Comfort Women Statue Analysis

The newspaper article entitled “Why did this statue of a little Korean girl spark outrage?” was originally published in the San-Diego Union-Tribune. The article dealt with the controversial issue of a “comfort woman” statue located in California’s Glendale Central Park. Comfort women is the euphemism used to recognize the nearly 200,000 women forced into sexual slavery during Imperial Japan’s World War II occupation of countries including Korea, China, Indonesia and the Philippines. The statue also celebrates an American victory in policy by commemorating the passing of a bill in the House to hold the Japanese government “historically responsible” for past war crimes. The challenged monument was brought to the Supreme Court to decide if it

Some consideration should also be given to the Japanese misgivings. They for example say that the monument perpetuates a one-dimensional perspective of Japanese Americans as distinctly “un-American” in thought. In essence, it perpetuates an “us vs. them mentality”. A clear example of this is how American values are extolled by maidens such as Lady Liberty but Japanese culture in the region will only be defined by a war crime cast in bronze. The message of the statue is a clear symbol of Japanese harshness and oppression. This version of events ignores the thousands of faithful Japanese Americans who remained loyal to the U.S. throughout the war. Moreover, it hypocritically ignores how Americans captured thousands of Japanese families and placed them within internment camps. This statue in a sense highlights the convoluted and often egotistical display of American values. For example, it displays Asian women in the same similar manner of submission used to characterize Indians and African Americans. This plays into the American narrative of being the mightiest advocators of liberty. This statue though notably refuses to acknowledge how America itself went astray as a nation. History is careful to tell the truth optimistically from the point of view that is most