Kim, Soon-Duk

Kim, Soon-Duk

Kang, Duk-Kyoung

Kim, Soon-Duk

Kang, Duk-Kyoung

“Abduction”

“Inside the boat when I was being dragged away”

“Deprived Purity”

“There, at that time”

“LaVowl Comfort Station”

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Kim, Soon-Duk

“Abduction”

Tonight I went to a 78 year old woman's (Yong-su Lee) birthday party with a new Korean friend who people call "Crazy Frank."  From talking to Frank about the event on my cell phone connection, I heard old woman, birthday party, and comfort women.  I didn't quite understand what he meant, but I was soon to find out.

During World War II, Japanese soldiers kidnapped young Korean girls and used them as sex slaves for the Japanese military.  Visit http://www.nanum.org/eng/index.html for some amazing information.  That site is where I got the paintings you see above.  At the party, I also met a very nice Japanese man named Tsukasa Yajima who lives at the "House of Sharing," which is a museum and a place for the living comfort women to reside.

The "House of Sharing" is the home for the living comfort women who were forced into becoming sex-slaves during World War II.  The House of Sharing Establishment Committee was founded in June 1992 with the purpose of building a home for the living comfort women through raising funds from Buddhist organizations and various circles of society.

The party was really a treat to witness.  There were a lot of people there paying their respects to this very nice woman.  She apparently is well known in Korea and around the world.  She travels a lot giving lectures on the subject of "comfort women" (women who were abducted by the Japanese military and raped during Japan’s colonization of Korea).

She was very kind and allowed me to sit next to her.  Everywhere I go I get treated with much kindness and respect.  Throughout the night there were lots of gifts, food, drink, songs, and music.  Small children played flutes and Junior High School girls sang and played double harmonicas.  The guest of honor even got up and sang a song.  Then she asked ME to sing!  I politely said that I didn't know any songs and don't sing.  I really don't know any songs and I REALLY can't sing one bit.

Me & Yong-su Lee.

She kept looking at me before the flash!

Even though it was her party, she still made sure I was served properly.

Crazy Frank & me.

Damn I'm sexah!

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Me & Yong-su Lee.

I did, however, get up and say that I would speak.  Through Frank's interpretation, I said how it was an honor and pleasure to be at this event and how much I was enjoying myself.  She had received a clock picture earlier in the evening with her in a field of flowers.  I told her and the crowd, that normally a field of flowers is very beautiful, but not next to her.  They paled in comparison.

After the dinner, we went to a HUGE nightclub called Arabian Nights.  The call themselves one of the biggest clubs in Asia.  This 78 year old woman danced almost all night.  I danced with her and some other guests too.  It was an amazing night and a real treat to meet someone who's been through so much.  This women was kidnapped as a child and taken to Shinju, Taiwan where she was a sex slave to kamikaze pilots.  Un-freaking believable...I can only hope to live as long as her and keep on dancing.