Who are the comfort women?
The Japanese army’s comfort women were sex slaves during the period of Japanese imperialism. Japan proposed the comfort women system in 1932 and installed it in 1937. The reasons were to prevent venereal disease and raise the morale of its soldiers. The number of victims has been estimated from 50,000 to hundreds of thousands. The women who were forced into this life varied in age. Many women were captured by the Japanese and deceived into believing that they would be given work. The Japanese army’s comfort women have lived in emotional and physical pain ever since.

The Korean government’s efforts to gain compensation and reveal the truth
The Korea Chongshindae’s Institute was created in July of 1990 and the Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (KCWDMSSJ) was created in November of 1990. Shared housing has also been provided for the victims. In February of 1992, the government started managing reporting centers for victims, and 234 victims made claims. Of the original claimants, only 63 are still alive. Most victims have faced difficult economic situations, so the government has provided small apartments for them. The Korean government has called for formal recognition and an apology at the Korea-Japan summit in 1992. Although there was some progress, the situation remains unresolved.

Contents of the Korea-Japan treaty of 1965
The treaty between Korea and Japan regarding this issue was signed on June 22nd, 1965. The contents of the treaty are fairly basic. The treaty is composed of 4 major agreements and 25 lesser agreements. The treaty process was initiated when Korea changed to a military government in 1951. The KCIA (Korean Central Intelligence Agency) director, Kim Jong Pill met with foreign minister Ohira Masayoshi in Tokyo. They arranged a compromise measure and exchanged memos about a claim for damages and the issue of legal status. However, after the treaty documents were opened to the public in 2005, it was verified that the problems of legal liability and compensation were not solved.

Japan’s position about the comfort women
The most significant obstacle to a resolution is that Korea’s and Japan’s positions on the issue are too far apart. The Japanese government has officially stated that its business dealing with the comfort women is finished. According to the Japanese government, they have already paid fair compensation to estates and private claims. They also believe they have given realistic assistance for victim welfare and medical treatment after World War Ⅱ. Therefore, the Japanese government insisted they have already apologized to the comfort women sincerely and have had to do so continually ever since.

Korea’s position about the comfort women
Korea continues to insist that Japan has not fully addressed any of the real issues regarding the comfort women. Many individuals and organizations feel that the contents of the treaty do not adequately address the problem after they examined it closely in 2005. Korea insisted that the two countries renegotiate the terms of the treaty. There is international precedent for the renegotiation of signed treaties. France and Germany renegotiated a treaty about compensation for damage done by Germany during World War II. Germany has had to accept responsibility for starting the war and formally apologize for invading other countries in Europe as well as to the Jewish community continually after the war. Therefore Korea believes that Japan should renegotiate the treaty and apologize formally to the comfort women. Even after years of international criticism Japan has still not issued a formal apology, nor has it properly compensated the victims. The Korean government is not without blame either. They failed to accurately state the problems of the comfort women in the Korea-Japan treaty. For that reason, the issue of the comfort women has been ongoing up to present times.

Wednesday Demonstrations by victims of Japan's comfort women policy
The Wednesday Demonstrations have been ongoing since Japanese prime minister Kiichi Miyazawa visited on January 8th, 1992. This demonstration was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running demonstration subject in history on December 14th, 2011. It breaks its own record every week. The victims have requested action from Japan on the following seven articles: acknowledgement of its war crimes, reveal the truth in its entirety about the crimes of military sexual slavery, make an official apology, make legal reparations, punish those responsible for war crimes, accurately record the crimes in history textbooks, erect a memorial for the victims of the military sexual slavery, and establish a historical museum. The demonstration is held in front of the Japanese embassy every Wednesday at 12 p.m. The KCWDMSSJ hosts, and several civic groups, speakers and the general citizenry participate in the demonstration. It starts with an opening song, then they report on progress, and introduce participating parties. Then some participating parties urge Japan's government to accept responsibility, and all participating parties sing a joint song. After reading a statement, the demonstration breaks up.

Jae-Hong Park The Authority of Shared Housing
Q) When the Korea-Japan treaty in 1965 was signed, why did both governments not mention the matter of the comfort women? A) If Japan discussed compensation regarding the matter of the comfort women, it would have been the same as admitting their fault. So, they did not mention it. At that time Korea's international power was so weak that they were unable to insist on its inclusion. However, President Lee Myeong Bak discussed the matter of the comfort women for the first time in November, 2011 even though the talks were not formal.

Q) What can university students do to help the comfort women? A) When we look at volunteer activities for comfort women in Korea, there are more middle and high school students involved than university students. I think it is because university students are having a hard time dealing with high tuition and employment issues. However, university students can participate in the process by showing their concern. The matter of the comfort women should remain in the public conscience. It is not enough that we pay attention only on special days such as March 1st (Independence Movement Day), August 15th (National Liberation Day), and the 1000th Wednesday Demonstration. In short, this matter can be solved through the people’s continuous interest and the government's strong positioning.

Dong-Hee Kim The authority of the KCWDMSSJ
Q) What does the KCWDMSSJ do? A) We take care of survivors who live all over the country. In addition, we have many businesses to benefit them. We manage shelters, host the Wednesday Demonstration, and work to achieve international solidarity. We also work with international organizations to inform the world about the comfort women's problems and how the Japanese government has violated international law. Moreover, we work for international solidarity with Japanese citizens and civic groups because this problem should be solved by passing a law in Japan. Above all, we want to educate the public and promote awareness about this problem.

Q) What does the KCWDMSSJ have planned for 2012? A) First, the War and Women's Human Rights Museum will open. Also, the Japanese government will be forced to be more considerate of the issue this year because all nations involved with the Human Rights Council including Japan are evaluated every four years. Japan will be evaluated in this year. Therefore, NGOs in Korea and Japan will combine their efforts and urge the Japanese government to come to a resolution. In addition, the Japanese army's comfort women problem will be part of the March Professional Council Report of the ILO (International Labor Organization), so we will assist movements to censure the Japanese government by helping the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. In August, for the National Liberation Day commemoration, we will hold a world solidarity assembly as part of the 1000th assembly and work toward solidarity with civic groups to solve this problem through the passing of a law.

Q) What can university students do? A) First of all they need to pay attention. We all use Twitter, so we should share our thoughts about this issue through Twitter for just 1 hour, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. every Wednesday. The important thing is that people do not forget about it. The victims say "Just don't forget about us," too. Remembering continuously is not easy. Twitter gives students a platform from which they can act, too. I hope that you realize that small actions from many individuals can make big things happen.

We have looked into the Wednesday Demonstration and how we as university students understand the issue and what we can do to take action. The seven articles of demands from the victims have not been addressed and the issues remain unresolved. However, Japan repeatedly claims that they already paid compensation agreed upon in the Korea-Japan treaty and refuses to issue a formal apology. Of course, it should be pointed out that the Korean government has not tried to resolve this problem actively, either. However, public awareness can change many things. One of the most important factors in addressing the issue should be university students. History has shown that when Korean university students have lasting interest and take action, any problem can be solved.

Address ◈ Letters to victims: http://cafe.daum.net/houseofsharing ◈ Official twitter of Japanese premier: @JPN_PMO(http://twitter. com/#!/JPN_PMO), @Kantei(http://twitter.com/#!/kantei)