wilt: I’m the Evidence,” which displayed the works of 19 manhwa, or comic artists, including works from popular graphic novelist Lee Hyun-se, who depicted the brutalities that the victims experienced.

In one narrative, told through 24 pictures viewed from right to left, an artist tells the story of an old grandmother, the victim of sexual slavery, who gradually transforms into a young girl. The piece, drawn by artist Shin Su-ji, is titled “83,” and signifies the number of years since the Manchurian Incident, which sparked Japan’s 1931 invasion of China’s northern region. 

Exhibition attendees could also view an animation clip that introduced former comfort woman Kim Hak-sun, who broke her silence after four decades – a move that encouraged other women from Korea and elsewhere to come forward with their stories and fostered widespread public awareness. 

Franck Bondoux, director of the Angouleme International Comics Festival, said he hoped the exhibit “serves as an opportunity to repent for the past mistakes and errors.” 

Likewise, Raphael Cuir, president of the France office of the International Association of Art Critic (AICA), a nongovernmental organization partnering with UNESCO, said: “A very serious problem for [these] victims is that, for many reasons, they have been deprived the freedom of expression to tell their stories to the world. This problem must be resolved in order to discuss the issue of sexual exploitation. This exhibit serves as an important opportunity for these women to raise their voices to the international community.” 

The story must be told - it is as simple as that.