Japan and South Korea finally resolve ‘comfort women’ dispute

By Adrienne Hill, Mukta Mohan
GettyImages-502680202.jpg
A statue of a girl symbolizing the issue of 'comfort women' in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, South Korea. South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung Se and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met to discuss the issue of Korean 'comfort women' in Japanese military brothels before and during World War II.  Adrienne Hill
GettyImages-502680202.jpg
A statue of a girl symbolizing the issue of 'comfort women' in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, South Korea. South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung Se and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met to discuss the issue of Korean 'comfort women' in Japanese military brothels before and during World War II.  Adrienne Hill

Japan and South Korea finally resolve ‘comfort women’ dispute

By Adrienne Hill, Mukta Mohan
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It’s been more than 70 years since the end of World War II, and just this week Japan and South Korea reached an agreement to resolve a dispute over Korean women who served as sex slaves for Japan’s military. They were known as comfort women, and only about 45 of these women are still living. Japan has officially apologized and has offered up an $8.3 million payment.

We talked about this with James Person who studies Korean History at The Woodrow Wilson Center. 

On the significance of this agreement:

 I see it as an end to the ongoing debate and the efforts to get an official apology but the starting point for this period of reflection and it’s a refresh button for the relationship between Japan and Korea. 

Produced by Mukta Mohan