International Memorial Day for “Comfort Women” 2021 Essay Contest — Winners and Finalists Announced!

August 14, 2021 was International Memorial Day for Comfort Women and the 30th anniversary of the testimony of Kim Hak-sun, the first survivor to come forward willingly and publicly.  

Last year, we had a video project about Kim Hak-sun’s groundbreaking testimony [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmD-1qoWlwQ].

This year, we expanded on the meaning of testimony and asked students to read and consider the memoirs of two survivors — Jan Ruff O’Herne (Netherlands) and Maria Rosa Henson (Philippines).

The students analyzed and wrote about a troubling thread that Comfort Women have had to contend with — which is that they are unreliable witnesses, their testimonies are not perfect, and on those grounds, deniers and skeptics, including leading voices in the Japanese government, have sought to discredit the history in its entirety.

We are thrilled to announce the WINNERS and FINALISTS!

WINNERS:  Arim Lee and Sol Choi

FINALISTS:  Dara Kang and Yong Qi Deng

Read their essays at https://bit.ly/cwmemorialday2021 [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeFpDkQGHQW8hV62gys8bn_wVJf3yNYy2k9c8rsDS5Uoory_w/viewform].  We will also be posting their essays on our website.

Congratulations to Arim, Dara, Sol, and Yong Qi!

Thank you to all of the students who participated!  This was a challenging subject, and we will have more opportunities like this in the future.

Watch our online event with the student award recipients here [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMudLdl8tJs]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:  This essay competition would not have been possible without the support and kindness of many friends and allies.  Thank you to each and every one of you.

Guest Judges:  traci kato-kiriyama (tkk), Kathleen Collins, Sandra Fahy, and Maki Kimura

Volunteers:  Jinah Kim, Yunji Hwang, and Katrina Maghirang

Community Co-Sponsors:  

• Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress (NCRR)
• YWCA Glendale and Pasadena (YWCA GP)
• Progressive Asian Network for Action (PANA)
• Pacific Asian Nuclear-Free Peace Alliance (PANPA)
• Center for the Pacific Asian Family (CPAF)
• Korean American Family Services (KFAM)
• Thai Community Development Center (Thai CDC)
• Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California (PWC)
• Korean American Coalition of Los Angeles (KAC-LA)
• Peace Over Violence (POV)

Special thanks to Carol Ruff, daughter of Jan Ruff O’Herne.