Japanese Diplomats Voice Opposition to Second Comfort Woman Statue in EU

(image: Yonhap)

SEOUL, May 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Yi Eun-hi, executive director at Vereins Pung­gyeong Welt­kulturen (Pung-Gyeong Global Cultural Association) has been leading a project to install a “comfort woman” statue at Bonn Women’s Museum in Germany.

This, if realized, will be the second comfort woman statue in Europe after the one erected at the Nepal Himalaya Pavilion in Wiesent, Germany.

The first comfort woman statue in Europe was established by Korean residents of Germany and citizens of Suwon, Korea to commemorate Korean women who were forced to serve as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II.

However, the statue does not display any historical background information due to strong obstruction and pressure from Japan.

The Pung-Gyeong Global Cultural Association was established in December of last year has been trying to reinstall the statue with a proper information board to explain what actually took place during the Japanese colonial era.

Vereins Pung­gyeong Welt­kulturen (Pung-Gyeong Global Cultural Association), largely managed by the locals, gets involved in many initiatives with aims of boosting mutual understanding in global communities through cultural and artistic activities, promoting gender equality, along with educational supports for new comers there.

Japanese diplomats in Germany have been reportedly trying again to stop the museum from installing the comfort woman statue.

They recently visited Marianne Pitzen, the museum’s director,, to complain about the installation, but Pitzen did not agree with their opposition and told them “what’s happened has happened and you cannot dial back the time.”

As Yi and the museum agreed to unveil the statue as scheduled on August 14th, International Memorial Day for Comfort Women, the Pung-Gyeong Global Cultural Association has been trying to raise 70,000 euros (as of late April) to cover the cost of the statue as well as host international symposiums.

Corrections:  An earlier version of this article mistakenly expressed Yi Eun-hi, executive director at Vereins Pung­gyeong Welt­kulturen (Pung-Gyeong Global Cultural Association) as Korean-German activist and made an erroneous information on the organization. Yi Eun-hi, South Korean residing in Germany, who volunteered for this work, is not necessarily engaged in civic activities to this effect; She is a seasoned interpreter/translator while working as a journalist providing insightful pieces of articles regarding varied social issues.

Vereins Pung­gyeong Welt­kulturen (Pung-Gyeong Global Cultural Association), largely managed by the locals, gets involved in many initiatives with aims of boosting mutual understanding in global communities through cultural and artistic activities, promoting gender equality, along with educational supports for new comers there.

Olivia Lee (mjlee@koreabizwire.com)