1. Kim Hak-sun is the first woman in Korea to come forward publicly and testify her experience as a comfort woman for the Japanese military.
28 Facts About Kim Hak-sun
1. 2.
Kim Hak-sun was the first of what would become hundreds of women from Korea, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and the Netherlands who came forward to tell their stories of their enslavement to the Imperial Japanese military.
3.
Kim Hak-sun was inspired to finally take her story public after 40 years of silence by the growth of the women's rights movement in South Korea.
4.
Kim Hak-sun died in 1997 and her court case was still ongoing.
5.
Kim Hak-sun's parents had originally resided in Pyongyang, however they had to move to China because of oppression by Japan.
6.
Kim Hak-sun's biological father was a Korean independence activist who had spent his days and nights supporting the independence army.
7.
Kim Hak-sun returned to Pyongyang with her mother after the death of her father, who died when she was only three months old.
8.
Kim Hak-sun had a difficult time becoming accustomed to her stepfather and eventually rebelled, causing her mother to send her to live with a foster family who trained kisaeng.
9.
Kim Hak-sun attended the academy for two years where she learned many forms of entertainment, including the art of dance, song, and pansori, among other things.
10.
Kim Hak-sun graduated at the age of 17 and was thus unable to obtain a license to work as a kisaeng, which required a minimum age of 19.
11.
Kim Hak-sun was abducted by other Japanese soldiers and was taken to a comfort station where she was forced to work as a comfort woman along with four other Korean women.
12.
Kim Hak-sun lived in a refugee camp in Seoul for three months, where her daughter died from cholera.
13.
Kim Hak-sun's son died of a heart attack while swimming at sea.
14.
Kim Hak-sun could disclose the truth of Japanese military's comfort station and disastrous life of the victims.
15.
Kim Hak-sun was 67 years old when she made the first testimony in 1991.
16.
Kim Hak-sun was coercively taken to Japanese military's comfort station which was located in China at the age of 17 by a Japanese military officer.
17.
Kim Hak-sun was able to escape from the comfort station after three months with the help of a merchant from Korea.
18.
Kim Hak-sun married him and gave birth to two children.
19.
Kim Hak-sun condemned Korean people who had been "clinging to Japan" while there was painful history they should remember.
20.
Kim Hak-sun stressed that people must be aware of the seriousness of the "comfort women" problem.
21.
Kim Hak-sun's testimony was the starting point that the issue of comfort women had come to light in the world.
22.
Kim Hak-sun revealed her suffering in the comfort station in the book of collection of victims' testimonies, Korean Comfort Women Who Were Taken Away by Force.
23.
Kim Hak-sun actively participated in rallies and protests which were held in front of the Embassy of Japan in Korea.
24.
Kim Hak-sun felt distraught and even regretted making the testimony.
25.
Kim Hak-sun claimed to record the fact that Japan had not apologized and compensated on history books.
26.
In 1997, Kim Hak-sun delivered her steadfast opinion about the issue of comfort women during the interview.
27.
Kim Hak-sun was infuriated thinking about the inhumane environment she was forced to be situated in.
28.
Kim Hak-sun had managed to escape the comfort station alive, but many other victims were murdered.