Riga, March 8 — In commemoration of International Women’s Day, the event “Summ: Breath of Resilience” was held at St. Saviour’s Anglican Church in Riga, Latvia. Co-hosted by activists in Latvia and the Korean Council, the event featured an exhibition and cultural performances to share the stories of victims and survivors of the Japanese military sexual slavery, as well as wartime sexual violence more broadly.
Held at St. Saviour’s Anglican Church—historically significant as the parish where the first female bishop of the Anglican Church once served—the venue symbolized the ideals of equality, diversity, and remembrance.
The event served as a platform to present survivor testimonies, photo displays, and cultural performances to the local community. The aim was to highlight that the issue of Japanese military sexual slavery is not merely a diplomatic conflict between South Korea and Japan, but a grave war crime and violation of human rights targeting women and children, vulnerable groups in times of conflict.
The performance told the story of Korean girls who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II and who later transformed into powerful human rights activists. Their journey was woven together with photographs and works of Ukrainian women—survivors of the ongoing war—who are now poets, artists, psychologists, and advocates for healing.
The event concluded with traditional Korean and Ukrainian musical performances, poetry readings, a candle-lighting ceremony, and an introduction to the symbolic Statue of Peace, which commemorates the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery.
Through this meaningful cultural program, participants paid tribute to the lives of wartime survivors while symbolically transforming the suffocating silence of trauma into the life-giving breath of resilience. It was a shared act of remembrance, healing, and solidarity.
Held at St. Saviour’s Anglican Church—historically significant as the parish where the first female bishop of the Anglican Church once served—the venue symbolized the ideals of equality, diversity, and remembrance.
The event served as a platform to present survivor testimonies, photo displays, and cultural performances to the local community. The aim was to highlight that the issue of Japanese military sexual slavery is not merely a diplomatic conflict between South Korea and Japan, but a grave war crime and violation of human rights targeting women and children, vulnerable groups in times of conflict.
The performance told the story of Korean girls who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II and who later transformed into powerful human rights activists. Their journey was woven together with photographs and works of Ukrainian women—survivors of the ongoing war—who are now poets, artists, psychologists, and advocates for healing.
The event concluded with traditional Korean and Ukrainian musical performances, poetry readings, a candle-lighting ceremony, and an introduction to the symbolic Statue of Peace, which commemorates the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery.
Through this meaningful cultural program, participants paid tribute to the lives of wartime survivors while symbolically transforming the suffocating silence of trauma into the life-giving breath of resilience. It was a shared act of remembrance, healing, and solidarity.