aya Greenquist
M
Professor Lile
Professional Interaction
1 Oct. 2020
Outline: Comfort Women Informative Speech
I. Introduction
A. Attention Grabber
1. Imagine walking down the street with your father when a soldier stops him
and begins questioning him. You take a step back, intimidated when all of a
sudden you are abducted by other soldiers and forced into sexual slavery for
the “comfort” of soldiers in the Japanese Imperial Army.
2. This is exactly what happened to Kim Hak-sun.
3. From:
(https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/teaching-about-the-
comfort-women-during-world-war-ii-and-the-use-of-personal-stories-of-the-
victims/)
B. Definition of Comfort Women
1. Women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army
in occupied territories before and during World War II, specifically from
1932-1945.
C. Three Main Points
1. Background Information
2. Apologies/Compensation
3. Current Predicament
D. Thesis
1. I will describe the lives of Comfort Women before and during World War 2,
after World War 2, and their current predicament in the fight for
compensation.
II. Need
A. The world needs further education on this topic because many people outside Korea
or Japan aren’t even aware of what a comfort woman is.
B. Transition
1. So, considering that most committee members do not live in Japan or Korea
currently, I’m here to provide the necessary information.
III. Background Information
A. Who and Where
1. Around 80,000 to 200,000 women
2. Mostly from the Korean Peninsula, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, and
other southeast Asian countries that the Imperial Japanese Army occupied.
3. C itation:
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1550&context=ho
nors201019
B. Life as a Comfort Women
1. Raped 10-50 times a day, with little to no break in between multiple
soldiers. If they refused, they were severely beaten. They were given no
medicine, only medication that would prevent STD’s so they could continue
with their “job”.
2. It is estimated that about ¾ of comfort women did not survive the war.
3. Kim Hak-sun Quote
4. Citation:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5912496/
IV. Apologies/Compensation
A. Apologies
1. 1965 Diplomatic Treaty
a) Japan’s Government denied involvement in sexual slavery in regards
to the military
b) In Confucian nations like Korea and China, where premarital sex is
considered shameful, the subject of the "comfort women" was
ignored for decades after 1945 as the victims were considered
pariahs
2. 1993 Apology
a) Formal apology by Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono
where he admitted to coercion tactics in the seizing of comfort
women
b) Many comfort women found this insincere, and they demanded a
better apology.
3. 2006 Prime Minister Abe
a) When he took over office, he upheld the Kono Statement and
expressed “anew sincere apologies and remorse from the bottom of
his heart to all those who suffered immeasurable pain and incurable
physical and psychological wounds.”
b) Many felt it reflected the formal apology in 1993, which many found
insincere.
c) Despite Abe’s cabinet upholding the Kono Statement, the Japanese
government still denies it’s involvement.
4. Citation:
https://isdp.eu/negotiating-the-comfort-women-issue-in-the-21st-century/
B. Compensation
1. 1965 Diplomatic Treaty
a) Japan and South Korea’s agreement over disputes during Japan’s
colonial rule, this included an $800 million compensation, not
specifically for comfort women
b) Citation:
https://isdp.eu/negotiating-the-comfort-women-issue-in-the-21st-cent
ury/
2. 2015
a) I n 2015, the administration of President Park Geun-Hye and the
Japanese government came toan agreement: the Japanese
government admitted wartime involvement in procuring women for
its soldiers and agreed to set up a fund of one billion yen (about $9
million) to benefit the 46 South Korean comfort women alive at the
time.
b) Citation:
https://thediplomat.com/2017/01/the-final-and-irreversible-2015-japa
n-south-korea-comfort-women-deal-unravels/
V. Current Predicament
A. As of last week, after the death of one of the oldest comfort women left, only 18
registered comfort women victims from South Korea are still alive, they are all in
their 80s and 90s now.
1. Citation:
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2020/03/03/South-Korea-com
fort-woman-dies-18-remain-alive/8641583259586/
B. Twenty people, including survivors of this system of sexual slavery still alive, filed
a lawsuit at the Seoul Central District Court in 2016 demanding compensation from
the Japanese government. The first hearing took place in November 2019, the case
is still ongoing.
1. Citation:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/08/south-korea-lawsuits-again
st-the-japanese-government-last-chance-for-justice-for-comfort-women/
VI. Conclusion
A. Although the Japanese Government has denied involvement with the coercion and
sexual slavery for an extended amount of time, that does not diminish the desire for
compensation and apologies from South Korea. The treatment of comfort women
during World War 2, their subsequent shunning and silence after World War 2, and
their fight for repayment should be more widespread knowledge.
