The House of Sharing is a residence south of Seoul for elderly survivors of Japanese military sexual slavery. It’s supposed to be a refuge and a center for activism. But staff members have made disturbing allegations about the organization that runs the House of Sharing. It’s taken some time to put together this third post…
Every Wednesday, activists gather in Seoul to support the survivors of Japanese military sexual slavery. But counterprotesters gather nearby, calling the movement a fraud and denying the victims’ testimonies. A Japanese expat and longtime ally of the grandmothers explains what’s behind the denials. On Wednesday, May 5, protesters gathered outside the former site of the…
Korea’s elderly survivors of Japanese military sexual slavery continue to fight historical revisionism. How can we support them? One of the grandmothers shares her thoughts in a Zoom interview. “I was not paid when I was in the comfort station in China,” said Lee Ok-Seon Halmeoni. “That’s why I didn’t have any money to buy…
The Japanese military systematically forced hundreds of thousands of women and girls into sex slavery before and during the Second World War. As the survivors grow old, they need us to join their fight to right the wrongs of history. There’s a picture on my computer from 2009 that’s stayed with me: elderly women dancing…
A new generation of Korean animal rights activists is determined to stand up for the defenseless, even if it means leaving their comfort zones. Heeji Yi has become an unstoppable force in the local animal rights scene. She’s attended protests, done vegan education at Cube of Truth events, and organized Save vigils for animals on…
Where Korea’s cyberbullies (and a few cool people) did their thing before the rise of social media. Sometime around 2007, a woman I barely knew started a thread on a message board and addressed it to me. She made sure to tell me to fuck off in the subject line. Another member of the same…
Yiombi Thona, a prominent Congolese refugee activist and human rights educator, talks about the “responsibility crisis” that prevents the world’s nations from meeting their obligations to asylum seekers. It was an honor to interview Yiombi Thona in 2014 for a special issue of Groove Korea to commemorate the magazine’s 100th edition. The theme was “100…
Vegan activists with display monitors gather every week in Myeong-dong, downtown Seoul, and show graphic footage of animal slaughter. Are passers-by making the connection? The first time I observed a Cube of Truth event in Myeong-dong, the busy shopping area in downtown Seoul, I’d followed the group’s activities on social media for some time. The…