Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 10:09, 4 February 2005

US and South Korean use

Recently added: "US had same system in occupied Japan after World War II, and it was stopped by Eleanor Roosevelt. Even South Korea had same system in Korean War and Vietnam War."

References: "

• Molasky, Michael S. American Occupation of Japan and Okinawa, Routledge, 1999. ISBN 0415191947 ISBN 0415260442

• Moon, Katharine H. S. Sex Among Allies, Columbia University Press, 1997. ISBN 0231106424"

The online reference seems to discuss organised prostitution, which is not quite the same thing as CW. Am I missing something? Markalexander100 09:51, 6 Mar 2004 (UTC)

We can know about RAA or Japanese Comfort Women Center for Occupation Force here.

Most of them are wrote in anti-Japanese context. Please read facts among political words.

Also this page says about it too. But "When USA occupation forces to Japan came to Tokyo, what they said first was 'Prepare comfort women club for military officers' Do you know this ?? They loved this club much for long years." is incorrect. It was prepared from Japanese side, stopped in 1946 not "long years", and is not only for officers but also soldiers.

Here is report on Korean kidnapped Comfort Women in Korean War. But it is Japanese text page of Korean News Paper, JoongAng Ilbo. Unfortunately, this page is not accepted machine translation.

Comfort Women system of other nations including South Korea is here.

This is machine translation of a Japanese page. I'm searching English page. Language barrier is serious problem among us.Kadzuwo 12:52, 6 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Language barrier

"Language barrier is serious problem among us." I agree. :) Maybe this would be a better place to put the material, in Japanese? Is there an online reference for a US or Korean government program of rape? Isolated acts of individuals, or paid prostitution, are not the same thing. (I've reverted your edits until we sort something out). Markalexander100 02:18, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC)

RAA was prepared by Japanese side in just same manner of Japanese Comfort Women system. Why don't you understand it? Korean systems are much worst, according to _Korean_ scholars. you can read Japanese pages in English thru machine translations.Kadzuwo 10:30, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Kadzuwo, please feel free to post links to Japanese sources here -- some of us can read them without translation. Jpatokal 02:35, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Wow! Good news!! I recoｍmend a book これでは困る韓国 ISBN 4879195707. This is conversations of two Korean Scholars.

Now, "us"? Are You a group?Kadzuwo 11:30, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

And by the way, the single link on the Japanese page isn't very neutral, with titles like "The Lie of Forced Comfort Women" (慰安婦強制連行のウソ) and criticisms of sources with terms like "silly little book" (インチキ本)... Jpatokal 02:59, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I don't know it. I think just neutral is very difficult about such problems. So, we must see both sides like a good judge. Anyway always we must remember anyone can be a liar occasionally.Kadzuwo 11:30, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Now, is :慰安婦強制連行のウソ "The Lie of Forced Comfort Women"? It is transated as "The lie of comfort-women forcible taking" by my reccomended machine translation.Kadzuwo 11:30, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Saying that RAA women were forced into the job is a minority view, it's your job to produce evidence for it. In particular, do you have a source to back up the bit about "virgins"? Jpatokal 09:52, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Like most of Korean comfort women, they were persuaded in situation they can not say "No". I know a case of Korean comfort women said "No", she did only non-sexual works like laundry for other women.

Please see Japanese page of Recreation and Amusement Association. it has some reference books.Kadzuwo 11:30, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Removed the line regarding official settlement of the comfort women issue since 1) no source was given; 2) if the issue were settled, the following sentence about victims still seeking official compensation and refusing the semi-/unofficial compensation does not make any sense; 3) the issue of comfort women has quite obviously not been officially settled since it is an ongoing obstacle to South Korean-Japanese relations; 4) the statement attributes the settlement to the 1965 normalisation treaty, the text of which is available here on Misplaced Pages, and that treaty is deafeningly silent on the issue.

AFAIK (I'm not the one who wrote the line) the Japanese government's view is that the 1965 normalization treaty closed all outstanding issues between Japan and S. Korea. Many South Koreans obviously disagree on a personal level, but I'm not sure what the SK government's official view on this is...? Jpatokal 12:44, 21 Mar 2004 (UTC)

It seems the 1965 treaty was part of a package which included an "Agreement of Economic Cooperation and Property Claims". I've added that, and made it clear that this is the Japanese position. We also need to do something about the headings. :) Markalexander100 01:51, 23 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I think that's fair. In answer to the question above, the South Korean government's official view is that the treaty was not a settlement of all issues, though they also do not mention comfort women specifically as an outstanding issue. The entire comfort women issue has been conspicuously avoided by both governments and is effectively confined to non- or 'semi'-governmental (as mentioned in the article) activism in both countries.

To put Comfort women under the category of prostitutes is not accurate. They do not get monetary returns for what they are forced into doing. Mandel 11:40, Aug 26, 2004 (UTC)

Hmmm that depends. {Prostitute = Paid Sex Worker} is correct and incorrect. Prostitute could simply means women who work on brothel or women who provide sexual service. Otherwise, used of words such as "Forced Prostitution" won't happen. Having said it, in the context of "comfort women" destinction of "forced prostitution" would be unambigious and non-PC so will leave at that. FWBOarticle

I agree that by the dictionary definition (just one online example)and by common English usage a "women who works in a brothel" providing sex acts is QED a prostitute. It doesn't matter whether or not they are paid by each "customer" or indeed, even paid at all.

On the other hand, the word "prostitute" has pejorative connotations far beyond it's dictionary definition. Especially given the subject at hand, it might be wiser to adopt more neutral language when possible. "Woman who works in a military brothel" doesn't have nearly the bite that "prostitute" does. Another possibly more neutral expression would be "sex worker".

On a somewhat related subject, that may be somewhat obscured by the very term "comfort women"--were there no, none, zero, nada boys or men involved as sex workers in this military brothel system? That seems beyond belief, given the wide extent of the system and relatively large numbers of people involved. If any such men or boys were involved in this system, it would seem that they deserve at least a small mention in an article on the subject.

Bhugh 03:52, 30 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Major Rewrite

Done major rewrite. Feel free to correct my engrish or any NPOV problems. I'm going to bed. Good night. FWBOarticle 05:47, 28 Aug 2004 (UTC)

I probably need rewrite the last section. It was basically attempt to put togeter info like RAA or Korean Military Brothel system. It is pretty much Me-steal-but-others-steal-too-so-I-should-get-off argument. I will try to do better contextualisation. FWBOarticle 22:57, 29 Aug 2004 (UTC)

The comfort women question is a very complex issue. I should know I've been working on it for the last five years ( more specifically on the issue as it is presented in the English speaking newspapers of Korea). What strikes me in this comment page is that people try to demonstrate that one systeme was worse than another . Prostitution as a whole is horrible; forced prostitution even more . 

Now to make it really clear the japanese governement acknowledge the suffering of the comfort women, go check the MOFAT website, but do not want to directly compensate them ( they want to establish private funds publicly financed ). Offers have been made since the 1990's, but they were dismissed as to little and too late by the Comfort Women. What they really want is an official apology and enough money to finish their lives decently . It is striking to see that most of the victims still alive are in poverty and subsist ( in Korea ) thanks to the governement money . Which at any rate is far than enough. I personnaly believe that the women are victimized a second time by the debate on wether they were forcefully drafted or not . You may check horrendous comments on Amazon.com where japenese readers bombastically dismiss any books that would cover the atrocities committed by their troops during WWII. This is not to say that Japanese are brutes, my fellow frenchmen were also commiting war crimes in Indochina and Algeria we have yet to put them to trials.