Two Missing Aunts and “Comfort Women”

I have two missing aunts—Japanese took them somewhere, but they never came home.
My grandmother was waiting for them to come home until she died. They never did.

My grandma died in 1984. We did not know what happened to my two missing aunts. After my grandma’s death, some Korean women who served as comfort women revealed their horrible experiences during their ordeal. From this revealing testimony as the starting point, we have learned a bit by bit, little by little about young Korean women who were used sex slaves called “comfort women” or “sprit women” for Japanese soldiers.

They were used—at least some people believed—to give powers and spiritual energies to Heavenly Japanese soldiers in Shanghai, China and Taiwan when Japan was carrying on its war of continental invasion from Manchuria into mid-China via Korea as well as the time of having wars against America. Historian Yoshiaki Yoshimi, who conducted the first academic study on the topic which brought the issue out into the open, estimated the number to be between 80,000 and 200,000. A majority of the comfort women were from Korea, though others were recruited or kidnapped from China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Burma, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

I want to know about my grandma’s two missing daughters—my missing aunts. I want to know what really had happened to them. I want to know more about my two missing aunts because I do not even know them. I do not even know their face. I do not even know how they die. I want to know more about my two missing aunts because they maybe still alive in somewhere. I want to know more about my two missing aunts because I do not even know if they were kidnapped to be comfort women. The only thing we knew was my two missing aunts were in the truck driven by Japanese and taken somewhere. But they never came back home.

Our family had no ideas about my two missing aunts. I have not found any trace of my two missing aunts, but have found traces of numerous other survivors who could have been with my missing aunts. My desire to know my two missing aunts can be partially fulfilled through survivors’ testimonies. In the name of research, I searched and  read testimonies from survivors because I may find stories from survivors who could have been with my two aunts.

Some of whom were only 13 to 16 years old. After being either laboring slaves or sex slaves, these victims could not escape from their brutal conditions in a heavily guarded place.

At this moments, many young girls are raped and sold into the slavery. Our females who are forced into sex slaves experience not only sexual violence but also institutionalized racism. This included my two aunts who were kidnapped by the Heavenly Emperor’s army. My grandmother was waiting for them to come home until she died. They never did.

Many unimaginable brutalities have been committed by men—born of women’s wombs—but raised by the whole world. Thus, our uncorrupted female ancestors were the victims of greed-incited violence.

Many victimes were beating to death. Many were starved to death. Many burning houses with live innocent people inside in their houses while serving sex slaves.

We need to stop these unimaginable brutalities. But my voice is so small, and I am a little person.  Please help me to stop abusing uncorrupted people.

Singing for the Tears of the Moon

Do you know why you are here on this planet at this time?

Our grandmothers sent messages to the world--“Sing to guide those who have gone before us, bury what we carry in the grave” and “Study the minds of those who started wars and violence and heal them without shedding a drop of  blood.”

I see that we need to start a new life without carrying the past; yet this will occur only after honoring the dead.

I have a dream of building a memorial park, a park that honors the dead through the living and the living through the dead. This is to sing for the tears of the moon—our grandmothers—the same moon witnessed our uncles’ and our aunts’ death, the same moon has lived with our history since the beginning, the same moon will shine tonight, the same moon will shine in our children’s future. In the center of the circle, there will be a monument for the dead souls who have gone before us. Their souls will be surrounded by four columns, representing four directions and the four seasons. This is to honor the dead souls as victims of violence. This is to honor the dead souls as victims of war. This is to honor the dead souls as victims of ethnic cleansing. This is to remember the dead souls who died without preparation, like those in The Nanking Massacre, The Indian Massacre, the two atomic bombings in Japan, The Holocaust, The Polish Massacre, The Cambodian Genocide, and the 9/11 attack. This is to remember the dead souls who never came back home after being kidnapped, like my great uncle and my aunts. This is to remember the dead souls whose wings were clipped, so they never had the chance to fly, like my father. At last, this is to mourn with people who lost their loved ones and are still in grief, like the families of those who died in the 9/11 attack. In order to mourn the dead through the living, four columns will be connected by a path with arrows that direct people to walk in a clockwise direction, like summer leading to fall and winter then back to spring. Whoever feels regret for the past and present violence can come to this memorial park to express their sorrow. And whoever wants to say, “Thank you” to the dead souls will be welcomed.