Tracing 28 Years of the Redress Movement Led by the Washington Coalition for Comfort Women Issues

Abstract

This study examines the activities and significance of the Washington Coalition for Comfort Women Issues, Inc. (hereafter referred to as WCCW), a non-profit organization based in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. It will mainly focus on people closely related to the organization who have been a voice for victims of Japanese military sexual slavery from its inception in 1992 and up to the present. WCCW was founded as the first organization of its kind in the U.S. in a collaborative effort with Korean American groups in New York and Toronto, Canada.1 They have fought for the justice and dignity of the wartime victims euphemistically called “comfort women,” and provided support for those unable to defend their legal rights and human dignity. In 1992, the groundbreaking testimony by Hwang Keum-ju at the Korean Methodist Church of Greater Washington in Virginia sparked the beginning of WCCW’s activities. WCCW has worked with other organizations, elected officers, scholars, artists, and more throughout the years.We mention those names in this chapter and highlight their achievements. WCCW has endeavored to raise awareness of this issue from within the D.C. area in concert with the U.S. House of Representatives. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives who have helped with WCCW’s goals and activities include former and current Congressmen and Congresswomen, such as Mike Honda, the late Lane Evans, William Lipinski, Nancy Pelosi, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and the 167 House representatives who co-sponsored to pass House Resolution 121.2 Other people who have helped raise awareness of this issue include Eli Rosenbaum, director of the U.S. Department of Justice; Susan Lee, Maryland State Senator; Mark Keam,Virginia House of Delegates; Retired Bishop Young J. Cho of the United Methodist Church; Emeritus Professor Bonnie Oh of Georgetown University; Margaret Stetz at the University of Delaware; Mindy Kotler, director of Asia Policy Point; Dennis Halpin, congressional