Film depicting horrors faced by World War II comfort women tops Korean box office

hope this gets an international release. More people need to know

Japan release date ?

Alistair: "Japan release date ?"

Never. If you thought the reactions by the weak-minded and pathetic right wingers to Angelina Jolie's movie "Unbroken" were bad they would be HORRIBLE towards this movie. It's extremely sad, the lengths so many people here will go to deny a past they were not alive for, and tell off the women who suffered.

I hope the movie spreads as well, as does the word of what happened, and it is never repeated again.

How can they do this when Abe already paid them off!

How ungrateful can you get?

Hopefully keyboard commentators here, supportive & unsupportive on the issue will make the effort to watch it for critical opinion.

Japan release date ?

2116 probably

There is so much hypocrisy in both Japan and Korea surrounding the comfort women issue. Both sides are completely disingenuous, both sides have acted despicably in the past, both sides are in denial.

First there is Japan. Its educators and politicians try to paint Japan and its people purely as hapless and well-meaning victims of the War. The nation spends substantial time and money promoting that narrative in Japan and abroad, actively building memorials to Japan's plight and working to convey stories about Barefoot Gen and atomic bomb victim Sadako and the 1,000 origami cranes. At the same time, attempts by South Koreans to erect comfort woman statues conveying their plight are met with protest from the Japanese government and Japanese citizen groups.

Then there is Korea. Its educators and politicians endlessly and passionately tell the world about the plight of their comfort women, and like Japan spend substantial time and money promoting their victimhood narrative, but they never say a word about the Korean Army's own role in actively setting up its own comfort stations during the Korean War, nor about its involvement in rapes and forcing Vietnamese women to act as comfort women during the Vietnam war. The Korean Army adopted from the IJA the very practices the nation shows so much anger for today — but no apology, no remorse for that.

I believe that there were sex slaves (I don't like the term "comfort women"), but if there were 200,000, you would think there would be a much more vast record. And that number seems larger than the number of Japanese soldiers in Korea (2 divisions).

Wasn't there an article yesterday about how Japanese women in the porn industry are consistently abused?

The term comfort women is a euphemism for girls and women forced to work in wartime Japanese military brothels.

. . . and they too were repeatedly and consistently abused.

“I hope that this movie spreads like wild grass, so that everyone around the world can watch this film

If Japan would've sincerely apologized after the war and worn the shoe . . . . there wouldn't be all this madness.

Science fiction. If anyone can get past their prejudice they should ry reading what actual scholars have concluded about the Comfort Women program.

http://scholarsinenglish.blogspot.jp/?m=0

Australia - for example - periodically produces films like Rabbitproof Fence - which shed light on the appalling treatment the aborigines endured. Frankness and honesty are prized. On the other hand I doubt this film will ever see the light of day in Japan. Not while the incumbent leadership holds power

Glen.

It will be released here maybe only straight to DVD or will be shown at Cult-Cinemas only. Same as for many movies overseas.

And don't forget that interested parties can always get them via the Net(Torrent, etc).

Some people would complain about anything!

We don't go to the movie theatre often, preferring to wait for the disc release, but I would like to see this one on the big screen.

Christopher,

Australia - for example - periodically produces films like Rabbitproof Fence - which shed light on the appalling treatment the aborigines endured. Frankness and honesty are prized. On the other hand I doubt this film will ever see the light of day in Japan. Not while the incumbent leadership holds power

Wonderful movie. Saw it in Sapporo years ago.

If Abe and crew watched this, they wouldn't learn anything.

"That stuff happened to them over there. We are different, we are the pure race."

It will be released here maybe only straight to DVD or will be shown at Cult-Cinemas only. Same as for many movies overseas.

And don't forget that interested parties can always get them via the Net(Torrent, etc).

I'm talking about mainstream cinema. I'd have thought Toho cinemas would be more appropriate for a film of this nature. Of course the little gentlemen in the black vans wouldn't be too happy about that. And there we are

If JT will allow....

Korean Movie Spirits' Homecoming (2016) English Trailer ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14l4l9GNrss

@Sensato

You're absolutely right about both countries being hypocritical.

Unless both countries somehow make a permanent pact or a genuine reconciliation (not one-sided but mutual agreement), they will continue to trash talk each other for the next 100 years or so.

It really doesn't help when both sides of the government and the media (with the little spice of right-wing nut jobs) constantly paints the opposing side as some kind of evil entity. They will never be able to understand the opposing party due to overflowing hatred and animosity the one keeps.

BertieWooster: "We are different, we are the pure race."

I'm ignorant of most politicians & their idiocy, so please forgive that ignorance (or don't!), but has any of "Abe and crew" ever made such statements? Please provide sources... I'm genuinely curious.

As we think about testimonies,firstly I say that the Japanese military was not the saint one. In several cases,the soldiers,which contained Korean,did a terrible thing(rape etc).If there is an organization of human,it has several bad persons. But when we discuss this issue of comfort women,some people ignore this truth. As such people pick up the probable testimony,they shout the Japanese military was devil's one. They mostly ignore the fact that the testimonies which are filled with lies. On the contrary,the comfort woman who has told lies is the national heroin in Korea. She is not a mere comfort woman. She has made testimonies and political activities many times. But the testimonies are inconsistent and have changed to available for Japan-bashing. She made s speech for parliament resolution at Harvard University on 2007. When it passed,she applauded USA.But she would have secretly said, no sweat! Do you want to know her name? Ok,I say her name,Lee Yong-soo. Again,she is the national heroin in Korea. Things I tell so far is the sufficient horror.But the sheer horror starts from now. What I said is the familiar fact for the one who is interested in this issue and cost several hours for studying the testimonies. But the mass media all over the world have made the propaganda for Japan-bashing. This is the world you live in.

Nope, it's the result of Japan's historical revisionism

South Korea is the one which has engaged in historical revisionism. They deny that they were part of the Japanese Empire from 1910-1945, that over 240,000 Koreans willingly served in the Imperial Japanese military during WWII, made use of he Comfort Women System, their brutality towards allied POWs resulted in Class B and C War Criminal convictions. The South Korean Government has finally woken up to the reality that their country has been mentally hijacked by the PRC inspired anti-Japan information war and are taking action to correct it. The Park administration is forcing South Korean textbook publishers to stop feeding biased, incorrect and solely hate inspiring into the South Korean school system. Yet there are those who are so brainwashed by this insidious education that they continue the war in their own minds. The South Korean government has recognized that it has gone so far out of control as to become detrimental to the country's best interests, Of course the downturn in the Chinese economy, the South Chttina Sea issue, North Korea and China's objection to South Korea arming to defend itself from North Korea despite having let North Korea do whatever it pleases have all played a role. Nowadays there aren't so many Koreans posting vehemence here as there are the usual PRC fifty centers carrying on the propaganda using A-S screen names. We now have a number of South Korean scholars speaking out on the Comfort Women issue, and the works should be read by anyone who cares at all about the "thruth" behind the issue, Professor Ahn was alone back in the 1990s speaking out , and now we have people like Professor C. Sarah Soh and Professior Park Yuha willing to fight the bias to put the truth on the table.

South Korea is the one which has engaged in historical revisionism

Not to the extent that Japan has. http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21226068

They deny that they were part of the Japanese Empire from 1910-1945

Nope, supporting links please.

has been mentally hijacked by the PRC inspired anti-Japan information war and are taking action to correct it.

Not in the slightest. The sex slaves also came from numerous countries.

like Professor C. Sarah Soh and Professior Park Yuha willing to fight the bias to put the truth on the table.

Good luck with that. The testimonial evidence outweighs the attempts by the IJA to erase it

People should be informed that THIS happened, A lot of Japanese are denying the "comfort women" issue and say things like the women who say they are victimized, are volunteers to have sex with the Japanese soldiers which are all false. My country also suffered with this "comfort women" issue. And still this people wants justice for what happened to them. This should be released in Japan as well, people here need to be educated by it.

Meh. Japan will truly never be free of these people. Best to go back to ignoring them.