comfort women in korean WAR

[caster51]

http://www.amazon.com/Sex-Among-Alli.../dp/0231106432

U.S. military-oriented prostitution in Korea is not simply a matter of women walking the streets and picking up U.S. soldiers for a few bucks. It is a system that is sponsored and regulated by two governments, Korean and American (through the U.S. military).The U.S. military and the Korean government have referred to such women as "bar girls," "hostesses," "special entertainers," "businesswomen," and "comfort women." Koreans have also called these women the highly derogatory names, yanggalbo (Western *****) and yanggongju (Western princess)



The vast majority of these women have experienced in common the pain of contempt and stigma from the mainstream Korean society. These women have been and are treated as trash, "the lowest of the low," in a Korean society characterized by classist (family/educational status-oriented) distinctions and discrimination. The fact that they have mingled flesh and blood with foreigners (yangnom) 4 in a society that has been racially and culturally homogeneous for thousands of years makes them pariahs, a disgrace to themselves and their people, Korean by birth but no longer Korean in body and spirit. Neo-Confucian moralism regarding women's chastity and strong racialist conscience among Koreans have branded these women as doubly "impure." The women themselves bear the stigma of their marginalization both physically and psychologically. They tend not to venture out of camptowns and into the larger society and view themselves as "abnormal," while repeatedly referring to the non-camptown world as "normal." Once they experience kijich'on life, they are irreversibly tainted: it is nearly impossible for them to reintegrate themselves into "normal" Korean society. Kim Yang Hyang, in the documentary The Women Outside, recalls how her family members rejected her when she returned to her village after working for a time in the kijich'on. One of her cousins told her, "Don't come around our place."



"Too different" was a polite way of saying what many Korean activists and academics today, even those who advocate on behalf of the former Korean "comfort women" to the Japanese military in World War II, still believe--kijich'on prostitutes work in the bars and clubs because they voluntarily want to lead a life of prostitution, because they are lacking in moral character. This kind of academic and activist negligence of kijich'on prostitutes is a function of the Korean society's bias against these women--that they are an "untouchable" class, that they have already departed so far from the norms and values of mainstream society to deserve consideration of the political, economic, and cultural sources of their unenviable existence.




American Town is like many of the other numerous camptowns near or adjoined to major U.S. military camps in South Korea. Like no other places in Korea, Americans and Koreans together make up the residents of the kijich'on.



What distinguishes American Town from the other camptowns is its physical isolation--it is completely walled off, with a guard posted at the gate--and its"incorporated" status. American Town is not simply a place; it is a corporation, with a president and board of directors who manage all the businesses and people living and working in it. The corporation headquarters occupies a small building within the walled compound. Originally, the Town was constructed in the early-to-mid 1970s through funds from both the local government and Seoul........

I wonder how many korean was forced?

[KirinMan]

Yeah prostitution exists, it has been called the "world's oldest profession" and I don't doubt that the US or Korean governments doubt that it occurs within the borders of Korea. It doesnt justify Japan's past.

Btw it happens here in Japan as well and not just with the US military would you like me to start a thread about the women brought to Japan even today to work in the "soaplands" , caberets, and other places as well, to satisfy the Japanese population of men? I wonder how many Japanese women are coerced into this type of work today here in Japan?

This really ends up going nowhere don't you think?

[caster51]

. It doesnt justify Japan's past.

here is ..
it is not about japan.....
please get back the topic

[KirinMan]

Originally Posted by caster51

here is ..
it is not about japan.....
please get back the topic

Caster come on now if you take a look at your posts on any number of threads discussing issues like this you go off topic so often in making your points that coming from you this "please get back on the topic" comment is black humour at best. .

What is your point in bringing up the issue of Korean prostitutes, on a forum like this one here?

Are you really concerned about prostitution in Korea?

[pipokun]

If the military brothel is an intolerent atrocity as you may say, I don't know why the issue had been nothing until Japanese adovates claimed.
I think Korean people have been the most proud people in the world.
http://www.jref.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19018
It is sad that some Japanese women hired as "maid" were killed in the Korean war.

All I can say is to tackle human traficking now. I heard 20% Koreans, you may call undocumented/illegal immigrants, in the US are the victims.

[KirinMan]

If the military brothel is an intolerent atrocity as you may say, I don't know why the issue had been nothing until Japanese adovates claimed.

pipokun if that was directed towards me my point is not about the military brothel's it is about this thread in general.

Why is a thread about Korean prostitution being discussed on a Japanese Forum?

If Caster is that concerned why doesnt he jump over to a Korean forum and discuss this issue there?

[justinod]

This is ridiculous! Do you actually think that the US Government somehow controls these women? I don't think so. I have been to these shady areas such as Texas Street. These women have looked for a way to make money just like the whores on any streetcorner in every port that the US Navy goes to. This is SIMPLE ECONOMICS!
If there were thousands of customers that wanted said product and would pay dearly for it, there would be plenty of people lined up to sell it to them. If you think that someone is forcing these women to do this, don't look at the US, its military or the men who work for it; look at the pimps who run the bars there.

[KirinMan]

Originally Posted by justinod

This is ridiculous! Do you actually think that the US Government somehow controls these women? I don't think so. I have been to these shady areas such as Texas Street. These women have looked for a way to make money just like the whores on any streetcorner in every port that the US Navy goes to. This is SIMPLE ECONOMICS!
If there were thousands of customers that wanted said product and would pay dearly for it, there would be plenty of people lined up to sell it to them. If you think that someone is forcing these women to do this, don't look at the US, its military or the men who work for it; look at the pimps who run the bars there.

It is just a thread to deflect from the "real" issue of the comfort women during WWII, please dont get too riled up about this, it's just camoflauge.

Cheers!

[pipokun]

Originally Posted by Obeika

It is just a thread to deflect from the "real" issue of the comfort women during WWII, please dont get too riled up about this, it's just camoflauge.
Cheers!

How about the US military brothels during WWII?

Again, tell me what sort of education you got about the brothel at school.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think Americans learned nothing, for I've never heard of any ridiculous argument, such as apology or compensation, in the US or any other countries.
I don't think the military brothel is a war crime at all, so I don't care if you did not know anything about yours.

[KirinMan]

so I don't care if you did not know anything about yours.

Ok so if you don't care then what is the point of bringing it up in the first place?

Does it bother you so much that us "foreigners" know so much about the Japanese indiscretions?

[pipokun]

Originally Posted by Obeika

...
Does it bother you so much that us "foreigners" know so much about the Japanese indiscretions?

I remember you said somewhere, something like "I am the only one who can teach my kids from viewpoints of Japan and the US.

I am fully aware that this kinds of argument tend to be autotelic, criticism for criticism. Just look at the history of this issue.
At first, Japanese adovocates broke out the fire saying "we found the ultimate secrets of Japan".
Then nationalistic Asians, mainly Koreans, poured gasonline.
Now the issue turns not to be for the women. I don't know why some women had to be criticized because they took the compensation from Japan.

[KirinMan]

I remember you said somewhere, something like "I am the only one who can teach my kids from viewpoints of Japan and the US.

Yes you got that part right, it isn't going to be you or someone else that teaches MY children about Japanese and US history.

And believe this, I am going to do my best to ensure that MY kids know both the decent parts as well as the horrific parts of BOTH countries histories.

[pipokun]

I highly doubt that American kids are taught Japanese maids were killed in the Korean war.
Also, I highly hope that Korean kids will learn many Japanese people were died in the war.

[Goldiegirl]

A lot of people were killed in the war...on all sides. Really it's true.