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ABSTRACT
Diaspora politics, coalition building, and the gender rights movement have come together to bring about the unexpected: the public memorialization in the United States of “comfort women,” young women from across Asia forced to provide sexual services to the Japanese Imperial Army during the 1930s and 1940s. In this article, we explore how local politics in the United States became the site of competing narratives over the comfort women, and debates over erecting memorials or statues in honor of these women on public land. Our analysis builds on the existing literature on the role of diaspora in international and local politics but also adds the important dimension of changing gender norms. Through case studies, we explore the dynamics behind the success or failure of the siting of a monument and the important role of activists and local politicians in mobilizing support throughout the process. Using a qualitative approach based on fieldwork and interviews, we highlight the size and trends of the ethnic Korean population, the relative strengths of supporting and opposing coalitions, and the use of the strategy of universalism in determining whether or not the goal of siting a memorial in honor of the comfort women is achieved.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers and editors for their thoughtful comments and suggestions for revision as well as the scholars who gave us valuable feedback and encouragement at various conferences over the past year and all our interviewees who were incredibly generous with their time.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1 Dara Kay Cohen, a Harvard professor of public policy quoted in McGrane, Sally. 2017. “An Important Statue for ‘Comfort Women’ in San Francisco.” The New Yorker. October 12.
2 “Comfort women” is the English translation of the term used in World War II-era Japanese government documents to refer to those held in sexual servitude to the Japanese military during the 1930s and 1940s. Although open to critical appraisal, it is the term most often used in scholarly and many activist circles in the U.S. An estimated 80% of these women were from the Korean peninsula.
3 This is not to suggest that there are not memorials elsewhere around the world but just to emphasize the focus of our article on the American experience, which is where the first memorial to the comfort women on public land was erected.
4 Scholars have explored this in terms of the Cuban, Greek, Indian, Arab, and other communities (Hafsa Citation2014; Mishra Citation2009; Karpathakis Citation1999; Haney and Vanderbush Citation1999).
5 Authors’ interviews.
6 McCarthy interview, August 18, 2018.
7 Ninety-five percent of Korean Americans arrived after the passage of the 1965 Immigration Act and the Hart-Cellar Act of 1965, which eased restriction on non-European immigration. Korean immigration to the US peaked during the 1980s through 1987, when South Korea held its transitional national election ushering in its age of democracy (Min Citation2013; Min Citation2011).
8 U.S. Census Bureau.
9 This is called the Los Angeles Uprising, Insurrection, or Saigu (4-2-9) in Korean American communities and refers to the series of civil disturbances through April and May of 1992 following the acquittal of officers of the Los Angeles Police Department with the use of excessive force in the arrest and beating of Rodney King (See Kim Citation2012).
10 Hasunuma interview on August 31, 2017 in Burbank, CA.
13 McCarthy interview with Dr Bonnie Oh, advisor for the Washington Coalition for Comfort Women Issues and retired Professor of Korean Studies, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, July 18, 2014.
15 A fourth memorial in New Jersey was unveiled in Fort Lee in May, 2018 as we were revising this manuscript.
16 U.S. Census 2000, 2010; See Table A1.
17 McCarthy interview with Phyllis Kim, August 8, 2017.
18 The comfort women statue in Seoul was erected in December, 2011.
19 McCarthy interview with Chejin Park, KACE, April 21, 2015.
20 McCarthy interview, April 21, 2015.
21 McCarthy interview with Annabel Park, May 27, 2011.
23 Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act states that in localities where more than 10,000 or over 5% of voting age citizens are from a single language minority group and do not speak English well, all election materials must be published in their native language.
24 McCarthy interview, April 21 2015.
25 The deputy mayor in Palisades Park is appointed by the mayor from among the council members. Council members serve three-year terms.
26 Perez-Pena, Richard. 2010. “As Koreans Pour In, a Town Is Remade.” New York Times. December 15. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/nyregion/16palisades.html.
27 Quote in “Comfort Women Memorial Stays in Palisades Park, Despite Objection From Japanese Government.” NJTV News. July 23, 2012. Accessed 29 May 2018. https://www.njtvonline.org/news/video/comfort-women-memorial-stays-in-palisades-park-despite-objection-from-japanese-government/.
28 A third memorial in New Jersey was erected in Union City in 2014. It has the same wording as the one in Bergen County. Proponents promoted a universal message and it was supported by women’s and anti-trafficking groups.
29 McCarthy interview, March 19, 2015.
30 U.S. Census.
31 McCarthy interview, August 8, 2017.
32 Pamintuan, Maan. 2013. “Japanese school cancels US exchange student program over California ‘comfort women’ memorial.” December 11. Accessed 27 January 2014. http://japandailypress.com/japanese-school-cancels-us-exchange-student-program-over-california-comfort-women-monument-1140829/.
33 Torres, Ida. 2013. “Memorial for ‘comfort women’ in California to push through despite objections.” Japan Daily Press. July 12. http://japandailypress.com/memorial-for-comfort-women-in-california-to-push-through-despite-objections-1232175/.
34 U.S. Census. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF.
35 Hasunuma interview with Phyllis Kim on August 30, 2017 in Burbank, CA.
36 Shrank, Aaron. 2013. “Statue Brings Friction Over WWII Comfort Women to California” on All Things Considered, NPR. July 29. http://www.npr.org/2013/07/29/206655160/statue-brings-friction-over-wwii-comfort-women-to-california.
37 For in-depth discussion of the court case, see Ward and Lay (Citation2016).
38 For more information about The “Comfort Women” Justice Coalition, please see their website: remembercomfortwomen.org/about-cwjc/.
39 McCarthy interviews.
40 Hasunuma interview with Phyllis Kim, Korean American Forum of California, on August 31, 2017 in Burbank, CA.
41 McCarthy interviews; Hasunuma's notes from a comfort women teach-in and tour and "Building the 'Comfort Women' Statue in San "Francisco” (2018), a booklet issued by the CWJC, which was distributed at the teach-in and tour.
42 "Building the 'Comfort Women' Statue in San Francisco" 2018.
43 Fortin, Jacey. 2017. “‘Comfort Women’ Statue in San Francisco Leads a Japanese City to Cut Ties.” The New York Times. November 25. Accessed 28 May 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/25/world/asia/comfort-women-statue.html.
44 Quoted in Joshua Sabatini. 2015. “Supervisors’ support of a ‘comfort women’ memorial in San Francisco sparks debate.” San Francisco Examiner. September 15. Accessed 28 May 2018. http://www.sfexaminer.com/supervisors-support-of-a-comfort-women-memorial-in-san-francisco-sparks-debate/.
45 Hasunuma's fieldwork visit to San Francisco, which included a teach-in, tour, and luncheon discussion with Eric Mar, retired Judge Julie Tang, and Phyllis Kim; and panel discussions with members of the Eclipse Rising (Zainichi or Korean Japanese) group which were involved in this movement to build the monument.
46 See note 45 above.
47 “Building the ‘Comfort Women’ Statue in San Francisco” 2018, 17.
48 See public hearing on YouTube.
49 Quoted in “‘Comfort Women’ Memorial Unveiled in San Francisco.” The Rafu Shimpo: Los Angeles Japanese Daily News. October 6, 2017. Accessed 28 May 2018. https://www.rafu.com/2017/10/comfort-women-memorial-unveiled-in-san-francisco/.
50 The plaque states that the monument honors the comfort women and girls in “thirteen Asia-Pacific countries from 1931-1945”, and concludes with “ … sexual violence as a strategy of war is a crime against humanity for which governments must be held accountable.” It is noteworthy that the language of the plaque emphasizes “thirteen countries” and “crimes against humanity” in order to represent and appeal to a broad coalition rather than portraying this as an issue between Japanese and South Korean interests only (“Building the ‘Comfort Women’ Statue in San Francisco” Citation2018).
52 Woolsey, Angela. 2018. “Sixty percent of all Koreans in Virginia reside in Fairfax County.” Fairfax County Times. February 9. Accessed 28 May 2018. http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/sixty-percent-of-all-koreans-in-virginia-reside-in-fairfax/article_97c91aa6-0df5-11e8-9cc3-a3cb8ccc2ad5.html.
53 Woolsey (2018).
54 McCarthy interview with Dr Bonnie Oh, advisor for the Washington Coalition for Comfort Women Issues and retired Professor of Korean Studies, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, July 18, 2014.
55 http://www.comfort-women.org/missions.html. Accessed 4 March 2016.
56 McCarthy interview, July 22, 2014.
57 See note 56 above.
58 McCarthy interview, July 22, 2014.
59 Quoted in Antonio Olivo. 2014. “Memorial to WWII COmfort Women dedicated in Fairfax County amid protests.” The Washington Post. May 30. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/memorial-to-wwii-comfort-women-dedicated-in-fairfax-county/2014/05/30/730a1248-e684-11e3-a86b-362fd5443d19_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.fb6085090654.
60 Although not public land, positioning the memorial outside this Center was considered equivalent in terms of its prominence. (Authors’ interviews.)
61 Constante, Agnes. 2017. “Atlanta Museum Cancels Planned ‘Comfort Women’ Memorial.” NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/atlanta-museum-cancels-planned-comfort-women-memorial-n730401.
62 See, for example, Saporta, Maria. 2017. “Center for Civil and Human Rights faces monumental issue.” Saporta Report, Atlanta Business Chronicle. March 5. https://saportareport.com/center-civil-human-rights-faces-monumental-issue/.
63 Phyllis Kim discussed the importance of preparing the decision makers for what they will hear from the opposition as a fundamental strategy used in Glendale and, especially, San Francisco (authors’ interview).
64 Bagby, Dyana. 2017. “Japanese consul general: Brookhaven memorial is ‘symbol of hatred’.” https://www.reporternewspapers.net/2017/06/23/japanese-consul-general-brookhaven-memorial-symbol-hatred/.
65 Bagby, Dyana. 2017. “State rep. urges Brookhaven to reject ‘comfort women’ memorial” http://www.reporternewspapers.net/2017/06/27/state-rep-urged-brookhaven-reject-comfort-women-memorial/.
66 See note 65 above.
67 “Japan’s Close Ties with Georgia.” 2013. Georgia Dept. of Economic Development website at http://www.georgia.org/2013/11/21/japans-close-ties-georgia/.
In 2013, Toyota invested $350 million in a manufacturing facility and created 320 jobs; Hitachi invested $80 million and created 250 jobs; and Yachio invested $30 million and created 200 jobs. Japan’s investments are contributing to an automotive industry boom in the state.
68 South Korea is Georgia’s ninth largest export market.
69 Emerson, Bo. 2017. “Comfort Women statue to be unveiled in Brookhaven on June 30.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. http://www.ajc.com/entertainment/arts--theater/comfort-women-statue-unveiled-brookhaven-june/cWBsmWMWRAArNN5xhSN2fO/.
71 “Brookhaven Makes History to Memorialize WWII ‘Comfort Women.’” 2017. Reporters Newspapers. May 23. www.reportersnewspapers.net/2017.
72 See note 71 above.
73 See note 71 above.
74 U.S. Census 2010.
76 Levine, Brittany. 2013. “Buena Park reconsiders comfort women statue after Glendale fuss.” Los Angeles Times. July 29. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-buena-park-comfort-women-20130729-story.html.
77 Minutes of City Council Meeting of the City of Buena Park. July 23, 2013. Vol. 45: 52.
78 McCarthy interview, August 8, 2017.
79 Hasunuma interview with Phyllis Kim, May 30, 2018. Kim states that at the time, they had no plans to focus on Orange County, where Buena Park is located, due to its being a GOP stronghold and conservative leaning. As they had not been developing the grassroots coalition and relationship building required to navigate the city government, the process had failed before it even began. It is thought that because Miller Oh acted independently and put the measure on the agenda without the type of preparation seen in the cases of success, it was difficult to gain the necessary political support for his proposal. Coalition building and mobilization, universal framing, and strategic leadership were weak or lacking in this case.
80 See note 79 above. “Grandmas” is the preferred way that many activists refer to the “comfort women” survivors.
81 Levine, Brittney. 2013. “Comfort women statue opponents sway Buena Park.” Los Angeles Times. July 27. http://www.latimes.com/tn-gnp-me-comfort-women-statue-opponents-sway-buena-park-20130727-story.html.
82 Property of McCarthy.
83 A replica of the comfort women statue in Seoul was unveiled at the Museum of Korean American Heritage In New York City in October 2017. Although this is a private institution, local politicians did attend the ceremony and it received press attention, which it arguably would not have without the ongoing controversies about such memorials on public land.
84 Georgia State Representative Tom Taylor (R-Dunwoody) was an active opponent of the memorial. He was quoted as saying that “This is a small group of Korean American activists pushing this [memorial] all across Georgia and finally got a city to take the bait” and “This is a political group that basically wants to drive a wedge between Japan and Korea” (Bagby, Dyana. 2017. “State rep. urged Brookhaven to reject ‘comfort women’ memorial.” Reporter Newspapers. June 27. Accessed 20 July 2017. http://www.reporternewspapers.net/2017/06/27/state-rep-urged-brookhaven-reject-comfort-women-memorial/).
85 Kingston, Jeff. 2015. “‘Japan Lobby’ Takes the Gloves Off in PR Battle.” The Japan Times. October 31. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2015/10/31/commentary/japan-lobby-takes-gloves-off-pr-battle/#.Ww17dS-ZNsM.
86 McCarthy interview with Nikkei for Civil Rights, June 8, 2015.
87 McCarthy interview with Koichi Mera, President, Global Alliance for Historical Truth, June 9, 2015.