The Sharing House

Herro! So its been a while since I've posted about living, working and my many adventures in South Korea! But last weekend I did manage to wake up earlier than the crack of noon, get my butt out the door and do something cultural, abeit depressing.

My friend Jessica planned this trip, I was just along for the ride with another one of our friends, Adrienne. After meeting before 9 we made our way to a subway stop I've never been to and have since forgotten to meet up with a big group of predominatly girls.

Why girls? lets talk about the sharing house for a second. During WWII the Japanese treated korea really poorly (and as a result, Koreans really dislike Japan). One of the ways of doing this was by installing "comfort houses" around Asia with Korean girls. I won't get into the details just yet, but these soldiers would go into comfort houses to get what everyboy wants. More history and education to come.

After a nausiating bus ride and a worse taxi ride we were somewhere God forgot, but on a decent looking estate (with western style houses whaaaaaat?) We learned eachother's names, and Jess and I felt out of places since eerybody there majored in rape warfare or did a thesis on the comfort house and we just cruised in thanks to the Lonely Planet. We watched a movie about the hamonis (The Korean word for Grandmother; given to these women as a term of endearment). Everybody started to cry (Except for me and Jess-apparently we're cold hearted).

After a few minutes, we went to the coldest museum of my life. It was intenseeeeee. In there though, we learned a lotttt of a subject I've never even heard of. These girls (usually in their teens) would get kidnapped or sold or tricked out of their homes, and then were forced onto compounds where they were raped 50+ times a DAY. If they spoke up, tried to run or where disobedient, they were tortured, raped more or killed in grusesome ways. If they caught and STD they were made an example of and treated in the least healthy ways. They were forced to wash and reuse the condoms of their rapists. Believe it or not, it actually gets more graphic. This may have been the 2nd most disturbing and distressing museum of my life (after Teol Sleng).

After lunch, we went to meet the Hamonis. THis was akward beyond akward. What do you say to a woman whos gone through something you can't even imagine?? Not only that, but they spoke Korean, so the only thing I could really ask is if they liked the snow. But like grandmothers, they seemed pleased just to have the company (since for obvious reasons its impossible for them to have kids), and they were cute old ladies. They really like entertainers, so we sang some pop songs for them and they seemed pleased. They were kind of fun in an akward type of way.

These women are remarkable though. Although out of the over 200,000 women that were forced into these 'comfort houses' only 89 regestered ones remain. Alot were killed in WWII, alot never made it back to Korea, and a lot never came forward out of shame. Most of these women protest outside the Japanese Embassy every Wednesday demanding an apology from Japan, who claims it never happened. They just had their 900th protest recently, so all the power to them! Japan is just waiting until the rest of the 89 die in hopes that it'll go away, which is so sad.

I can't believe this is one of the things in the history of the world that is just glossed over and ignored. Its disguesting, that Japan treated an entire country like this. These girls had no chance at a normal life, they never married because they never wanted a man to even look at them again. They had their hopes and dreams ripped from them at such a young age.

While I wish I had gone when it was less cold, I am glad I went, learned, and got to meet a few of these women before they passed. I sincerly hope that they get the apology they so deserve, or that people learn about their story by whatever means.
Things like this make me really love and be thankful for where and when I was born. I'm not sure why they had to suffer through things like that and I've had the perfect life, but seeing things like this puts everything into perspective.

God Bless,
Patience and Faith,
ErinJ