On October 1st, the Korean Council, which is the Joint Countermeasure Committee to Prevent Demolition of Donducheon's Old STD Management Center(Coalition of NGOs), visited the <Dongducheon Peace Culture Festival against the demolition of the old STD Management Center>. To remember and protect the center, the Korean Council participated in the petition campaign, the festival, and the street march.
The STD management centers were places where women, often called U.S. military "Comfort women," were forcibly confined to managing and curing STDs. Thousands of women were illegally detained at the center and given massive doses of penicillin until they were declared cured. In September 2022, the South Korean Supreme Court recognized the torts and crimes against humanity of the state (South Korea) and ruled the state to give reparations to the victims.
The centers and sites of state crimes are now all gone, with only one remaining in Dongducheon. The old STD management center in Dongducheon is evidence of militarism, war, a developing country with sexual exploitation, colonization/division, and a symbol that reminds us to reflect on and remember the past for non-recurrence. It is a site of memory that empathizes with the lives and suffering of the victims and honors their sacrifice and courage. However, the city of Dongducheon has announced that it will demolish the center. A tent vigil protest is still going on all night to protect it. It is time for everyone's hearts to come together to defend the center from demolition.
The Korean Council opposes all wartime sexual violence and sexual exploitation, including militarism and war. We will do our best to ensure that the center is not demolished and remains open as an educational center for human rights and peace.
On October 1st, the Korean Council, which is the Joint Countermeasure Committee to Prevent Demolition of Donducheon's Old STD Management Center(Coalition of NGOs), visited the <Dongducheon Peace Culture Festival against the demolition of the old STD Management Center>. To remember and protect the center, the Korean Council participated in the petition campaign, the festival, and the street march.
The STD management centers were places where women, often called U.S. military "Comfort women," were forcibly confined to managing and curing STDs. Thousands of women were illegally detained at the center and given massive doses of penicillin until they were declared cured. In September 2022, the South Korean Supreme Court recognized the torts and crimes against humanity of the state (South Korea) and ruled the state to give reparations to the victims.
The centers and sites of state crimes are now all gone, with only one remaining in Dongducheon. The old STD management center in Dongducheon is evidence of militarism, war, a developing country with sexual exploitation, colonization/division, and a symbol that reminds us to reflect on and remember the past for non-recurrence. It is a site of memory that empathizes with the lives and suffering of the victims and honors their sacrifice and courage. However, the city of Dongducheon has announced that it will demolish the center. A tent vigil protest is still going on all night to protect it. It is time for everyone's hearts to come together to defend the center from demolition.
The Korean Council opposes all wartime sexual violence and sexual exploitation, including militarism and war. We will do our best to ensure that the center is not demolished and remains open as an educational center for human rights and peace.