 She later became a Korean human rights activist who campaigned against sexual slavery and war rape.
(meta data) TITLE: South Korea's 'comfort women' demand apology from Japan for wartime abuse | World News | Sky News Skip to content Watch Live Watch Live # South Korea's 'comfort women' demand apology from Japan for wartime abuse As many as 200,000 women across Asia were forced into prostitution and sexually abused by Japanese soldiers during World War II. ### Lisa Holland Senior news correspondent Fill 2 Copy 11 Created with Sketch. Sunday 27 August 2017 11:21, UK JapanSouth Korea Enduring pain of wartime 'comfort women' Why you can trust Sky News Renewed efforts are being made in South Korea to get a formal apology from Japan over the wartime use of women as sex slaves. Some estimates suggest there were as many as 200,000 so-called "comfort women" abused by Japanese soldiers across Asia as sex slaves, although exact numbers are not known. Victims feel the Japanese government has never sincerely made amends for the acts of its soldiers. Supporters want justice for the women - now in their 80s and 90s - before it is too late. A statue commemorating 'comfort women' in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul There are a growing number of statues in honour of the women in America and Germany. In the South Korean capital Seoul there are regular demonstrations calling for direct compensation from the Japanese government and a formal apology. Han Kuk-Yom, chairwoman of The Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery for Japan, told Sky News: "We want the Japanese government to accept history - they used 200,000 women across Asia as sex slaves. ### More from Japan #### Fukushima nuclear plant to run out of space for radioactive water by 2022 #### Japanese convenience store apologises after rat video goes viral #### Japan successfully tests flying car which hovers steadily for a minute #### Nara deer: Nine dead animals found to have plastic in their stomachs #### Japan: One million people told to evacuate as heavy rain hits Japan #### Japan restarts commercial whaling after a 31-year hiatus "We want them to acknowledge what they did. " There are just 36 comfort women still alive in South Korea - a dwindling number of elderly ladies who still have no peace. Female victims of Japanese wartime abuses, now in their 80s and 90s, continue to suffer We went to a house in Seoul where two of the women live together - their friend, who also lived here, passed away recently. Kim Bok-Dong is 91. She says she was kept as a sex slave for eight years by the Japanese - taken when she was 15 and used in "comfort stations" across Asia. She said: "They told us we were going to factories but put us into a military camp in Taiwan. "We went to Guandong in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Sumatra, Indonesia, Singapore. They dragged us around for eight years. "I was in Singapore when Japan surrendered. The Japanese said we were free to go, but we didn't know where to go. We had no idea where we were. Then they put us into the US military camp and we waited there for months, then we came back to Korea. "My mother couldn't tell anyone about it because it was so shameful. "She used to say, 'How can I see my ancestors in the next life when I have a daughter who I failed to protect?' It disturbed my mother so much she had a breakdown, which I think killed her." Supporters want justice for the women before it is too late Even in her 90s, Kim Bok-Dong is a woman still suffering from what happened to her. She said: "If this hadn't happened I would have had a normal life. "I could have got married. I would have had children. I would have looked after my parents. That's what I wish had happened. As a woman how could I have wished for more than that? "It is something that will live with me forever." For a long time Japan insisted women went with them as willing prostitutes - a notion the victims find abhorrent. Kim Bok-Dong said: "The Japanese continue to deny it. We need Japan to finally admit it. If you do something wrong you should apologise. "Legally they should compensate us. That's what we fight for. You came here and I'm talking to you - please let people know." Japan's Prime Minster offered what he called a "resolution" a few years ago, but supporters of the "comfort women" say it was not enough. ## More stories
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Kim Bok-dong
Abstract.

 Kim Bok-dong (19 April 1926 – 28 January 2019) was among many young women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army.