Centering the Korean "Comfort Women" Survivors (video review)

A review essay on videos directed by (1) Dae Sil Kim-Gibson, Silence Broken: Korean Comfort Women (San Francisco: NAATA, 1999); & Byun Young-Joo, Habitual Sadness: Korean Comfort Women Today (New York: Filmakers Library, 1999). Silence Broken presents the stories of eight Korean comfort women su...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Critical Asian studies 2001-09, Vol.33 (4), p.603-608
Main Author: Soh, C. Sarah
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Japan
Prostitution
Rape
Slavery
South Korea
Testimony
War Crimes
World War II
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Summary:A review essay on videos directed by (1) Dae Sil Kim-Gibson, Silence Broken: Korean Comfort Women (San Francisco: NAATA, 1999); & Byun Young-Joo, Habitual Sadness: Korean Comfort Women Today (New York: Filmakers Library, 1999). Silence Broken presents the stories of eight Korean comfort women survivors, interspersed with dramatized images, & effective archival footage of graphic wartime atrocities. From the very beginning, the film arouses deep sympathy for the women & a quiet rage for the Japanese Imperial Army. It ends with information about the collective activities for redress & the statement that Japan has yet to take legal responsibility. Habitual Sadness reveals the transformative impact of the social support of the international redress movement as well as the strengthened self-respect ten Korean women have experienced living in the House of Sharing established for them by Buddhist supporters in 1992 or in newly constructed modern-style houses in the outskirts of Seoul. The film is a peaceful portrayal of the everyday lives of the survivors & serves as a complement to Silence Broken in giving an understanding of conditions for these victims. L. A. Hoffman
ISSN:1467-2715
1472-6033
DOI:10.1080/146727101760107460