Does a Korean scholar`s book defame former comfort women?

Dear Koreans,

When Korea was annexed to the Empire of Japan, there were journalists who opposed it in Japan. One of them was Ishibashi Tanzan. He urged Japan to give up its colonies in Korea and Taiwan and even in Manchuria. He became a politician after the end of World War II and later a prime minister of Japan, only to resign soon because of his illness.

He was a man who advocated freedom of press and loved peace. In Japan, there are two prizes honoring his will -- the Ishibashi Tanzan Prize and the Waseda Journalism Award in Memory of Ishibashi Tanzan. In fact, I am this year`s winner of the former. However, what I would like to mention in this article is the latter. Park Yu-ha, a professor of modern Japanese literature at Sejong University in Seoul and the author of "Comfort Women of the Empire," receives the award at Waseda University today. She has already won an Asia-Pacific Award by the Japanese daily Mainichi Shimbun.

"Comfort Women of the Empire," which has also been published in Japan, calls for realistic solution to the World War II sex slavery issue by urging both Korea and Japan to shake off comfort women`s extreme images that exist only in the two countries and face the fact that there were various types of comfort women. Ironically, however, she has been sued by nine former comfort women for libel and indicted on criminal charges.

I am concerned if her winning of Japanese awards might lead some Koreans to believe that her book is actually "pro-Japanese." Please, do not misunderstand. Her award is given by Waseda University, her alma mater, in honor of Ishibashi Tanzan. In addition, the Japanese daily that gave the Asia-Pacific Award opposes Japan`s right turn.

As some of you might know, 54 people in Japan, including five non-Japanese ones, issued a statement protesting her indictment a week after that. They were writers, scholars and journalists, including myself, who cherish Japanese ties with Korea and have a humble view of history. One of them is a former politician who tried to resolve the comfort woman issue. What prompted such a large number of people to quickly get together was their surprise caused by the treatment of her book like a crime. We do not want to intervene in internal matter of our neighbor but could not stand by and watch the situation because the matter involves the Korea-Japan relations.

I was relieved to see Korean intellectuals to also issue a statement protesting her indictment. Those who criticize Park also issued a statement but they said it was "not right" to hold her criminally liable. I pay my respect to Korea as a democratic country.

As the book uses acute expressions for a delicate issue and thus could be easily misunderstood. It is regrettable that she has been sued by some elderly ladies because of emotional twists. One might say that the author was not careful enough.

At least to me, however, the book never sounded as if it was insulting the ladies. To the contrary, I was inundated by their heavy and complex scars.

Some critics say that Park called the comfort women "voluntary prostitutes." It is just not true. She takes many examples of Korean women who were forcefully or deceitfully recruited while telling the stories of some who had no choice but to sell their bodies because of poverty. Who could deny the fact that there were such women in those days? Even if they did, who could despise them for doing so?

Park`s description of "camaraderie" between comfort women and Japanese soldiers is also a target of misunderstanding. But think deeply. Humiliating it may be, those women were sent to frontlines as Japanese and shared the fate with soldiers while confronting the enemies. Under such extreme circumstances, delicate camaraderie can happen whether one likes it or not.

Many Korean men were killed in action during the war while fighting side by side with Japanese soldiers. We cannot blame them. I think that in fact, such a reality shows the deep sadness of the annexed and that those who annexed Korea and dragged Koreans to a reckless war are responsible. Could it not be the duality of tragedy stemming from the social structure with disdain for women that Park really wanted to tell in her book?

(Written by Yoshibumi Wakamiya, senior fellow of Japan Center for International Exchange and former chief editor of the Asahi Shimbun)