A memorial that commemorates the thousands of Asian women and girls who were sex slaves of the Japanese Imperial Army in World War II. They were called “Comfort Women,” kidnapped from their countries, mostly Korea, China, Indonesia, and the Philippines; some were never able to go back home. The memorial aims to raise awareness of sexual and human trafficking still happening in our world.
The one-ton bronze statue is depicting a seated Asian girl next to an empty chair surrounded by a butterfly-shaped garden. It was created by the couple Kim Woon-Sung and Kim Seo-Kyung, who sculpted 20 similar statues commemorating Comfort Women all over the world.
It is the first kind of a statue in the deep south. Originally, it was supposed to stand near the Center for Civil and Human Rights in downtown Atlanta but was relocated to Brookhaven, a city in Atlanta’s metro area, due to Japanese pressure. It was dedicated on June 30th, 2017, in Blackburn II Park, but moved shortly after the dedication to Blackburn Park, a larger and more accessible location.
Among the 300 people who attended the unveiling ceremony was a guest of honor from Korea – Chul Kang, a survivor of the “Comfort Women” era.
There are nine other memorials in the US and several more all over the world, to remember these women, and to not let their suffering be eliminated from the history pages.
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