Comfort Women and other legacies of war

+ Schedule of Upcoming Visits +
Saturday August 30, 2008
Sunday September 21, 2008

Please email us at sharinghouse -@- gmail.com to get on our email list so we can alert you when we are visiting Sharing House.

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The House of Sharing (www.nanum.org) is a safe house for former Korean “Comfort Women” (women who were forced into sexual slavery during WWII under Japanese military rule). Until 2006, tours had only been available in Japanese or Korean, but now a group of international volunteers runs a visit every month in order to make this amazing place accessible to English speakers.

If you join us on a visit, you can expect to watch a short documentary about one of the halmonis* and walk through the history museum on a semi-guided tour. Depending on the health of the halmonis and their availability, visitors might also get to listen to one of the halmonis speak about her experiences. Please understand that they are quite frail — fewer and fewer halmonis are able to give testimonies on a regular basis but are often happy to chat with and otherwise meet visitors. *(halmoni means grandmother in Korean and is the preferred and respectful term used when referring to the survivors, who are in their 70s and 80s.)

We are not professional historians but simply regular people like you, who thought that it was extremely important to bring as many people as possible to Sharing House to meet the halmonis. Many people are moved to write after meeting the halmonis; one woman published her thoughts as an article for the JoongAng Daily. You can read volunteers’ impression of their visit to Sharing House here and here.

What responsibility do we have to survivors?… Do we listen to history? The volunteer organizers of what hopes to be a monthly visit to the House of Sharing for English speakers in Korea offered this disclaimer: We are not experts, we are not historians, we are not tour guides. But we are here to educate ourselves together.

Maria wrote this after her first visit in March 2006:

As I was translating halmoni’s testimony, it was hard for me to continue… Words were glued to my throat as I was trying to take in the enormity of her story and trying to interpret it for others. How can you possibly translate the million feelings passing through her mind during the brief pauses and tears? How can you translate the unsaid?

… The fact that us human beings can commit the most atrocious things possible to another human being is appalling… But we also possess the power to speak the truth and share our sufferings with others. As human beings, we are also able to shed tears for a complete stranger. In that instant, we are not strangers anymore: Halmoni is our loving grandma, and we are her beloved grandsons and granddaughters that she could never have.

Please contact us at sharinghouse -@- gmail.com with any questions. We are also always looking for help in publicizing and organizing these visits, so please don’t be shy if you have the time to help out!

- The volunteers, Andrea, Angela, Annie, Dan, Han, Heather, Joh, Juwan, Jyoung-Ah, Malcolm, Maria, Sanghyun, Stacey and Steve

+ FAQ +

Where to meet? Meet at inside Gangbyeon Station at Exit #1 (Subway Line #2) at 10am (the museum is a 40 minute bus ride on Bus 1113 or Bus 1113-1 from there). Please be on time so you don’t make others wait for you!

How long will the visit take? We return to Gangbyeon at around 4pm.

What should I bring? Please pack a lunch as there is no place to buy food. You will also need to bring about 8,000 won (small bills please, the buses do not accept T-money cards!) for roundtrip transportation fare (using public buses and group taxi). We ask you to donate to the Sharing House as much as you are inspired to, no minimum and no maximum. Please do keep in mind that the cost of museum entrance and a comprehensive English language booklet on the history of comfort women is normally 8,000 won. Additional donations are always welcome! There is a small souvenir/bookshop located in the museum. If you are interested in buying postcards, books, etc, please bring some extra money with that in mind.

What do I need to do? RSVP required. First come first serve basis, capped at 35 people per visit. Email your name and cell phone number to sharinghouse -@- gmail.com.