You’re reading The Interpreter newsletter, for Times subscribers only. Original analysis on the week’s biggest global stories, from columnist Amanda Taub.

It’s only Wednesday, but for my money, the most important international article The New York Times will publish this week is this one about women in South Korea forced or tricked into violent sexual servitude as “comfort women” for foreign soldiers.

The story of Korean women enslaved by the Japanese during World War II is now well known. But my colleague Choe Sang-Hun’s article is about a different group of women, who were exploited far more recently, in “comfort stations” that their own government facilitated — and whose customers included American soldiers.

Last September, the South Korean Supreme Court awarded 100 women a landmark judgment that found the government guilty of “justifying and encouraging” prostitution in camp towns to help South Korea maintain its military alliance with the United States and earn American dollars.

But referring to it as “prostitution” drastically understates the violence and abuse involved. Some victims were kidnapped as teenagers and forced into sexual slavery. The women who spoke to The Times recalled being detained in facilities with barred windows in an effort to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, where they said they saw colleagues collapse and die of penicillin shock.

There is no evidence that the South Korean government was directly involved in kidnapping or recruiting women for American troops. But the government did facilitate the program, including through health rules mandating coercive treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, and benefit from it.

It is an extreme case. But the idea that women exist as a kind of natural resource to be exploited in service of political and economic goals, rather than as people in their own right, is an attitude so common that it often goes unmentioned and even unnoticed.

In that worldview, I often think, women are viewed like “nonplayer characters,” or NPCs, in a video game. They are there to be acted upon or interacted with, protected or abused, in the course of powerful people’s interactions with one another — a way to keep score, but not perceived as fellow players in the game.

Time and again, the women in the so-called comfort stations were treated as NPCs in South Korea’s foreign relations with the United States, and sometimes with Japan.

The South Korean government exploited the women to shore up its alliance with the United States and obtain dollars. Then later, it suppressed reports of the abuse.

In the 2000s, when a sociologist named Kim Gwi-ok began reporting on the South Korean government’s exploitation of women in the comfort stations, the government sealed the military records she was relying on for her research. “They feared that Japan’s right wing would use it to help whitewash its own comfort women history,” Ms. Kim told Choe.

And the U.S. military, despite a stated policy of “total suppression” of prostitution, created an elaborate regulatory structure focused on limiting outbreaks of sexually transmitted infections among American troops — which is to say, protecting the soldiers, and by extension, U.S. military objectives, rather than the women who were being abused.

“I got interested in these women’s story when I learned that South Korea had its own ‘comfort women’ but didn’t talk much about them, while railing against Japan for recruiting and exploiting comfort-woman sex slaves,” Choe told me. “Reporting the story helped me see the so-called comfort women issue in a broader context and once again realize how the weak in our societies, and female victims of violence, often don’t get the voice they deserve.”

This NPC syndrome is a depressing way to read world events, but I find it’s often a useful one for understanding apparent contradictions in public policy.

It might seem puzzling, for instance, that Donald Trump’s executive order barring immigrants and refugees from seven predominantly Muslim countries — often referred to as the “Muslim ban” — included multiple references to preventing violence against women and preventing honor killings.

If the goal were actually to protect women, then barring female refugees from reaching safety in the United States would have seemed counterproductive. But if decrying violence against women is a way to vilify a political enemy, then protection is beside the point.

Similarly, French politicians have often argued that bans on the “burkini,” a full-body swimsuit worn by some religious Muslims, are a way to protect women from oppressive religious rules — even though many Muslim women argue that the bans themselves, which effectively bar religious women from swimming in public, are oppressive.

But the rules are easier to understand if you see them as a way “to police what is French and what is not French,” the historian Terrence G. Peterson, a professor at Florida International University who studies France’s relationship with Muslim immigrants and the Muslim world, told me in 2016, when such bans began.

It is not just women, of course, who can be treated this way. Any less-powerful group can be used as a tool for political purposes; and plenty of individual men and women have seen their life stories twisted to fit a media narrative or a political argument. But gender norms may make women particularly easy targets, because so many cultures treat women as unworthy of protection or respect if they have transgressed norms of sexual respectability.

In 2008, when the Florida authorities discovered that Jeffrey Epstein was having sex with underage girls, they allowed him to plead guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution and soliciting prostitution. This framed his victims as prostitutes motivated by money, rather than abused children, and drew focus away from the harm Epstein did to them.

In the documentary “Tales of the Grim Sleeper,” the director Nick Broomfield investigated how a serial killer could have preyed on women in Los Angeles for years without the police taking action. Some L.A.P.D. officers, he found, had a term for the killings of sex workers and gang members at the time: N.H.I., which stood for “no human involved.”

In South Korea, many of the women abused were rejected by their communities for the shame of participating in sex work. Some who died were buried by the government after their families did not claim their bodies.

“The Americans need to know what some of their soldiers did to us,” Park Geun-ae, who was kidnapped and sold to a pimp when she was 16, told Choe. “Our country held hands with the U.S. in an alliance and we knew that its soldiers were here to help us, but that didn’t mean that they could do whatever they wanted to us, did it?”

A Brutal Sex Trade Built for American Soldiers - The New York Times

A Brutal Sex Trade Built for American Soldiers

It’s a long-buried part of South Korean history: women compelled by force, trickery or desperation into prostitution, with the complicity of their own leaders.

An abandoned concrete building surrounded by weeds against a backdrop of mountains. — In Dongducheon, South Korea, north of Seoul, women forced to work as prostitutes to American soldiers in the decades after the Korean War were confined in this building when they were discovered to have a sexually transmitted disease.

By Choe Sang-Hun

Photographs by Jean Chung

May 2, 2023

Leer en español

DONGDUCHEON, South Korea — When Cho Soon-ok was 17 in 1977, three men kidnapped and sold her to a pimp in Dongducheon, a town north of Seoul.

She was about to begin high school, but instead of pursuing her dream of becoming a ballerina, she was forced to spend the next five years under the constant watch of her pimp, going to a nearby club for sex work. Her customers: American soldiers.

Choe Sang-Hun is the Seoul bureau chief for The Times, focusing on news in North and South Korea.

===

Comments 489SKIP TO COMMENTS

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Reader PicksAll

Ricardo commented May 2

Ricardo

Oxford, OH

May 2

I despair and am infuriated when reading of this. I am ex-military and served in Korea briefly. This is an absolute horror and abomination to read about. I knew of the WWII comfort women enslaved by the Japanese military .. had no idea about this. It was a pleasure interacting with all Koreans I met .. even though our reputation preceded us in some cases .. I understood as some of these localities were swamped with military personnel .. many of whom weren't very nice to our hosts and host country. Disgraceful .. whenever I read of coverups I become incensed.

6 Replies778 RecommendShareFlag

zarathustra commented May 2

zarathustra

May 2

This type of behavior has been a feature of military campaigning since the time of Homer. Our presence turned Saigon into one giant brothel during our war to liberate the Vietnamese from themselves. Anybody who is shocked by this is under the delusion that war brings out the best in people.

I hope these women can find some peace and recompense.

5 Replies721 RecommendShareFlag

John E. commented May 2

John E.

Amazing, New Mexico

May 2

I was in Thailand in the USAF in 1975. The situation was almost identical there. The bars right off base were filled with young women who did sex work to earn money for their families, who often lived in poverty in rural villages. The base hospital often had a long line of patients at the “Social Disease Clinic”. I lived off base, and there was an orphanage down the street from my house that took in all the biracial children, fathered by Americans, who had been abandoned by their Thai mothers. It was difficult not to feel guilty looking at all those young children, knowing that they were outcasts in their own society, through no fault of their own.

2 Replies716 RecommendShareFlag

sw commented May 2

princeton

May 2

"Compelled prostitution"? How about using the real word, "rape"? These women were serially, abusively raped, day after day, hour after hour. This constitutes torture, not involuntary sex trade.

2 Replies709 RecommendShareFlag

HJ Kim commented May 2

HJ Kim

Ohio

May 2

I’m a Korean adoptee raised in Ohio since 3 months old. There is deep trauma that comes with being a foreign adoptee raised in a home of people who do not look like you or understand the challenges that isolate you from the family. Hearing stories like these is so frustrating. There are over 200,000+ Koreans who were adopted overseas. Some were orphans, some were biracial and abandoned, some were abducted for the income that baby trafficking brought Korea, some were because their birth mothers weee promised that their children would have a better life overseas. There is generational trauma here that exists in Korea, Europe, and the US, as many of us are byproducts of the sex slave industry. This is about our mothers and these women who have lived with shame for decades, and it is also about us- a lost generation with no past, no ties to our motherland, and no native language to call our own.

The Korean government was complicit in all of this- export (or abort) the babies of society that would bring shame to Korean families or require government help and welfare. The fewer mouths to feed, the better the Korean economy would be. The stories of women being abused and sold into prostitution all over Korea well into the 90s is outrageous and needs to be investigated for human rights violations. And it needs to be acknowledged that the immeasurable technological and economical rise in Korean culture is directly a result of these women and families who suffered unimaginable losses.

4 Replies592 RecommendShareFlag

damon walton commented May 2

damon walton

clarksville, tn

May 2

As a soldier who has been stationed abroad in foreign countries ranging from Europe to the Middle East. The author is spot on. Prostitution forced or otherwise has been intertwined with deployed armies during wartime invasions throughout human history. Yes, America is no different. Deployed soldiers always sought the 'comfort of a woman' to take the edge off of a brutal deployment. I am glad these women are finally be heard and their stories being shared.

3 Replies572 RecommendShareFlag

LB commented May 2

NYS

May 2

This is why I don't hold any organization, no matter how "patriotic," above scrutiny. I served in Iraq for almost 11 months without the need to visit a prostitute or abuse any local. The boys take care of each other and excuse bad behavior for the sake of their "needs." It's just disgusting. I've seen it and experienced it too many times during my service. Another element, other than justifying carnal lusts is that these women were Asian, lowly, and not deserving of respect. Not all guys in the service are pigs, but those that are get cover from most of the brass. Not from me. I was low level brass and got pushback for holding people accountable. Demand accountability. These women deserve apologies and remuneration.

5 Replies485 RecommendShareFlag

Al Mostonest commented May 2

Al Mostonest

Manassas, VA

May 2

I think everyone knows what "R&R" means, and we use it in the most innocent ways, like "I need some R&R. I'll go out to the lake and drink some beer." But R&R was also an institution during the Vietnam War that flew probably a majority of American servicemen from Vietnam to Bankok, Taipei, Kuala Lampur, Manila, Tokyo, Singapore, Sidney, Hawaii, Penang, and Hong Kong for the purposes of five-days rest and relaxation with the help of an American team waiting for them and facilitating their stay by helping them navigate a sex trade run out of selected hotels. About three (3) millions Americans passed through Vietnam during the war.

There are no books that I know of on the subject, and it would probably take a Freedom of Information request to access the government records on this massive program. Singapore, for example, has closed their records on this aspect of their agreement to this program.

Everybody knows about this.

13 Replies459 RecommendShareFlag

KB commented May 2

May 2

“In the postwar years, many of these women worked in gijichon, or ‘camp towns,’ built around American military bases.”

They did not “work” in camp towns; they were repeatedly raped in camp towns.

People who choose to engage in sex work work. People forced into sex work are raped.

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TJ commented May 2

Bronx

May 2

It is always the women and children who suffer the most from wars…

and ALWAYS the MEN who start them.

We need to finally move away from the idea of wars and move toward cooperation and the sharing of resources.

Capitalism and the military industrial complex are the biggest reason we haven’t found a way to be a peaceful species.

This story shows that war is still the ancient “winner takes the spoils” game that men perpetrate on the rest of us.

Our so-called modern civilizations are nothing but a sham until we eliminate war.

My sympathies with and anger in support of these women. The US military should have to pay huge reparations to them out of their obscene budget.

2 Replies366 RecommendShareFlag

Alexander Brooks-Major II commented May 2

Alexander Brooks-Major II

Cranston, R.I.

May 2

The Shame, The Humiliation, The Abuse. These women need to be compensated for all of that and hopefully this dismissive behavior towards women by soldiers will be strongly discouraged in the future by their commanders and politicians (South Korea and US) who are ultimately responsible for the troops' behavior which reflects on our humanity.

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Jamakaya commented May 2

Jamakaya

Milwaukee

May 2

This story can just as easily apply to the American military's behavior in Vietnam and in the Philippines, where we had bases for decades. This isn't just a Korean thing or a Japanese thing, it's an American thing and a military thing and, more basically, a man thing. Violence against and exploitation of women is ubiquitous, transcending race, class, culture, religion, ideology, borders. It is the most pervasive ongoing crime against humanity, manifested in myriad ways and, of course, exacerbated in wartime.

It's past time we talked about the elephant in the room but most people still deny that there is an elephant in the room despite the headlines we read every day from every part of the world. I am getting old but I remain committed to a resolution I made 40 years ago after answering endless calls from abused women on a women's crisis line: I will do something every day to chip at the foundation of this detestable system of patriarchy. This was my bit for today.

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Pia commented May 2

Pia

Las Cruces NM

May 2

I am so sorry for these women.

269 RecommendShareFlag

Ronald S. commented May 2

Ronald S.

Hamilton, NY

May 2

We need names, last names, tag numbers, dates. There’s still time to hold these American officials and johns accountable for what they did to those women, many of whom obviously still carry the weight of the abuse.

It would be more respectable of the American Army to concede that damage was done to vulnerable people than to try to hide their shameful past so cowardly.

2 Replies251 RecommendShareFlag

S. Whipple commented May 2

S. Whipple

Iowa

May 2

I was at Camp Stanley from 1977 to 78 serving as a medic with the 2nd Inf Div. Everything stated is true, this is a part of my life I deeply regret.

248 RecommendShareFlag

BikesRBest commented May 2

BikesRBest

Bay Area

May 2

Excellent and important reporting on a horrific story. But tragically, it’s not an anomaly. I hope the New York Times follows this article with more reporting on the sexual exploitation and violence against local women by US soldiers where they are stationed around the world.

233 RecommendShareFlag

Crystal Kennnedy commented May 2

Crystal Kennnedy

Milwaukee

May 2

Why does this article not use words like abduction? Or rape? Multiple counts of rape by American soldiers against the most innocent? Calling them “comfort women” which was a way to wash away the truth, it denies their trauma.

2 Replies225 RecommendShareFlag

JJ commented May 2

May 2

I can’t imagine surviving through this. I was raped once. Those memories are kept in a box with a thousand locks and a million chains. Every time I hear a new horror story it shakes and rattles the locks and chains and I do my best to shut it down. What do you do with two memories, three, a hundred?! Every man is at the least a son and probably a brother, maybe a father, a friend, and definitely a person. Why can’t another person matter more than a sexual drive?

2 Replies224 RecommendShareFlag

Al Mostonest commented May 2

Al Mostonest

Manassas, VA

May 2

@damon walton

"Deployed soldiers always sought the 'comfort of a woman' to take the edge off of a brutal deployment."

Could you possibly fill in the details of these euphemisms of yours? What kind of "comfort" did they need and why? What was so "brutal" about deployment that required prostitutes? How, exactly, did this work?

I'm not trying to put you on the spot. I understand what you are saying because it has been so common with boys and men in the military, all over the world. But going into the gritty details might tell us more about who we are as Americans and the way we grow up in our own country. We treat our own girls and women with the same disrespect, and it's worse when we go overseas to poor countries.

223 RecommendShareFlag

Pensan commented May 2

Pensan

May 2

And the thing that makes this despicable is that we like to believe “not all men” but rape is always part of war and always used as a wide spread weapon. Men need to start doing better.

2 Replies212 RecommendShareFlag

Kinda Kind commented May 2

Kinda Kind

NY, NY

May 2

Currently in various states of the United States of America, women--and girls--are forced to carry to term unwanted pregnancies resulting from rape. Currently in various states of the United States of America, women are not allowed to have abortions or to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. Currently you don't have to look far in the United States of America to find that women's bodies and lives and thus women's aspirations and talents are subject to dismissal and control by male political and religious fantasies enacted into law. There's also forced prostitution in the good old USA. So before expressing outrage or concern over the treatment of women elsewhere, take a good hard look at what's happening here.

198 RecommendShareFlag

J.J Binks commented May 3

J.J Binks

Between Heaven And Hell

May 3

Think of this next time you "thank" a soldier for his service. In truth, we have no idea what individual soldiers have done.

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larkspur commented May 2

larkspur

dubuque

May 2

I knew this happened under Japanese occupation during WW2. I never heard this happened under US occupation for decades up till this century.

It redefines the ugly American.

7 Replies190 RecommendShareFlag

Deborah Lieberson commented May 2

Deborah Lieberson

May 2

The NYT should be praised for bring this important story to light. I would however like to strongly suggest a change in the euphemistic terminology used repeatedly in the article. Women who are kidnapped, held against their will, beaten and repeatedly raped are not "comfort women" or prostitutes. They are sexual slaves.

Words matter. . .

189 RecommendShareFlag

Donald Seekins commented May 3

Donald Seekins

Waipahu HI

May 3

In the late 19th-early 20th centuries, Japanese businessmen "recruited" poor Japanese girls and women to serve as "karayuki-sans" overseas (the term meant "Miss Gone-to-China" but referred more generally to their going outside of Japan, especially to Southeast Asia). Most of them were taken from impoverished farming or fishing communities or were members of outcast groups. At the time, nationalistic Japanese newspapers described them as the "joshigun" ("women's army") who were "selflessly" earning money through prostitution, funds which could be remitted to Japan to aid its industrialization. Then, the Pacific War broke out, and the Japanese army recruited "comfort women," although most of them were non-Japanese. Now we learn that South Korea after 1945 provided US soldiers with "comfort women." And I myself recall the notorious "R&R" vacations provided to US servicemen during the Indochina War.

The issue is not one of nationality (e.g., Korea vs. Japan), but patriarchalism, exemplified in military culture. Behind the facade of patriotic war and heroic self-sacrifice is the gruesome reality: the (male) strong devouring the (female) weak.

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Artist commented May 2

Artist

Bay Area, CA

May 2

Men - it’s really simple. Don’t don’t have sex with someone if they’re not free to enthusiastically consent. Wear a condom. How much pain and suffering in this world is caused by not following these 2 simple rules?

1 Reply181 RecommendShareFlag

Megasaurus commented May 2

Megasaurus

Spokane

May 2

My ex husband was adopted from Korea by members of a church group dedicated to adopting the children of these "unions" and I'd always assumed that half of his DNA was Korean and that our son had a quarter Korean DNA.

It was quite the surprise when we did the 23&Me tests and found half my son's DNA was Korean which would indicate my ex husband's DNA was entirely Korean.

Everyone was using, exploiting, and abusing these women.

I often wonder about his paternal Grandmother, who could be any of the women in this story. My ex had such rage and anger at being abandoned by his birth mother and bore the weight of that rejection his entire life - of course, the back story that led there is far more complicated.

The pain and ripple effect of trauma through generations is astounding when you think of the whole of human history, war, and conquest and we are only now starting to recognize and acknowledge our own complicity as a nation and the reckoning of the suffering inflicted on innocent bystanders as we seek to dominate and impose our will on others.

176 RecommendShareFlag

Lee commented May 3

Lee

Portland

May 3

I'm an atheist so this feels weird but humor me.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." Matthew 7:3-5

As a Korean American I have always felt strongly that Japan should apologize for the kidnap and forced sexual servitude of Korean women during WW2. This story was a complete shock to me, and I feel ill now thinking about it. The Korean government should be apologizing to these women. If anything, this is an opportunity to model what a proper apology looks like. We cannot claim the moral high ground if we refuse to acknowledge and make right the very same sins committed against the very same people.

171 RecommendShareFlag

AJ Garcia commented May 2

AJ Garcia

Tallahasse

May 2

Seems these women are due some compensation from both the South Korean and US government.

169 RecommendShareFlag

ellie k. commented May 2

ellie k.

michigan

May 2

What is it with soldiers and abuse of females? Women historically are victims of soldiers - in war and peace, enemy or allies. Is all the killing not enough that women have to be so brutalized?

2 Replies167 RecommendShareFlag

Victor commented May 3

Victor

Australia

May 3

I'm in my 60's. Truly saddened and shocked by this story. For it to go on for so long seemingly as some form of state(s) sponsored sex slavery cannot be justified under any guise. Power to the women in their quest for some decent compensation albeit it will in no way account for the wounds they suffered and the scars they will carry forever.

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Kathy commented May 2

Kathy

May 2

In the mid-1990s, I read that more American men are "sex tourists" than men from anywhere else. We don't just send our garbage overseas, we send our sexual predators too. I wish we could stop polluting the world with our wars and endless kinds of environmental, animal and human abuses.

7 Replies159 RecommendShareFlag

Teresa commented May 3

Teresa

Australia

May 3

The British too, when they controlled India, established brothels for their soldiers. Very young Indian women, many of them married and with children, as they used to marry at a very early age, were abducted from their villages and families and forced into those brothels.

The only difference is, that when they contracted venereal diseases or became pregnant, they were not treated. Instead thrown into the street, with no money, support, or assistance. Their families and villages did not want them back, and what happened to them is unknown.

Check out the British Memorandum. Queen Victoria knew and did nothing.

158 RecommendShareFlag

Jalapa12 commented May 2

Jalapa12

NYC

May 2

I was raised with these stories from my parents and grandmother. Knowing this, it was always SUPER creepy when older American men would say to me "I served in Korea after the war. Korean women are so beautiful and they have a grace and elegance that other women don't." I would always think about the women forced into prostitution and forced to have sex with these American soldiers and realize that when the old, creepy American vets saw me, all they saw was a sex worker.

156 RecommendShareFlag

Ida commented May 2

Ida

NYC

May 2

The use of the word "comfort" to describe these women and the places they were kept, is singularly grotesque.

152 RecommendShareFlag

Dana commented May 2

Dana

NYC

May 2

“We do not condone any type of behavior that violates South Korean laws, rules or directives and have implemented good order and discipline measures,” its spokesman, Col. Isaac Taylor, said by email."

Really he is only concerned with laws being broken, not the women who were repeatedly violated and their lives which were destroyed? So by this statement if what was done to these women was legal in South Korea there would be nothing to say even though the atrocities are huge human rights violations and against US laws. This illustrates why violence against women is a worldwide epidemic. The men in charge, really most men, dont take it seriously and don't care.

151 RecommendShareFlag

Vic commented May 3

Vic

Washington, DC

May 3

What do you think a war looks like? Blood, death, rape, evil impulses. There has never been an honorable war and never will be. This is ordinary evil, do you think there is no rape going on as we speak in Ukraine by both sides? Or Sudan? Or anywhere where real action is.

150 RecommendShareFlag

Christopher commented May 2

Christopher

Brooklyn

May 2

Anybody who thinks these practices are limited to South Korea or that the principle culprit here is the South Korean government rather than the U.S. military is fooling themselves. While this article shines a light on an unseemly aspect of U.S. militarism overseas, its focus on the culpability of Korean authorities obscures the more fundamental global dynamic at work.

The U.S. has somewhere around 800 overseas military facilities and similar practices are to be found in the vicinity of all of them of any size. South Korea hosts the fourth largest contingent of U.S. troops overseas, so the situation there undoubtedly deserves some special attention. But the complicity of local authorities in order to satisfy the demand of U.S. personnel for prostitutes, and the associated practices of sex slavery, is near universal and unsurprisingly widely regarded by local populations as emblematic of the vassal-like character of governments that Americans think of as "allies." Base commanders claiming zero tolerance for prostitution publicly while really only being concerned about the transmission of STDs to the troops under their command is also the norm.

2 Replies145 RecommendShareFlag

Deborah Lieberson commented May 2

Deborah Lieberson

May 2

@damon walton The NYT should be praised for bring this important story to light. I would however like to strongly suggest a change in the euphemistic terminology used repeatedly in the article. Women who are kidnapped, held against their will, beaten and repeatedly raped are not "comfort women" or prostitutes. They are sexual slaves.

Words matter. . .

139 RecommendShareFlag

No Comment commented May 3

No Comment

West Coast

May 3

This is not just a thing of the past or limited to the military. A thriving sex tourism industry - both straight and gay - exists today in many parts of Asia that exploits poor women, men, and children.

137 RecommendShareFlag

Jo Smith commented May 2

Jo Smith

Ridgefield CT

May 2

Sex workers were girls- children being raped so Soldiers could have sex. Is that too “woke”? Want to sign your 9 yo daughter up for this kind of “work”. Men treating girls and women badly/ criminally

should be faced and discussed. Call it what it was. Rape.

136 RecommendShareFlag

Bradley Bleck commented May 2

Bradley Bleck

Spokane, WA

May 2

I think the American government is at least equally culpable. It’s shameful to say the least.

136 RecommendShareFlag

RLW commented May 2

RLW

Chicago

May 2

A friend who served in Korea in the mid-'50s told me about having been taken by a fellow soldier on a surprise visit to a building similar to the one in Dongducheon. He had not been told the purpose of the visit, but later suspected it was to determine whether he was straight and would accept the "treat," or gay (he was) and would not. He refused.

The image that remains in his mind to this day is of a frightened little girl dressed in traditional Korean clothes and crouched on a tiny porch at the front of a crib. A middle aged Korean woman harangued my friend to go in with the girl for a wonderful "short-time." Presumably, the buddy would foot the bill.

While my friend rejected the offering, many of his fellow soldiers did not, which confirmed his belief, arrived at by similar observations of GI mistreatment of Korean people, that the worst possible ambassadors representing America to foreign countries are American soldiers.

2 Replies135 RecommendShareFlag

Liam commented May 2

Liam

Washington DC

May 2

This is what enforcing an empire looks like. France, Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the US defeated 3 fascist empires and everybody forgot that there were still 6 "liberal" empires waging brutal and cruel wars against people who only wanted control over their own destinies. The US and our allies have a habit of doing evil while pretending it is justified or necessary because we are the lesser evil on the world stage. I do not for a second believe my nation, which is so consistently unapologetic and unrepentant, has reformed whatsoever since the horrible era these women went through.

People will say this is normal in warfare, that humans have always done it. But it doesn't have to be, nothing necessitates rape, sexual slavery, or any other form of compelling women to serve as an outlet for a soldier's stress.

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LHM commented May 2

LHM

Colorado

May 2

Yes, the lives of all young women forced to be “sex slaves” were indeed beyond horrible in wartime or peace. The term “comfort women” is despicable. And the bottom line is that all women, every one of us all over the world from the beginning of time until now, we are all still considered inferior to men! Here in the United States of America, the esteemed and yet corrupt SCOTUS, along with many states, have decreed that we women have no right to make decisions regarding our own bodies. And not all, but a good number of men believe this should continue. No! Rise up women, let us take our place in the halls of power, let us once and for all claim our right to equality. And before any man disagrees - just tell us why our own country has yet to radify equal rights.

1 Reply130 RecommendShareFlag

Mochilero commented May 2

Mochilero

Mazatlan

May 2

Throughout history societies have been run by men, who have utilized their institutions and superior physical strength in order to suppress women and keep them as chattel. With pregnancy and child-rearing inevitable to most, their dependency was ensured. Women in marriage held as little personal power and freedom as those in this article forced into prostitution.

How much has changed in these more enlightened times? Oppression, misogyny and the intoxication of male power and control continue to rule the world. And with staggering population growth, there are hundreds of millions of young women denied the education and work opportunities that could bring them autonomy and freedom from male domination. In the absence of these opportunities, one of the only assets they possess are their pretty faces and firm young bodies. Prostitution may not be enforced by governments, but it continues to be considered a so-called choice in response to economic reality. And today in the United States, supposedly a modern, civilized country, the MAGA Republican world is engaged in an onslaught against the rights of women. The struggle goes on.

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John Park commented May 2

John Park

Santa Barbara, CA

May 2

Since about two decades ago, several excellent scholars based in the United States have published book-length works about this topic, and I would recommend the ones by Katharine Moon, Ji-Yeon Yuh, and Grace Cho. In her book, published in 2004, Professor Yuh noted that many American servicemen married the Korean women whom they'd met in the camptowns, and that after these military brides had settled in the United States, they also sponsored their own family members to come to the United States as well. The couples had children as well, although many still have no idea of how their parents had met. Thus, in multiple ways, many Korean Americans now are related to this aspect of the American military presence in South Korea.

I've posted this comment because many Americans might think that this is a "new" topic, when in fact, there has been excellent scholarly work about this for quite some time. The three scholars that I've mentioned above were extremely brave for having done such important research, during a time when American and South Korean public officials did not want anyone publicizing or discussing this aspect of their relationship. In part, their work persuaded many people--including the women victimized and abused within the camptowns--to demand justice and to stop the on-going sexual abuse of women in South Korea.

1 Reply129 RecommendShareFlag

H commented May 2

USA

May 2

Replace “comfort women” with “sex trafficking victims” - that’s what they are and euphemisms only soften the stigma for the men who exploited and abused them.

129 RecommendShareFlag

SisterLove commented May 2

SisterLove

May 2

The article said some young women were drugged so they didn’t have to feel their shame. Yeah because they obviously couldn’t perform their “duties” while shrinking in horror.

My father was a marine in Korea during the Korean War in a non combative role. He was so proud that he had snuck into the Military by lying about his age as he was too young. He had lost his father and had always said that he had learned how to be a man from the Marines. I think I have a stepbrother in Korea as far as what I had heard from my mother, and my father was quite the philanderer in general as well as sexually abusive to me. I know there are upstanding men in the military but this is what I had learned early on. I am so sorry for all the woman who had their lives ruined from the sexual abuse, and thank you NYT for reporting on this horrible history.

2 Replies127 RecommendShareFlag

Liberty hound commented May 2

Liberty hound

Washington

May 2

Sad. Not unlike bases in the Philippines in the 1970s and 80s, where U.S. Navy and Air Force doctors performed STD checks on working girls, and marked their work permits in either green or red ink.

Then, is it really that different from placed like Amsterdam or Vegas where "sex work" is legal? The oldest profession has always been mired in coercion, corruption, human trafficking and disease. We should think about that as we move toward normalizing and legalizing "sex work."

5 Replies116 RecommendShareFlag

Fallon commented May 2

Fallon

Massachusetts

May 2

I hope God is a woman and her wrath is immense.

1 Reply115 RecommendShareFlag

Tony Quintanilla commented May 2

Tony Quintanilla

Chicago

May 2

To clarify, following this reporting, these women were forced into sex work and were not paid. The money went to the pimps. They were sex slaves not prostitutes or sex workers as normally defined. And both governments and militaries were complicit.

114 RecommendShareFlag

Zen Cheru Veettil commented May 2

Zen Cheru Veettil

Germany

May 2

Now that South Korea is a rich nation , largely as a result of being in the western camp, their government should compensate these women and apologize for their actions.

1 Reply113 RecommendShareFlag

Sam commented May 2

Sam

Ridgefield CT

May 2

Stop calling the girls and children who were raped “as

Comfort companions” prostitutes. It’s blaming the victims. Imagine how abortions were done. Every one of us has a mother. Want this to have happened to her?

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Ski bum commented May 2

Ski bum

Colorado

May 2

Disgusting, disheartening and despicable.

These three words sum up the actions by South Korea and by American GI’s.

107 RecommendShareFlag

Daniel J MDJD commented May 2

Daniel J MDJD

Sedona AZ

May 2

Such a disgrace-on the part of the “participants, the military command/commanders in charge. I saw somewhat similar “going’s on”, when I was stationed in Japan…mostly on the part of servicemen in ports in the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Thailand, back in the 80s-90s. I’m far from prudish, but was saddened and disgusted by/loudly criticized participants in what I considered an exploitative, degrading situation. ( I was a married medical officer, whose wife accompanied during my tours; our oldest was born in Japan) This activity, sadly, goes back to the early, Greek, Roman, Chinese empires…and no doubt before…but why it has been/is tolerated in modern times escapes me. Very Sad…

5 Replies107 RecommendShareFlag

Bruce Belknap commented May 2

Bruce Belknap

Monschau, Germany

May 2

What I can't understand about this, is, didn't these men ever think that these "girls" are someone's daughter, sister, or mother?

I have a daughter and granddaughter, and am sickened thinking that this could ever happen to them.

No doubt, some idiotic apologists for military empire will say something like "this is the price of freedom."

4 Replies105 RecommendShareFlag

Anne commented May 3

Anne

May 3

@Just My Opinion Way to miss the point.

Why does some part of the population need to service the other legally or illegally? Either way, it creates a dynamic where someone is less than or even less than human.

How about less dehumanization, less porn, less sex for sale, less selfishness and self indulgence, fewer strip clubs and more recognition of everyone as human, more maturity, more connection, more self-management and greater perspective.

Just because sex work is legal in Nevada, it doesn’t mean adults and children aren’t trafficked, enslaved and raped. No healthy human with options chooses to be a sex worker. I don’t care that the internet creates the illusion that it’s a job people choose.

Yes, most humans need touch and connection. People are not entitled to it nor should anyone’s life be sacrificed to provide sex or fake connection to someone else.

105 RecommendShareFlag

Norm commented May 2

Norm

Manhattan

May 2

Both countries must be held complicit.

97 RecommendShareFlag

Navy vet commented May 2

Navy vet

World Wide

May 2

I was in the Navy from 02-10. In the early 2000’s 02-03 I deployed as a deck hand on a cruiser during a westpac. We stopped in P(B)usan. There was a street - green street it was called, where girls stood in glass rooms. This was for the western men. There was another street for the Korean men. In fact just about every port we hit - Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Guam, Saipan (yes us territories) had sec workers catering to US military and other foreign military (while in SK the Russian Navy was also on port call). It seemed very normal even though these areas were supposed to be “off limits” but you’d find officers and upper enlisted (don’t do anything dumb and I won’t say anything if you won’t sort of policy). Outside of Korea the sex workers were often Filipino. After 05’ a real awareness kicked and military personal had take training as these places were associated with sex trafficking. If you got caught at one of these spots you’d get an NJP 45/45 half months pay x2 and reduction in rank. Sailors and sex workers have long been associated- not an excuse but a reality. Average age is 18-24. I remember how aggressive these women hustled to pull 18-21 year old men into brothals and buy me drink bars. By 05 I was corpsman (medic) handing out condoms and doing STD checks the morning we are underway. I hope these workers are heard, heal, and compensated. https://www.marfork.marines.mil/Portals/185/Docs/2018-Area-IV-Off-Limits-As-of-24-APR-17.pdf

97 RecommendShareFlag

Dennis commented May 2

Dennis

Wyckoff

May 2

Wherever I've seen large American military bases, I've seen this happen based on my observation in Japan over six decades. Whether forced, coerced or to make a living, women are abused. Considering that there are over 800 US bases worldwide, the phenomenon must be global especially in poorer countries.

1 Reply95 RecommendShareFlag

Cacho Fuentes commented May 2

Cacho Fuentes

Florida

May 2

I am a "veteran" with an honorable discharge from many years ago. I was thinking about this today as I was thinking about the continuous wars that the US engages in and all that it involves, including the always increasing statistics of civilian casualties in modern warfare. War means not just guns and self-defense under horrible circumstances, it also means massive prostitution, and by that I am not singling out women, but soldiers who pursue women during war. And we are not talking only about sex for pay but also rape on a massive scale. We don't talk about it in polite company, but it is a reality. And, if it needs to be said, no I did not participate in this. But in war zones or stateside, this is an immense issue.

1 Reply94 RecommendShareFlag

Patricia commented May 2

Patricia

San Diego

May 2

@Al Mostonest This isn’t about sex. It’s about sexual slavery with the foreknowledge and collusion of governments, even as those in power maintain a thin veneer of plausible deniability. Do consider how you would feel if the individual about to enter high school, then was lured or kidnapped, then abused by strangers was your son or daughter.

92 RecommendShareFlag

Trish commented May 2

Trish

MN and TN

May 2

This is horrifying….the ugliness of men. People get so anger when the military gets a negative story, but these things have to come out so they don’t happen again. America isn’t perfect, we have to face up to the bad parts of our history and have the next generation learn from them.

85 RecommendShareFlag

Country Girl commented May 2

Country Girl

Pennsyltucky

May 2

I was shocked and saddened by this article. What a disgraceful practice! Although I know about Japan's "comfort women," forced to endure rape by many soldiers over the years, I was unaware that the practice was common during the Korean War.

It's bad enough that men suffered and died in these wars. To have women forced into sexual slavery is a war crime. These women should be compensated for their abuse. They were held against their will and forced into prostitution. This is disgraceful and should be illegal. I have to wonder if it has been a part of our more recent conflicts. I certainly hope not, but we may never know.

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P commented May 2

NYC

May 2

As a Korean-American, it was just disgusting to see South Korean government and society, in general, shamelessly claimed that Hines Ward - a former Steeler's WR who won the SB MVP & is a biracial as his mother was a Korean and his biological father was an American G.I. but abandoned them - as "a proud Korean". The very reason Mr. Ward and his mom left the country was that his mom clearly knew that they will be treated like a trash and Mr. Ward would have no future had he lived there, and South Korea has made a zero contribution on Ward's successful NFL career and his mom's sacrificing work to raise him.

83 RecommendShareFlag

Julie ✨ commented May 2

Julie ✨

Washington

May 2

I’m very sorry for these women and to those poor souls forced I into sex work around the world.

Where there is war, there is subjugation and abuse of women and children. Always. Tragically local govt are often complicit. But even without them there are always rats willing to earn a dollar off the rape of their own family and neighbors. And more rats willing to look the other way to keep their war machine running. This is a big reason why we need more women in leadership positions.

1 Reply81 RecommendShareFlag

HJ Kim commented May 2

HJ Kim

Ohio

May 2

@Al Mostonest

We should ban forcing sex slavery upon non consenting people. I feel like you’re very caught up on a tangential issue here. The article is about forced sex slavery on women who had no bodily autonomy and the shame, injuries, and trauma they have endured. You are leaving out the victims in this comment and instead you are parading some kind of moral conundrum that you seem to think is some thin line between good and bad while literally invalidating everybody else who has emotional opinions and reactions to a heinous story of abuse and misogyny.

81 RecommendShareFlag

Abby commented May 2

Abby

Portland

May 2

Some of the comments on here dismissing the horrible injustice these women endured make my skin crawl. Both the U.S. and South Korean government owe these women compensation for war crimes. Full stop.

1 Reply81 RecommendShareFlag

April commented May 2

April

NYC

May 2

Every military operation has something similar to this. Even the World Wars had more cases of STIs then trench foot.

It’s why I never want my child anywhere close to the military. I’m not okay with this and I’m not okay with an organization that permits it through inaction. I certainly don’t want it to be behaviour that is normalized as okay.

It’s also a reminder why you never want an occupying army near your home. This is what could happen to you and yours.

80 RecommendShareFlag

MB Blackberry commented May 2

MB Blackberry

Seattle

May 2

Male sexuality has forever been characterized by abuse and exploitation of women. There is still evidently nothing women can do about it. And still nothing men will do about it.

Everybody just accepts that men’s sexual “needs” trump everything else. In this article we learn our military supplied uniforms, food, and women to the troops. Look at China now scrambling to find sexual outlets for the excess male population created by its one child policy; the government fears the social disruption caused by men significantly outnumbering women. Think about that: men denied sexual partners are a danger to society.

So men are served and women are shamed. Rinse and repeat. The social asymmetry is astounding. Assuming we get there, what will happen when men no longer run things?

2 Replies79 RecommendShareFlag

RLG commented May 2

RLG

Simsbury, CT

May 2

These women should not even have to bring their case to the United States. They shouldn't need a legal strategy. Now that this horrific story is public, Congress should authorize reparations, and in no small sum. The US should also issue an official apology. Or is that too woke?

1 Reply77 RecommendShareFlag

Anahid commented May 2

Anahid

Los Angeles

May 2

Legalize prostitution? OK. Wouldn't it be better to offer scholarships, free education, career guidance, child care. Opportunities in different fields of science, tech industry, literature, economics.... etc. Allow poverty stricken women and their families alternatives to the perpetual misery in which they live. Instead of forcing them into the one exploitative industry that presses them and only benefits men

77 RecommendShareFlag

Informed Investor commented May 2

Informed Investor

Temecula, CA

May 2

In all the wars we got involved in, we never won the heart of the people, and this - the exploitation of local women - is one of the reasons.

76 RecommendShareFlag

Craig Mason commented May 2

Craig Mason

Spokane, WA

May 2

We need to make sex work a fairly-paid, well-regulated, profession.

There would be no place for underage prostitution to thrive with legalization and shame-free regulation.

Washington State suffered the Green River Killer killing at least 49 women who jumped into his car furtively while earning extra money in sex work, many of whose families had no idea. Without the secrecy of the sex work, there would never have been so many victims.

Sex work needs to be treated with dignity, and be in the open so that the horrors of coercion and abuse cannot occur.

10 Replies75 RecommendShareFlag

Jason commented May 2

Jason

St. Louis

May 2

For those unclear about patriarchy - an ideology, like all ideologies that implement artificial hierarchies (e.g., racism) for the purposes of maintaining power for those in the superior category, i.e., men, while devaluing those in the inferior one, i.e., women - look no further than the phenomenon depicted herein.

Can you imagine if men were used to provide sexual services against their will for the benefit of women? Of course not, because South Korean society, like the Japanese military before it, and American society, whose enlisted men benefitted from the sexual enslavement of So. Korean women are patriarchal societies that delegitimize the humanity, status, and agency of women.

In order to justify oppressive systems that delineate society into hierarchies for the benefit of those on top, those w/ superior status utilize an ideology, racism, or in this case, misogyny, to justify the structure that protects their status.

Men wield and benefit from misogyny, a socially-embedded worldview that delegitimizes and dehumanizes women for the purposes of wielding power over them, such as widespread sexual enslavement.

The patriarchy exists. Full stop. By definition, nothing described in this article could have unfolded w/o it. Thankfully, women and men w/ a conscience have worked to dismantle the patriarchy's pernicious impact, slowly, over time, and will continue to do so as life progresses forward.

1 Reply75 RecommendShareFlag

Roxanne Ivey commented May 2

Roxanne Ivey

Atlanta, GA

May 2

Originally written in memory of my own sister, Jan, the following poem now belongs to every victim of sexual violence:

SILENCE, MY SISTER

For every secret sealed in flame,

Each grief engraved without a name,

I’ll summon tender truths from shame,

With tears my talisman.

I’ll shred the shroud of disbelief

And scatter ashes of relief,

Then weave these words into a wreath

No season can upbraid.

I’ll lift the earth into the sky

So fallen stars again will rise;

Your suffering is my battle cry—

You did not die alone.

75 RecommendShareFlag

Young commented May 2

Young

Earth

May 2

All American voters should know this has happened and is happening around our military bases abroad.

73 RecommendShareFlag

Kdubya commented May 2

Kdubya

Durham

May 2

And we’re the force for good and democracy?

73 RecommendShareFlag

Linked commented May 2

Linked

May 2

Why do deployed men require (as you frame it) “comfort”? Trust me, the women would refer to these horrors as anything but “comfort”.

73 RecommendShareFlag

Brian commented May 2

Brian

May 2

@Al Mostonest My R&R selection was Taipei. A list of hotel options were provided somewhere along the way from which we selected. Upon arriving the hotel manager showed me to my room closing the door upon leaving. The girl behind it was a complete surprise.

72 RecommendShareFlag

Cami commented May 2

Cami

NYC

May 2

I was taught pre-algebra by the daughter of one of these women. Her mom used to put her up for adoption during the winter so she wouldn't starve and then steal her back before anyone could take her away.

72 RecommendShareFlag

TwoCents commented May 2

TwoCents

San Francisco

May 2

There are always more casualties of war than just the soldiers in the field. It is a destructive force and brings out the absolute worst in people. The ends justify the means. They don't teach this stuff history class, especially not in DeSantis's Florida or Abbott's Texas. Can't make students feel "uncomfortable."

72 RecommendShareFlag

Al Fresco commented May 2

Al Fresco

Wisconsin

May 2

The 21st Century and we still haven't caught on. The only thing separating us from cave people is thousands of years of refusing to correct our wrongs.

71 RecommendShareFlag

Alan Wallach commented May 2

Alan Wallach

Washington, DC

May 2

So what differentiates Imperial Japan from the Imperial United States? What the US should learn from this historical horror is that its entire history is studded with atrocities. So much for "American exceptionalism."

3 Replies70 RecommendShareFlag

Raymond commented May 2

Raymond

New York, New York

May 2

We were an infection on Korean (and Asian) culture. Shame on the US military.

1 Reply69 RecommendShareFlag

Nicholas commented May 2

Nicholas

Strasbourg

May 2

I cannot fathom or imagine the extreme agony these brave women must have gone through before and after coming out; facing the demons they lived with after being relegated to a life of hell. Now in open!

This was not prostitution but sexual slavery of the worst kind, an institutional evil involving the Korean and US states. And it was all done to serve the masters - the Americans! Shameful!

We need to hear more of these stories fio if we don't we cannot understand the evils of the past and try to stop them once and for all.

May you find closure and peace dear ladies, for you were robbed of a normal and dignified life.

67 RecommendShareFlag

Karl S commented May 2

Karl S

Sydney, Australia

May 2

I’m currently travelling in South Korea. Each of my local guides across the country has brought up the anger and shame they still feel towards Japan for never apologising for forcing sexual slavery on teenage girls during the occupation. This was coupled with statements of enthusiastic gratitude towards the US for saving them from such horrors.

Women are still second class citizens here; I am in awe of the strength these women have against such forces of oppression. I wish them the very best of luck taking their case to the US courts.

67 RecommendShareFlag

Anne commented May 3

Anne

May 3

@Josh I think the worst part is that men created and sustained these horrible conditions from which these women will never recover. The patrons - our soldiers and leaders - dehumanized these women and destroyed their lives for their sexual convenience. Misogyny. Zero moral high ground.

67 RecommendShareFlag

Kinda Kind commented May 3

Kinda Kind

NY, NY

May 3

@JJ Thank you for telling your story, for telling it so clearly, and for trusting enough that you can tell it to help others.

66 RecommendShareFlag

She Who Watches commented May 2

She Who Watches

Columbia River

May 2

This is horrible. The US Navy did something similar at Subic Bay in the Philippines, basically running brothels for American sailors even into the late 1980s. Had a clinic to test the women for sexually transmitted diseases and everything. Are we doing anything for those women, as well?

65 RecommendShareFlag

Joanne commented May 3

Joanne

North Vancouver

May 3

@JJ You are so strong to share this. I hope you can continue to shed the trauma, little by little. Stay well.

65 RecommendShareFlag

Phredm72 commented May 2

Phredm72

Massachusetts

May 2

But but but, American GI's were so much more gentle and gentlemanly than the Japanese who proceeded them. Yeah, sure. Yet another shameful and immoral example of an episode of American history that some would like to bury. American GI's simply don't do this type of thing, and those who say they do and have are liars and haters of America. They are unpatriotic for wanting history to reflect the truth. What is it they say: patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels.

64 RecommendShareFlag

Shaking commented May 2

Shaking

My Head

May 2

Thank you for turning over the log to show this ugly moment in our own history. Bring it all out into the light, so that we can make amends.

2 Replies64 RecommendShareFlag

No name commented May 2

No name

earth

May 2

There are so many things wrong with how men use their power against women

64 RecommendShareFlag

Eastbackbay commented May 2

Eastbackbay

Everywhere

May 2

This article isn’t about women taking up prostitution as an earning. This article is about massive rape. Your comment is tone-deaf.

64 RecommendShareFlag

DC commented May 2

Baltimore

May 2

@james : Deliberately looking the other way at gross violations of human rights is indefensible. I'm sure everyone knew what was happening but did nothing.

63 RecommendShareFlag

Anne commented May 3

Anne

May 3

@JoeyReader it has never been a profession. That’s nice labeling for the use and abuse of women for male convenience. Making it legal makes it more convenient for patrons. It will never make it right because it makes people inherently unequal no matter how it’s dressed up or rationalized.

The answer is true belief in humanity and equality for all and operating from that belief. The answer is not orienting society to relieve men’s sexual needs in the crudest and cruelest ways possible. Please see the larger picture.

63 RecommendShareFlag

Dee commented May 2

Dee

Phila

May 2

This was STILL happening in the 1980s at Osan Air Base. I know it because I was stationed there. It was a well-known “secret”…High ranking Air Force personnel participated in this and even condoned it. As a civilian, I was in utter shock, as this was my first encounter with the U.S. military. Let’s not even get into what occurred at Subic Bay and Clark Air Base in the Philippines. It’s about time this was brought out into the open. The U.S. military watched this happen, so why are they getting by unscathed?

62 RecommendShareFlag

Nick White commented May 2

Nick White

Sacramento, CA

May 2

I was stationed in South Korea in 1974-1975. At that time the girls were called "Business Girls" since prostitution was against the law. One GI borrowed $600 from me in order to be able to pay a girl's debt to her mamasan.

The girls I was aware of were indebted to people who charged such high interest rates, the girls could never get out of debt. The girls usually came from very rural areas where their parents borrowed money to stay alive and provided their daughters as a way to pay off the debt.

Business girls were pervasive, allowed on base and were used for sex and companionship by the lowest privates to general staff. I had a friend in Uijongbu who saluted the general's vehicle on base with women waving at him from the general's back seat of his car.

2 Replies61 RecommendShareFlag

HJ Kim commented May 2

HJ Kim

Ohio

May 2

@Anon in NYC Absolutely both are in the wrong. In fact, a common trope that adoptees are told is that “life was bad in Korea, you should be lucky you got out” and that mentality is part of the Western Savior idea that really drives a lot of the behavior that you see in the US military complex.

But the idea that Korean birth mothers “did what was needed to do” is also a line that is fed to Korean adoptees, leading to a lot of abandonment issues for adoptees with the idea that our mothers “gave us up.” The reality is that the choice was often not really a choice, but a coordinated move from the Korean government and its social systems to encourage smaller population growth in order to prioritize industrialization. The govt would limit food sources available in rural areas, in order to force families to send their daughters to bigger cities to work in textile factories, thus providing the workforce for the first step in industrialization through a manufactured food shortage. These young women would face endless sexual harassment and abuse, leading to dishonor, eliminating opportunities for better lives and inevitable landing women in brothels out of survival. Even today, the stigma and discrimination against unwed mothers is so strong that many can’t even find jobs.

So yes, both are culpable for sure. But the Korean government is responsible for the unique sex slave industry that existed there because it reached beyond US military involvement and GI locations.

60 RecommendShareFlag

Karen Lee commented May 2

Karen Lee

Washington, DC area

May 2

'The U.S. military declined to comment on the Supreme Court ruling or the women’s claims. “We do not condone any type of behavior that violates South Korean laws, rules or directives and have implemented good order and discipline measures,” its spokesman, Col. Isaac Taylor, said by email.'

Why not state that 'we deplore the use of women for sex for pay, even if we decline to acknowledge that this occurred'?

I mean, at least acknowledge the topic.

1 Reply60 RecommendShareFlag

Gwen commented May 2

Gwen

Cameron Mills, NY

May 2

And so it goes, the world managed, controlled, and enthralled by the sexual appetites of men.

2 Replies59 RecommendShareFlag

Andre commented May 2

Andre

Maryland

May 2

Very sad to think that our military was involved in something like that. But then again, I wonder what other terrible things our soldiers have been involved in the many places where the military has bases or a presence of some sort.

59 RecommendShareFlag

Chris commented May 2

Chris

San Diego

May 2

Not all veterans are heroes.

58 RecommendShareFlag

AMR commented May 2

AMR

Malaysia

May 2

This is yet another good reason why the US and the average American ought to be ashamed of yourself instead of assuming very high moral stand when it comes to condemning similar activities in our parts of the world.

58 RecommendShareFlag

T commented May 2

New York

May 2

I avoided opening this article knowing what I might find would be something too horrible to contemplate. I cringe thinking about this kind of sanctioned abuse and murder.

57 RecommendShareFlag

Barbara Snider commented May 2

Barbara Snider

California

May 2

Women have always been sexually brutalized, war or no war. Women who have little or no education often have no choice but to turn to sex work all over the world. That’s why the Taliban doesn’t like to educate women. Just the thought that women can be forced into sex work is very horrible. And then there is what war does to men, forced to kill or be killed. All the way around, a tragic, violent and horrible situation for all people who must live without peace. We must elect leaders who will seek peaceful solutions. We must elect leaders who do not brutalize and demean women in their personal lives. We must elect leaders who do not use prostitutes (I think you know who I mean).

57 RecommendShareFlag

Sir James commented May 2

Sir James

wheaton, IL

May 2

@Al Mostonest You are right. I did 2 tours of duty in the Marines in Vietnam and had 3 R &R's. I went to Hong Kong, Tokyo and Taipei starting as a 19 year old. Sex was readily available and recommended by our superiors to reduce our stress from the war. In Taipei you would go into a bar and you picked out the woman you wanted and signed a 5 day contract for $75. That woman was then our sex slave and ours to keep for the 5 days. One time I had a girl who I caught going through my luggage. I returned her where she was punched on the side of her head and yelled at. They then allowed me to pick out another woman. Today, as a father and grandfather, I am ashamed of my behavior. I understand from Army buddies that there were sex strips outside their bases and then too they could go into Saigon where there were thousands of prostitutes.

56 RecommendShareFlag

Karen Yang commented May 2

Karen Yang

Austin

May 2

Thank you for acting so honorably and protecting women during your service.

56 RecommendShareFlag

Vicki Ward MSN commented May 2

Vicki Ward MSN

Barnard, VT USA

May 2

Humans are the most desolate creatures DNA ever created. Despite a brain large enough for better use, we still can't do it..

56 RecommendShareFlag

Joel Stegner commented May 2

Joel Stegner

Edina MN

May 2

Men can be and often are totally disgusting and compound their sins by assuming they are superior to women. Perhaps the US military might want to identify the officers who enabled this?

56 RecommendShareFlag

Josh commented May 3

Josh

NYC

May 3

Prostitution, including state-encouraged one, is not unheard of. But this piece distinguishes itself by including some important figures. First, a sex act cost somewhere between $5 and $10, and what was worse, pimps pocketed the fee. Second is related to annual earnings around 1970. American military-related business, including the sex trade, earned $160 million dollars, while Korea’s total exports stood at $835 million. Finally, the Korean court ruled that each involved women would receive between $2,270 and $5,300.

56 RecommendShareFlag

Drew commented May 2

Drew

Illinois

May 2

I hope the U.S. Govt acknowledges its responsibility in this crime and provides these poor women with enough money that they may live out the rest of their lives without worry...

But I have no expectation that our leaders will act with such morality.

Prove me wrong, Washington. Please.

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Sweetie commented May 2

Sweetie

May 2

Women have been raped and forced into prostitution in every conflict in the world throughout history. No one in the US military wants to admit to committing the same sexual exploitation of local populations as other countries, e.g., Russia in the Ukraine or Japan or ... . I hope that these women receive restitution on behalf of themselves and the other women who died as sex slaves.

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Aokai commented May 2

Aokai

May 2

Animals. Men who prey on or profit in any way on these women, whether they are pimps, city & military officials from any side, or customers- they are animals. It’s that simple. And it’s disgusting and barbaric.

2 Replies55 RecommendShareFlag

Mx.Sofie commented May 2

Mx.Sofie

nyc

May 2

Toxic masculinity is a native and undesirable attribute for the male species. It has no right to exist in today's society. It should be expunged by every means necessary.

The next time you hear someone using "woke" as a pejorative ... THAT's the one who is toxic. eg DeSantis, Trump, all the GOP men and women who now have been brainwashed to defer to those same men.

2 Replies54 RecommendShareFlag

Deborah commented May 2

Deborah

Minneapolis

May 2

This is so awful. My dad served w/ the Marines during the Korean War. I even went back there w/ him on a reunion trip. I can’t ask him abt. this since he died two years ago. He was a wonderful man, and my hero. I sure hope he didn’t participate in this, but now, I’ll always wonder.

2 Replies54 RecommendShareFlag

Peggy commented May 2

Peggy

NYC

May 2

@james The US government was complicit and regardless, has caused so much violence in Asia through imperialism and wars. I would say the US is very responsible.

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Mrs. Kennington commented May 2

Mrs. Kennington

Upstate

May 2

As if it wasn’t bad enough that American involvement in the Korean War was nothing more than American military brass shaking their medals and bars around to see whose were bigger and shinier. The men and women of lower ranks were basically tossed into a meat grinder for no good reason.

I’ve heard some red-state women say that a woman shouldn’t be president because her fluctuating hormones might cause her to start a war. How many women can you think of that have actually started a war?

These comfort women are nothing more than collateral damage. Expendable. Timothy McVeigh said the same thing about the children and babies that died in the Murrah Building nursery.

US is the greatest country in the world? For whom?

1 Reply54 RecommendShareFlag

UpstateNYObserver commented May 2

UpstateNYObserver

Upstate NY

May 2

@james You are very, very mistaken in that belief. Throughout Vietnam, the Army and Airforce had "massage parlors" on combat bases and air bases in places like Danang, Phu Bai and Saigon. These were facilities where the women who worked there came on base. They were largely run just like the massage parlors that are all over Flushing and Korea Town today. That doesn't even begin to describe any given night on Tu Do Street or Cholon in Saigon proper. NOBODY in the military leadership cared as long as there was no "scandal" and it kept the troops "happy". In fact, in the late 60's Time Magazine broke a major scandal where the Air Force on Ton Son Nuit Airbase was building a huge massage parlor for a local Madam on base. It also doesn't begin to plumb the depths of the sex trade and sex tourism spawned from the war in Thailand for the tens of thousands GI's on R&R.

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From Texas commented May 2

From Texas

Dallas

May 2

Those who think it's unpatriotic to criticize America, how do you feel after reading this?

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Jim Englert commented May 2

Jim Englert

Mankato MN

May 2

I’ve never been drawn to the reflexive denigration of veterans that has at times crept into common American discourse, but this article reminds me why I’m also not drawn to the reflexive ‘Thank you for your service’ discourse so pervasive today.

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Eric Blair commented May 2

Eric Blair

NYC

May 2

Rape is a tool of warfare — it’s historically been a “spoil of war” — and to think that American “boys” are somehow immune to it is fanciful, idiotic, and naive.

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Gimme Shelter commented May 2

Gimme Shelter

South Carolina

May 2

@LB thank you for affirming that there are men that can do the right thing and don’t need to be the trope of the male that must satisfy his urges at every conceivable opportunity at the peril of another human being.

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Bob commented May 2

Bob

Bowerman Meadows

May 2

My brother married one, brought her to the States, and raised a family. This year they celebrate their 50th anniversary.

4 Replies52 RecommendShareFlag

Opinion commented May 2

Opinion

New York, NY

May 2

Notice how sexual health / treatment of STIs / abortion is of utmost importance sometimes like in wartime Korea near the US army bases where horny young men are, and zero importance in America today where women are getting a bit too powerful for men's taste. Hmm, it's almost our approach to women's sexual health is all about control!

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Michele commented May 2

Michele

NYC

May 2

Can you please put “comfort women” in quotes or clarify if this is how these survivors of sexual violence want to be referred to? These euphemisms do not help, especially when used against the wishes of those directly impacted.

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Jonas commented May 3

Jonas

München

May 3

Not to diminish what these women went through, but by the time I was stationed in South Korea in the 2000’s, the US military went through great lengths to combat human trafficking…which included punishing people who visited establishments with links to prostitution.

Many of the comments seem to insinuate this is an enduring problem in the military. However, I know for a fact the actions described in this article wouldn’t be tolerated.

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F Bragg commented May 2

F Bragg

Los Angeles

May 2

These women deserve our love and care now. What they were forced to endure was cruel and inhumane. Surely, the U.S. owes them.

1 Reply49 RecommendShareFlag

stosh commented May 2

stosh

Oregon

May 2

Will the Times do a story about the new Philippine /U.S. military agreement? All of those new American bases opening up. This will happen yet again unless the powers that be step in and at least clamp down on it. We'll be here in a few years discussing this same subject, this time it'll be the Philippines and not Korea.

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JerryD commented May 2

JerryD

PNW

May 2

I was a Military Policeman stationed at a small post in South Korea in the late 1970's. There was only one bar that catered to American Soldiers, about 150 yards from the main gate. It was dark, dingy and had several prostitutes working there. The 'pimp' was the woman who owned and ran the bar. There was no collusion with the Army regarding this bar and prostitution, soldiers were encouraged to stay away from it. It, the enlisted men's club (military parlance for a bar on a military base, ran by the Army) and other G.I. bars in our area of responsibility, were about the only trouble spots that we had to contend with.

I asked several prostitutes (they called themselves 'business women') why they did that for a living... the response was sickening, the common thread was that their parents owed money and sold them to the madam/pimp to pay their debt. If this, and the stories of abduction in the author's article are accurate, this is NOT the case we (in the west) sometimes envision of a sex worker choosing this trade as she has no other way to make adequate money. Also, the western reader needs to know that in Asia the family relies on the son for support in their old age, while the daughter can be a burden to poor families, since she will, with her husband support his family.

Only barely admitted by the author, South Korean soldiers, Koreans, and sailors (U.S. and foreign, military and civilian) also frequent places of prostitution.

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Prof Ron commented May 2

Prof Ron

Oregon USA

May 2

Thank you so much to the NYTimes for this important reporting.

However good our intentions, we Americans are not a perfect people, and when we have done wrong -- as we so clearly have done in this case -- we must make amends in any way we possibly can.

Admit the wrong we have done, acknowledge the suffering we have caused, apologize to the women whom we have wronged so badly, compensate those who are still alive, memorialize those who have not survived -- and make sure that our military does not engage in this kind of sexploitation ever again.

We owe much more to these women than we can ever compensate, but we must do what we can. We also owe it to ourselves to admit our wrongs -- and to make sure we do not let ourselves do this to anyone ever again.

1 Reply48 RecommendShareFlag

Robert commented May 2

Robert

Seattle

May 2

No need for the US to wait until a legal case is filed, once this has been adequately documented. We were, by all accounts, knowledgeable and complicit.

We should immediately offer these women reparations that are fittingly generous. The South Korean court ruling was obviously inadequate.

And, yes, the soldiers who did this are also to blame. Working in a GI bar was the last place any of those women would have wanted to find themselves. The shame would have been unimagineable.

They were there because, as noted here, sometimes they were kidnapped.

Or because, for instance, their parents and siblings were impoverished or starving, and because those parents and that culture didn't care as much about female children.

This isn't about whether or not we are shocked that such things happen in the presence of foreign military bases. This is about whether it was brutal and inhumane.

Worth noting that this has, almost certainly, contributed to the racism that Asian Americans still experience here, and to the particular form of it that Asian American women must endure.

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Dr. M commented May 2

Dr. M

SanFrancisco

May 2

@ML

Yeah, the moral depravation is shared by those who visited those types of brothels.

Surprisingly, no women voluntarily choose cattle call prostitution, accompanied by coercion, brutality, and death - if they have any other halfway decent choices.

I have no issue with consensual sex work or legal prostitution. But only IF women have education, other opportunities for good jobs and where prostitution is protected - actual choice.

The GI's may claim they didn't know, but they sure wouldn't want their mom, sister or girlfriend treated like they saw those women and girls treated or living in the same conditions.

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Tom Joad commented May 2

Tom Joad

Denver

May 2

It seems to me there are really two issues here. First and most immediate is assisting the victims. The survivors speak of taking their case to the US but that the path is unclear. Our government should reach out and try to help.

Second, as many posters have pointed out this an ancient issue. Phrased dif in any major overseas deployment. The US military should going forward take steps to prevent recurrence. What steps I'm not sure. At least study and consider what might help. But press releases saying the military doesn't condone this, implying it is helpless to more thoughtfully address an issue that it creates, are pathetically weak.

The term "collateral damage" is both one of the most effective and most morally repulsive propaganda terms ever created. Preventing and compassionately addressing the basket of horror behind that term is at least as important as all the other things our military does.

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S. commented May 2

Virginia

May 2

@Al Mostonest - What can you even mean by your being "amused" at such horrors? Ignorance is no excuse for crime committed; ignorance is no strategy for righting wrongs. Women's lives were destroyed, babies and mothers killed, governments hid the acts and covered up the data. There's nothing amusing about such depravity. And if it's possible to be outraged "morally" then that outrage is appropriate.

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A commented May 2

May 2

@R sex without consent is rape. Forced prostitution may be a part of the sex slavery industry but it is still rape. Let's call it what it is.

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BFG commented May 2

BFG

Boston, MA

May 2

It was a similar situation in the Philippines, where the women were tested for STIs at Social Hygiene Clinics staffed by the US military. I interviewed sex workers there in the 1990s, and their stories were sad and horrifying. They described the American doctors treating them like animals when they tested them. So much forgotten history.

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gdawg commented May 2

gdawg

hotnstickiana

May 2

Wait, wait! Don't print stories like this! It might make some people feel uncomfortable, or worse still, some might feel a sense of shame or guilt or even a duty to make amends for moral wrongs. I mean, my dad was a vet from WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam but I wasn't. There's no reason at all that I should feel any sympathy for people who happened to be innocent victims of whatever policies and practices seemed okay at the time. Right? If there was some misbehavior and wrongdoing, god will make it all good, right?

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Jenny commented May 2

Jenny

New York

May 2

As a second generation Korean-American woman I am ashamed by how disconnected I feel from my heritage reading about these monstrosities. My grandparents lived through the Japanese occupation but scarce were the stories of these victims of rape by our own American GIs within Korea. However, it is an opportunity we as Americans have to address and recognize atrocities committed by our military.

To all of us this is a significant reminder how cruel injustice can metastasize for the victims of rape. Though no real justice can be offered to these survivors, recognition of their truth, reinforcement that their history will never be forgotten, is the bare minimum the US could offer if it is brave enough to confront its own humanity.

3 Replies45 RecommendShareFlag

middle American commented May 2

middle American

central PA

May 2

the customer is guilty in participation when it is understood that a not insignificant fraction are trafficked or coerced. when you go eat at McDonald's it is not 50/50 that the cashier is being held against their will.

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Silent Skater commented May 2

Silent Skater

Florida

May 2

In 1985, I arrived at the US Army processing center in Seoul for my new assignment in South Korea. After all the male Soldiers had received their assignments, the sergeant-in-charge placed new boxes of condoms on a counter. “Make sure to grab some before going to Seoul,” he announced.

Welcome to Korea.

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Globalist commented May 2

Globalist

Germany

May 2

Well - Stories like these exemplify why American exceptionalism is totally uncalled for.

USA has no real moral standing to pontificate to others on democracy, freedom, equality etc.

Based on this , some of our soldiers & leaders are as perverted & racist as the worst of what you can find in Afghanistan or Somalia or a China.

Hopefully there will be some corrective action so that this doesn't happen again.

3 Replies43 RecommendShareFlag

SirTenTea commented May 2

SirTenTea

Long Island City, NY

May 2

The US military claims no responsibility? Then they should explain the typewritten, English document discussing provisions for dealing with STDs from Korean comfort women or, as the document clearly names them: prostitutes.

1 Reply43 RecommendShareFlag

Jackie commented May 2

Jackie

Georgia

May 2

I bet Korean veteran Grandpa would just love a 23 and Me kit for the holidays this year.

43 RecommendShareFlag

Jalapa12 commented May 2

Jalapa12

NYC

May 2

I grew up hearing stories about the women who were sold into sex work for American GIs. It was widely known amongst people like my grandmother and parents. The fact that it took decades for governments to recognize this inhumanity is a shame.

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Scott D commented May 2

Scott D

San Francisco

May 2

I've learned that the U.S. does pretty much everything it claims to be morally outraged about when other countries do it.

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Jamie commented May 2

Jamie

Michigan

May 2

I’d like to know the names of the soldiers. Until they face real consequences (at the very least getting their medals and recognition taken from them), men at war will continue to participate in atrocities like this.

1 Reply42 RecommendShareFlag

Jason commented May 2

Jason

May 2

Unfortunately the military has an ugly tradition of hiding and forgiving crimes done on other countries’ civilian populations, Vietnam, Philippines, S Korea, Japan… a long long list.

Whenever US military puts more boots in Asia Pacific, the old violence haunts the population there. This is kind of cancer that needs to be rooted out.

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Anon in NYC commented May 2

Anon in NYC

New York

May 2

@HJ Kim , The article and your comment focus on the South Korean government. But let's not forget that the U.S. government and military, the young American servicemen who provided a market, and the sex and adoption industry entrepreneurs in both countries were also complicit in this.

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Plover commented May 2

Plover

Maine

May 2

I agree with most commenters here about the horror and the injustice to these women, and the need for compensation from the US. I also agree with those recognizing that rape has been part of war since wars began (and that bringing an end to this should be a priority).

I wonder what the story sounds like from the perspective of veterans who had sex at these places in the 1950's, who are alive today, and (I don't know, maybe...) have regrets or thoughts on this. What have they been thinking as they read about the suffering of the "comfort women"? The surviving veterans who were part of this story are never considered. Is there anything to be gained by hearing their perspective?

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Mike commented May 2

Mike

Rural NY

May 2

We should keep this offense against women in mind the next time we are tempted to claim the moral superiority of the American way vis-a-vis the world.

This isn’t so much a story about prostitution and sex work, it’s a story about sexual coercion and the military and government’s tacit (or explicit) participation and approval.

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Truth Seeking commented May 2

Truth Seeking

NYC

May 2

This is a repeated story in history, around patriarchy, and I believe system that women are property of men and beholden to their sexual needs.

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Gepinniw Abotinam commented May 2

Gepinniw Abotinam

Winnipeg

May 2

In his memoir, ‘About Face,’ Col. David Hackworth candidly wrote about brothels set up for soldiers in Vietnam. Horrible, unspeakable things happen in war, and rape is one of the most predictable.

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TTesoro commented May 2

TTesoro

Austin

May 2

Why is rape not called that in this context?

Modern social histories refer to these cases of girls and women kidnapped, held captive, threatened with violence as war rape, not 'sexual slavery'.

No consent was given, that I can tell. These were not sex workers. The children and women imprisoned for abuse by Japanese and American soldiers were not 'having sex'. Nor were they comforted.

Why, in our age of linguistic sensitivity, is it still ok to embody the perspective of a powerful, systemic and violent oppression when it comes to women? Why isn't "comfort women" a shocking slur that is banned in the New York Times?

How do we teach against rape culture and misogyny if we can't even call the most violent and coercive cases what they are?

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Jennie commented May 2

Jennie

Seattle

May 2

We have spent so much time condemning Japan for their refusal to acknowledge and apologize to "comfort women." And yet we also treated women like dirt, raped them, abused them, killed them, and refuse to acknowledge it and apologize.

1 Reply39 RecommendShareFlag

Hagop commented May 2

Hagop

Michigan

May 2

Heartbreaking ❤️‍🩹

What trauma-related therapies were made available then or are available now for these women?

39 RecommendShareFlag

LH commented May 2

Michigan

May 2

When the Ukrainian war first started and we were getting lots of reports of Russian soldiers committing atrocities against Ukrainian women, there was a little voice in the back of my mind that wondered “if our soldiers did this, would our media tell us about it?”

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Steve B. commented May 2

Steve B.

australia

May 2

In brutal and distressing times women will do desperate things to ensure their families survive.

Unfortunately, predators will do infinitely worse things to them. This seems to be duplicated in history regardless of country or culture.

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Hop Hornbeam commented May 2

Hop Hornbeam

Vermont

May 2

Thank you for reporting with clarity and detail what we wrought. It is all too horrifying and our country must do whatever we can for these women who were raped repeatedly by our soldiers - under our government’s watch.

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JY Lee commented May 2

JY Lee

New York

May 2

Based on this article, the G.I.s in Korea were no better than Japanese soldiers in World War II in terms of inhumane treatment of innocent Korean women. Now would American government, not like Japanese, offer an apology and compensate appropriately to the victims?

American government has been urging Korean government to accommodate the Japanese in order to fight North Korea effectively and collectively. For this purpose, if Korean government forgives the atrocity committed by the Japanese soldiers against Korean women, how dare it not to forgive the G.I.s, I wonder.

By the way if I understand it correctly, North Korea was created by the American government over 70 years ago, on purpose.

2 Replies37 RecommendShareFlag

Carol commented May 2

Carol

California

May 2

@Daniel J MDJD It's difficult to prevent young men with guns and too much power from abusing women. They even abuse women in their own military. Sadly, many men don't see forcing women to have sex as rape, and many find payment for sex acceptable. It's a sad commentary on human nature. You were lucky and could have your family with you; it's harder for lonely young men who think they can exploit women in foreign countries.

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Josh commented May 2

Josh

NYC

May 2

What I read here should not come as a surprise, since past wars involved rapes and prostitution. But this piece raises an unpleasant point. The Japanese treatment of Korean comfort women was less an exception than a rule. The American treatment was also bad. Two wrongs do not make one right. The worst part of the story is that the Korean government's compensation for those women are shamefully and despicably small. Seoul, you could do much better!

1 Reply36 RecommendShareFlag

Andrew commented May 2

Andrew

Expat In Hong Kong

May 2

@sisterlove: thank you for sharing this which brings tears to my eyes for both you and these women. Your understated words speak volumes.

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Mike commented May 2

Mike

Rural NY

May 2

@Bruce Belknap

“… this is the price of freedom…”

Except for the women.

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Perry commented May 2

Perry

Seattle

May 2

Pretty sure a cursory glance at human history that God, man or woman, has been asleep at the wheel for quite some time.

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R commented May 2

May 2

Or “sex slavery”? That’s what it is, is it not?

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manfred marcus commented May 2

manfred marcus

Bolivia

May 2

This is just another reminder of how abusive we men can become when the occasion lends itself towards 'enjoying' prostituting women helpless to fight against it. Misogyny in the open, of which we better repent and even ask for a pardon however belated. Why is it we humans, especially we men, do to others (vulnerable!) what we would never allow others do to us? Can you smell a heavy dose of hypocrisy? You better!

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Queen of Feral Cats commented May 2

Queen of Feral Cats

Earth

May 2

@Sir James - "Today, as a father and grandfather, I am ashamed of my behavior."

Well, you should be. And it really shouldn't take relationships with women who share your blood to make you have the epiphany that the acts you participated in long ago were sick, dehumanizing, and unethical.

Most of the male responses on this particular comment give me chills.

13 Replies34 RecommendShareFlag

Frostie Plumb commented May 2

Frostie Plumb

NYC

May 2

I will be very interested to see where any open discussion and legal process on this sordid history will push discussions about it in Japan, and in Korea. All parties were complicit and until this is acknowledged in a broad and open way, and the women who suffered are equitably regarded, I imagine there’s no way to move forward.

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Todd Howell commented May 2

Todd Howell

Orlando

May 2

@Ricardo I agree, it's disgusting to take advantage of a person under the control of a criminal enterprise. It's unfortunately happening around the world and in our own country today. Prostitution should be legalized, and women protected under the law and able to unlock the full economic potential of their trade. Pro choice works here too.

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Martha Shelley commented May 2

Martha Shelley

Portland, OR

May 2

Craig Mason writes that "sex work" should be legal and would therefore be a dignified occupation. I disagree. There is no "dignity" in sex work. Women who are able to obtain an education and/or jobs that enable them to pay the bills don't prostitute themselves. You don't see a young woman deciding whether she should choose a career as a computer programmer or a prostitute. In war torn countries, with no other options available, women who do have skills are sometimes forced to sell their bodies to feed their children. In other situations, including the present day U.S., young women can be kidnapped and trafficked by pimps.

In any case, the women in these situations shouldn't be punished. The pimps and johns should face stiff sentences.

33 RecommendShareFlag

Al Mostonest commented May 2

Al Mostonest

Manassas, VA

May 2

This story really opens up a can of worms. This is not just about an isolated sex scandal in Korea. It's about a whole institution of organized sex work built around the United States military and its bases all over the world. U.S. servicemen are now stationed in over 130 countries around the world (the number changes monthly), and most of them are young men who spend their days and thoughtful moments thinking of the possibilities for having sex. Please correct me if I'm wrong about this...

In another post I brought up the R&R system in place in Vietnam where American servicemen were flown free to one of ten R&R cities in SE Asia and the Pacific Region, which included sanctioned and organized contact with prostitutes. This was not an isolated discrepancy. About three million Americans were sent to Vietnam, and most of them went on R&R once or more depending on how many tours they had.

This needs to be talked about more openly without euphemism, without finger-pointing at "bad actors," and with more honest acknowledgment of who we are as a society and the nature of growing up as sexual beings in our society. It all gets uglier when we go to other countries that are poor and we feel we have the right to give free rein to our impulses as glorified on TV, movies, song, culture, newspapers, etc... As glorified by our culture.

1 Reply33 RecommendShareFlag

Robert commented May 2

Robert

Midwest

May 2

@Deborah

If your father served with the Corps in Korea he did much good for what became South Korea. The Ist Marine Division was one of the best units deployed and my uncles on both sides of the family fought there. I can guarantee you if his experience was like theirs, he spent more time in fear, misery and cold than he did in whorehouses.

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stosh commented May 2

stosh

Oregon

May 2

This is endemic throughout Asia particularly South East asian countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines.

From what i have been told by my friends and acquaintances there and have read on my own, about have the "Sex workers" which include not only the street walkers, known there as "Freelancers" but also the notorious "bar girls" roughly about half of them are forced by their own parents to sell themselves in order ot support he family. The other half are controlled by some sort of organized crime group often with governmental connections. Here in this country the talk is to legalize it and all problems will go away. Well, it won't. Learn from the past. Japan until the mid 1950's prostitution was legal. Almost 1,000 years of legalized prostitution. Girls were coerced, forced or were traded off by their family in order to pay off a debt to a local Yakuza group. You see, most prostitution is run by some sort of organized crime syndicate. If it were to be legalized again, they would control things still. Look at the result of legalizing pot. A total failure. Legalization is not the answer, it will just empower the "syndicates even more. Morals have vanished since the sexual revolution of the 1960's. A sexual free-for-all has resulted in AIDS epidemic, STD epidemic, more violence against women, an uncaring, heartless society. In South Korea women are treated as 2nd class citizens. Perhaps a look deep inside our own souls is the answer?

3 Replies33 RecommendShareFlag

Jsutton commented May 2

Jsutton

San Francisco

May 2

I'm certainly not proud of my country reading this.

33 RecommendShareFlag

diana commented May 2

diana

Bellevue, WA

May 2

i had no idea about this and i am glad that you have informed us. what a horrible way to treat women and with the country's blessing. i am so sorry for the women who had to endure this servitude and brutality. shame on our military for allowing this to happen. i wonder if this happened in other countries like the philippines.

they have grounds for their lawsuit because our military allowed this to happen. i am so sorry for the brutality that these women endured at the hands of our soldiers.

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Hamlet commented May 2

Hamlet

Upper Left

May 2

I was stationed at Osan AB in 84-85, and easily recall the bar girls wearing number tags and carrying cards to show their health status. The area outside the gate (Song-tan) was called "The Ville". Others I recall were Hooker Hill in Itaewon (Seoul), and at Kunsan AB, there was A-Town, which was rather far from the base, and nobody had cars there, so the base ran the GIs back and forth in busses. I also recall that most of these areas started getting cleaned up in the 80s as the 1988 Olympics was coming to Seoul and the government was aware of the optics. After that, the improving economy got the Korean women out of the business, replacing them with Filipino women. And although I never was there, am told it was the same outside Clark AB and Subic Naval Base in the Philippines. Oh, and until very recently, there were sections of Seoul that had entire neighborhoods of "glass houses," which were zones where Korean prostitutes serviced Korean businessmen. The streets were lined with shoplike storefronts with floor to ceiling windows, and the women would sit in them on a stool in scanty outfits, waiting for customers who they would take into a small room behind the front. They had no interest is servicing Americans or other foreigners. In fact, the US military made those areas officially off-limits, so a GI caught there could be punished under the UCMJ.

1 Reply32 RecommendShareFlag

SP/5 P commented May 2

SP/5 P

USA

May 2

This happen stateside with a wink from the local government. Look at St Roberts MO, outside Ft Leonard Wood in the late 60’s early70’s. If there was a vice, the town father’s and local criminals were working hand-in-hand to provide it to the GI’s.

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Michelle commented May 2

Michelle

May 2

@HJ Kim Women who had no bodily or financial autonomy. They were at the mercy of society on every level, as many people still are.

My heart breaks for these women, as for the women of Afghanistan, Sudan, and the dark corners of America where these evils persist. It also breaks for the men who know what's right, who want to protect their daughters from this, and can't.

Woman are people. Why is this fact controversial?

32 RecommendShareFlag

ian commented May 2

ian

Singapore

May 2

The US....Human Rights for All....also the US....unless violations has something to do with us...

31 RecommendShareFlag

Sally commented May 2

Sally

California

May 2

Young South Korean women were kidnapped and forced into prostitution to service American soldiers? What next? What happened to America’s belief in freedom and justice? (Only for Americans, eh?)

An important and terrible chapter in our history. I hope the women who survived this systemic abuse have their story taken to the highest courts. I hope they have their say in court.

31 RecommendShareFlag

Al Mostonest commented May 2

Al Mostonest

Manassas, VA

May 2

As serious as this matter is, I'm amused that it has opened up such a can of worms. It's instructional to read the comments, here, as they demonstrate not only a general ignorance of what goes on in the world but also a vast capacity for denial in the form of dramatic "outrage" as such things.

Yes, this is serious, but it also has to be addressed widely, honestly, and thoughtfully. Moral outrage is just a knee jerk.

6 Replies31 RecommendShareFlag

Ida commented May 2

Ida

Bronx

May 2

Terribly horrific. Many comments mention how sex camps always follow the military, which is true. But here is an instance where these women were 'sold down river' by their own government, which was supposed to protect them. Hope they receive something close to justice, if there can be such a thing.

31 RecommendShareFlag

rac commented May 2

rac

May 2

I'd like to see investigative journalism exposing the current situation where US military, including contractors are stationed around the world. Are women right now being forced into sex slavery for the disgusting comfort of American abusers? Has anything changed?

1 Reply30 RecommendShareFlag

Monti Datta commented May 2

Monti Datta

Richmond, VA

May 2

This is a powerful piece that vividly illuminates the horrors of foreign occupation, when one dominate nation, the United States, steps into the void left by a defeated Imperial Japan. We need to think more about how rape and state-sanctioned enslavement can be vicious human rights violations even in "peace time". We also need to look more deeply at the legacy of Imperial Japan and the United States, and how it has influenced how men in South Korea perceive and treat women. South Korea has a ubiquitous sex industry, with massage parlors all over the nation, and, along with other East Asian nations, a culture of sex tourism. When will enough be enough? When will South Korean women be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve?

30 RecommendShareFlag

Common Sense commented May 2

Common Sense

May 2

Some of the testimonials here are from women who were children at the time they were forced into prostitution. Surely, if someone put any thought into it, they would have realized there was sex slavery going on. Certainly, the officers and army doctors must have known.

30 RecommendShareFlag

Read commented May 2

Read

May 2

Another real world reminder that men need to learn to see women as people and not treat them as mechanisms for their own pleasure. The level to which we enable men to be so oblivious to the impact of their behaviors on others is insane.

30 RecommendShareFlag

Geri Tauber commented May 2

Geri Tauber

Riverside Illinois

May 2

@Al Mostonest Amusement is the LAST emotion I would feel after reading this article. :(

29 RecommendShareFlag

Donald Seekins commented May 2

Donald Seekins

Waipahu HI

May 2

These revelations about "comfort women" in South Korea after 1945 are extremely important. But I hope they don't give comfort to Japanese rightists who routinely whitewash their own country's use of military sex slaves.

After all, Park Chung-hee, the dictator of Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979, had been an officer in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Although he was a friend to Washington because of his strong anti-communism, his worldview was identical to that of his former Japanese masters.

29 RecommendShareFlag

Glenn Eisen commented May 2

Glenn Eisen

Westchester County New York

May 2

The sex and black-market trades around American military bases in Asia flourished for many years. In the Philippines in the 1950's and 60's Angeles outside of Clark Field and Olongapo outside of Subic Bay were full of places Americans could sell cigarettes, records, etc. They could also find prostitutes at the many bars and clubs sanctioned by the both the local authorities and US Military. Sellers of goods on the black market included the most senior officers in addition to low ranging enlisted personnel. The base commissaries, usually only used by married military personnel, stocked most goods for sale on the black market. I was stationed in the Philippines and personally eye witnessed these practices.

1 Reply28 RecommendShareFlag

Clarysage Proudfoot commented May 2

Clarysage Proudfoot

May 2

@Artist And assume that any "sex worker" is actually a sex slave.

28 RecommendShareFlag

Andrew commented May 2

Andrew

Expat In Hong Kong

May 2

The military needs to be forced to acknowledge those, and ideally do a peep walk, at the very least.

This is fundamentally a problem with military culture. It really doesn’t have to be so! The problem is that the military and the whole of society turns a blind eye to it (all the while cleaning up the messes afterwards). There are plenty of stories of the US and UK spiriting the offending soldiers away and offering money as compensation, instead of cracking down on the root causes. And, don’t think that Korea (or the Philippines or Vietnam in earlier times) are the only ones that suffer from this corrupt economy (yes, sex slavery). The famous R&R trips to Thailand are well known. This criminal and corrupt practice needs to be properly acknowledged, and real steps taken.

A little anecdote from HK. Unlike the British squaddies who were famous for getting in fights and sexual assaults in the bar districts (which are also the red light districts), the only time the PLA soldiers have made the news was when then came out to help clear up the mess of paving stones pulled up and thrown by the criminal rioters. Other than that we never see them, and I live quite close to a barracks (which appears to be mostly empty as far as I can tell).

So no, it doesn’t have to be like this. How about some useful competition with China on this? Come on US, UK, you can do it (if you really want to).

28 RecommendShareFlag

John D commented May 2

John D

Austin, TX

May 2

There's more than enough culpability here to go around, wouldn't you say? But if there is an emphasis on who the trade was built FOR, it's partly because the story is about victims who, having finally been heard and recognized in their own country, are now seeking acknowledgment of their victimhood in the other country that contributed to their trauma and suffering.

27 RecommendShareFlag

Rea Tarr commented May 2

Rea Tarr

Malone, NY

May 2

@ellie k.

"Women historically are victims of men."

There. Fixed it for you.

27 RecommendShareFlag

Nick commented May 2

Nick

Portland

May 2

The myth of American benevolence and exceptionalism continues to crumble as “facts” come to light. Our nation has been built on the twin “ideals” of exploitation and greed.

2 Replies27 RecommendShareFlag

Stacy commented May 2

Stacy

Santa Monica, CA

May 2

I loathe all slavery but sex slavery is one of the worse. Something is wrong with our species to allow harm to women, children and men in such a way.

27 RecommendShareFlag

Home commented May 2

Home

San Francisco

May 2

I really appreciate the article. Obviously, the commenters agree upon how wrong this is, and that compensation and apologies are necessary but inadequate.

(I'm ... baffled ... by those who say it always happens in war, as if that make it inevitable or justifiable.)

But it needs to stop. From comfort women in Korea to secret service prostitutes: any person working for the U.S. should lose their job, rights, privileges, pension, honors, and reputation should they engage in this, even if it is legal.

As an agent of the US government, you must be required to uphold the highest legal and moral standard of the country or the US.

Further, any supervising official who permits or encourages this should be jailed.

Is that clear enough?

Otherwise, get another job.

27 RecommendShareFlag

Feef commented May 2

Feef

Seattle, WA

May 2

@Jamie Agreed. But in the end, as in all these cases - Epstein, The Hollywood Madam et al - the names of the men involved are always withheld. The women endure endless shame and exposure but the men are always protected.

27 RecommendShareFlag

frankly 32 commented May 2

frankly 32

by the sea

May 2

Another real world reminder.

Let's Face reality, drastically reduce assault --

legalize prostitution and put the prostitutes in charge.

Half the world already has done the first part.

It's not a bad idea but whether it works out good or bad depends on the implementation.

2 Replies27 RecommendShareFlag

shar persen commented May 2

shar persen

brookline

May 2

In the endless history of war, the where, the when, and the why may vary. But the constant is men: the men who decide what and who does and does not matter. Women and children (female and male) have often been relegated to the sidelines, where they become collateral damage at best or materiel to bolster the men's morale, indeed sometimes both.

26 RecommendShareFlag

John E. commented May 2

John E.

Amazing, New Mexico

May 2

I made a comment below regarding my experience in the military in Thailand. I think that it is important to clarify that, in my experience, rape and/or violence was not a factor in the sex trade surrounding the base I was stationed at. At all times, it was strictly a business transaction. Was this exploitive? Yes. But most of the sex workers did it due to poverty and did not need to be coerced or threatened- they approached the servicemen because we had money- pure and simple. An agreement was made, a price was set, money changed hands and the deal was consummated, sometimes with multiple partners in one night. Some servicemen supported a “girlfriend” and her family (housing and food) for their entire one year tour. The ultimate “prize” was to marry a GI and “go states”. Some Thai women worked on base cleaning, working in the chow hall, the BX, etc. Others chose this line of work, as they likely had few other options. They supported many people back in their villages. I am not justifying what took place, but the image of American servicemen raping women against their will is completely false from what I observed and experienced. As ugly as it is, they used the only “marketable” skill they had in an environment of extreme poverty to just survive, and the pool of potential customers was large and essentially captive. Some sex workers, as they grew older and saved money, opened bars where they were the “Mamasan”, and they provided a venue for younger sex workers.

5 Replies26 RecommendShareFlag

James Firelocke commented May 2

James Firelocke

New Jersey

May 2

It's curious how the deep rot, corruption injustice, exploitation, violence, and general moral depravity of our "Shining City on a Hill" is continuously exposed as our oh-so-carefully cultivated outer layer of phony decency erodes in the winds of time and history.

26 RecommendShareFlag

Kati commented May 2

Kati

Seattle, WA

May 2

@Counter Measures

This in no way compensate for the lifelong trauma suffered by women forced into sexual slavery and the violence and murders that accompanied it...

26 RecommendShareFlag

Terrils commented May 2

Terrils

California

May 2

@David Yeah. I don't think you can equate the exploitation that way.

26 RecommendShareFlag

JW commented May 2

Georgia

May 2

I suspect that the men that participated in this atrocity ( today we call it a war crime) don’t read The NY Times.

Let’s see if any of the other “ news” channels pick this story up or just ignore it.

Thankfully none of the men in my family were of age for Korea, so I don’t have to go corner my dad tonight.

1 Reply26 RecommendShareFlag

Keef ex Cucamonga commented May 2

Keef ex Cucamonga

PNW

May 2

I highly recommend the podcast Blowback, whose third season focuses on the Korean War and its aftermath, including the exploitation of women in the so called comfort stations. There’s a reason no one talks about the Korean War, and it is not because we did awesome.

25 RecommendShareFlag

Eusha commented May 2

Eusha

Europe

May 2

Apparently Obama decided to not publish "sensitive findings" of the probe that investigated into the conduct of the American military in civilian abuse cases in Iraq. How judicious and just of the American president. How prudent and sagacious of the benevolent and philanthropic American president. Forget the rape of women, some suggest that there were blatant cases of child rape and abuse. I feel sorry for the next place America decides to save democracy in.

1 Reply25 RecommendShareFlag

JB commented May 2

May 2

@JR Prostitution was illegal back then, too. You can't just let them off the hook because they were young men. They violated the UCMJ by using these services and they participated in some form of human trafficking because the women were coerced or tricked.

25 RecommendShareFlag

Chris Wren Stanford commented May 2

Chris Wren Stanford

Gold Spike

May 2

@Jenny

Some did, even then, confront their own humanity. But few had the tools, or aid, to do so meaningfully in the late 1960s or early 1970s. I knew a former Marine Lance Corporal -- he became my boss -- who was there about 1968-69. He was only 19 at the time, and was about 25 when we met. He participated and was ashamed of it -- although not very articulate, he saw this then as more than exploitative, he saw it as almost criminal. He surely had done things he could not tell his mother, and could relate them to us only privately and when very intoxicated, while crying in his shame, and crying for help. As years passed, he gradually healed -- becoming a lay assistant in his church -- but I have no doubt that he continued to carry guilt and shame to his decease, two years ago at age 78.

25 RecommendShareFlag

Kati commented May 2

Kati

Seattle, WA

May 2

@Bob

"brother married ONE" ... oh and that justifies forced sex slavery and the violence that came with it as well as a number of murders?

25 RecommendShareFlag

Alan Wallach commented May 2

Alan Wallach

Washington, DC

May 2

@Robert There really no substantial difference. It's still a horror that the US military allowed and probably condoned.

25 RecommendShareFlag

Semolina Pilchard commented May 2

Semolina Pilchard

Brooklyn

May 2

The book Germany 1945 by Richard Bessel chronicles the rapes and other atrocities committed by the allies in Germany in the last year of WW2 . The americans , not only the Russians , and especially the French were participants . The only American military personnel prosecuted were black American soldiers as per Bessel . Soldiers , through the ages conquering territory , first abscond with alcohol and then look for women .

24 RecommendShareFlag

Warren Kim commented May 2

Warren Kim

Honolulu Hawaii

May 2

This is an old issue with army bases around the world. What I am concerned about is the conflation of the term comfort woman used in World War II with the same term used postwar. There are very major differences, but the terminology of “comfort woman” might confuse some people. The Japanese took Korean teenagers and women forceful, and through coercion and trickery to a another country that the Japanese were waging wars, isolated from everything they knew in a foreign country, while living at the whims of their soldier masters. They were under brutal conditions where they were to take literally dozens of men on a daily basis. They were also shamed by being made pregnant, and being the sexual slaves of Korea’s colonial master. While both were terrible events, I fear that this will be used in a way to present false equivalency between the Korean government actions and the imperial Japanese actions during world war two.

1 Reply24 RecommendShareFlag

Just Another commented May 2

Just Another

New York

May 2

@zarathustra , "This type of behavior has been a feature of military campaigning since the time of Homer". Maybe. But if you read Homer, the Old Testament, and many other ancient or even simply pre-modern works, you'll see that genocides and mass killings, enslavement of civilians, mass rape in wartime, ethnic cleansing, all sorts of hierarchies and inequalities, etc. were once accepted as natural and things that couldn't be helped. But today, they're largely viewed as crimes or injustices that are not or should not be the norm. Times change, and with them our notions of what is decent and acceptable and what is not.

24 RecommendShareFlag

Anon commented May 2

Anon

Corrales, NM

May 2

@Deborah Families that use popular genetic testing services are finding out that not only did the men in their families participate in this abuse, but also that they left unacknowledged children there

24 RecommendShareFlag

Jude Gagner commented May 2

Jude Gagner

Bangor ME

May 2

It is indeed an enormous problem and it appears to me that during wars, it's due to both power differentials between women and soldiers and also a way for the conquerors to enrage and further humiliate the enemy. It's so animalistic, but so is war.

When I was in college, I dated a man who had served in South Korea and he bragged about his time with prostitutes there, believing that he was a much desired stud of a man. I had no respect for him and his behaviors.

24 RecommendShareFlag

Bruce commented May 2

Bruce

Toronto

May 2

Why not?

Richard Marinko wrote a book - "Rogue Warrior" - bragging about abusing underage Asian women. The practice was depicted as normal and almost a competition.

American Soldiers behave badly. Though perhaps the general mindset of professionalism and a system of justice and enforcement reduces the incidence.

23 RecommendShareFlag

tated commented May 2

tated

Brooklyn

May 2

@rjs7777 This is very bad by any moral prism. And military protection does not necessitate the abuse of women.

23 RecommendShareFlag

Diane P commented May 2

Diane P

May 2

I'm so sorry this gross abuse happened to these innocent women.

23 RecommendShareFlag

Maple commented May 2

Maple

May 2

@HJ Kim I'm sorry for your pain. You make a lot of poignant points. I think you could write an excellent, informative New York Times Opinion guest essay.

I saw the documentary "One Child Nation" in 2019. It explores the impacts and the very, very dark side of China's one-child policy. The images and stories have stayed with me.

23 RecommendShareFlag

chef commented May 2

chef

Jersey

May 2

@John Brown

This view denies the reality that there are not enough women "volunteering" to be prostitutes. Did you not read the article? Girls and women were taken from their homes and forced into this life. That has been the case since time immemorial, and continues unabated today. Your imagined utopia where uncoerced women flock to a well-regulated industry to be used by literally armies of men is a fantasy. And a disturbing one at that. There will never be enough willing women to satisfy the men who want this easy access to their bodies.

6 Replies23 RecommendShareFlag

FitGirl commented May 2

FitGirl

Jackson

May 2

Those poor women. The utter horror and shame of it all. Just because a 'service' is there doesn't mean that a man has to take advantage of it. Wrong is always wrong. While these women have to forge ahead with their lives and work through the pain of what U.S. GI's inflicted on them, those guilty GI's have to navigate their consciences trying to live with being perpetrators of such horrors.

22 RecommendShareFlag

Jon not theDon commented May 2

Jon not theDon

Indiana

May 2

Should we be surprised that such behavior occurs when many, many young(er) men are shipped overseas and dumped en-masse in a foreign country that is engaged in a defacto war with it's neighbor? It's an occupation, albeit an allied force, and with the commonsense attendant problems. Those soldiers can't just easily go out and engage the 'local girls' in a foreign (even alien) culture absent ventures to provide 'services'. That earlier era RoK govt thus had an 'understanding' with the US govt, but didn't meet it's commitment to those sex workers, either by illegal recruitment (kidnapping?) or their compensation. And we created a new set of victims: the 'comfort' women.

We need to look beyond the simple moralizing to solve the problem of those past wrong. Both the RoK and USA govts should apologize to those women and compensate them accordingly. I am betting that the entire lives of those 'comfort women' were ruined since they could never go on to normal lives in their later age: marriage, family, or perhaps even employment. That is the irony of the modern 'comfort women' as their Japanese occupation predecessors are regarded as heros, yet the more recent ones relatively forgotten because of their RoK govts own collusion and an ally rather than enemy.

This is one of those shameful problems few want to recognize and make up to. If the RoK govt can recognize them, then the American govt should compensate them too.

22 RecommendShareFlag

frankly 32 commented May 2

frankly 32

by the sea

May 2

Another real world reminder.

Let's Face reality, drastically reduce assault --

legalize prostitution and put the prostitutes in charge.

Half the world already has done the first part.

It's not a bad idea but whether it works out good or bad depends on the implementation.

2 Replies27 RecommendShareFlag

shar persen commented May 2

shar persen

brookline

May 2

26 RecommendShareFlag

John E. commented May 2

John E.

Amazing, New Mexico

May 2

5 Replies26 RecommendShareFlag

James Firelocke commented May 2

James Firelocke

New Jersey

May 2

26 RecommendShareFlag

Kati commented May 2

Kati

Seattle, WA

May 2

@Counter Measures

This in no way compensate for the lifelong trauma suffered by women forced into sexual slavery and the violence and murders that accompanied it...

26 RecommendShareFlag

Terrils commented May 2

Terrils

California

May 2

@David Yeah. I don't think you can equate the exploitation that way.

26 RecommendShareFlag

JW commented May 2

Georgia

May 2

I suspect that the men that participated in this atrocity ( today we call it a war crime) don’t read The NY Times.

Let’s see if any of the other “ news” channels pick this story up or just ignore it.

Thankfully none of the men in my family were of age for Korea, so I don’t have to go corner my dad tonight.

1 Reply26 RecommendShareFlag

Keef ex Cucamonga commented May 2

Keef ex Cucamonga

PNW

May 2

25 RecommendShareFlag

Eusha commented May 2

Eusha

Europe

May 2

1 Reply25 RecommendShareFlag

JB commented May 2

May 2

25 RecommendShareFlag

Chris Wren Stanford commented May 2

Chris Wren Stanford

Gold Spike

May 2

@Jenny

25 RecommendShareFlag

Kati commented May 2

Kati

Seattle, WA

May 2

@Bob

"brother married ONE" ... oh and that justifies forced sex slavery and the violence that came with it as well as a number of murders?

25 RecommendShareFlag

Alan Wallach commented May 2

Alan Wallach

Washington, DC

May 2

@Robert There really no substantial difference. It's still a horror that the US military allowed and probably condoned.

25 RecommendShareFlag

Semolina Pilchard commented May 2

Semolina Pilchard

Brooklyn

May 2

24 RecommendShareFlag

Warren Kim commented May 2

Warren Kim

Honolulu Hawaii

May 2

1 Reply24 RecommendShareFlag

Just Another commented May 2

Just Another

New York

May 2

24 RecommendShareFlag

Anon commented May 2

Anon

Corrales, NM

May 2

24 RecommendShareFlag

Jude Gagner commented May 2

Jude Gagner

Bangor ME

May 2

24 RecommendShareFlag

Bruce commented May 2

Bruce

Toronto

May 2

Why not?

Richard Marinko wrote a book - "Rogue Warrior" - bragging about abusing underage Asian women. The practice was depicted as normal and almost a competition.

American Soldiers behave badly. Though perhaps the general mindset of professionalism and a system of justice and enforcement reduces the incidence.

23 RecommendShareFlag

tated commented May 2

tated

Brooklyn

May 2

@rjs7777 This is very bad by any moral prism. And military protection does not necessitate the abuse of women.

23 RecommendShareFlag

Diane P commented May 2

Diane P

May 2

I'm so sorry this gross abuse happened to these innocent women.

23 RecommendShareFlag

Maple commented May 2

Maple

May 2

@HJ Kim I'm sorry for your pain. You make a lot of poignant points. I think you could write an excellent, informative New York Times Opinion guest essay.

I saw the documentary "One Child Nation" in 2019. It explores the impacts and the very, very dark side of China's one-child policy. The images and stories have stayed with me.

23 RecommendShareFlag

chef commented May 2

chef

Jersey

May 2

@John Brown

6 Replies23 RecommendShareFlag

FitGirl commented May 2

FitGirl

Jackson

May 2

22 RecommendShareFlag

Jon not theDon commented May 2

Jon not theDon

Indiana

May 2

This is one of those shameful problems few want to recognize and make up to. If the RoK govt can recognize them, then the American govt should compensate them too.

22 RecommendShareFlag

CMM commented May 2

CMM

May 2

Even today, even in the most progressive circles of our society, women are objectified and valued primarily for their sexual attractiveness. Imagine how ugly that impulse can get in the middle of a war, in societies were women have much less power, and when it is much easier for the authorities to rationalize the systemic abuse. My heart breaks for these women. I hope their lawsuits in the US are wildly successful.

22 RecommendShareFlag

JHa commented May 2

JHa

NYC

May 2

@Deborah Lieberson

Thank you for this comment. I was thinking exactly the same thing.

22 RecommendShareFlag

Jane K I’m commented May 2

Jane K I’m

Northern California

May 2

@ML, sometimes people see only what they want to see.

Long ago, I once dated someone who liked to travel to Thailand.

When I asked him why he liked Thailand so much, he told me that he liked the bars and the nightlife there. The girls were so pretty and fun and enjoyed having a good time. I explained to him that they may not enjoy it as much as he thought they did. Possibly, they were pretending to have a good time to get by and make a living in a difficult situation.

It never occurred to him that was even a possibility. He just assumed that he was so charming, charismatic and good looking that all these women wanted to be with him.

I quit spending time with him after that.

5 Replies22 RecommendShareFlag

Carol Eliason commented May 2

Carol Eliason

Fresno

May 2

Perhaps a little DNA testing might be helpful in some cases.

22 RecommendShareFlag

irina commented May 2

irina

latitude 64 north

May 2

@Abby

I think the problem is, if this situation is remedied for these

survivors, the US military with its 800 bases around the world would be exposed for similar, ongoing crimes against

women. Compensation would set a dangerous precedent.

Agree about some of the comments, which in all honesty

sound like they are made by 'incels' who seem to think they

are owed sexual access to females.

22 RecommendShareFlag

KM commented May 2

Berkeley, California

May 2

Horrific, tragic, shocking. They and their children deserve compensation from the US government. From what I have seen on K-drama shows the social order is quite rigid and much emphasis is placed on parents' occupations and family background in assessing someone's character and suitability for jobs and relationships. Not only was life undoubtedly difficult for these women but also for their children, whether born to US servicemen or not.

NYT: Please include the title of Col. Taylor as basic identifying information. He is (or was most recently) public affairs director for the U.N. Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea, South Korea. Not a spokesman for the US military.

21 RecommendShareFlag

Dan commented May 2

Dan

illinois

May 2

how can you possibly come to this conclusion after reading this article where sex work appeared to have been "regulated" by the SK government and US military. Yes those girls had it much better.

21 RecommendShareFlag

Mike commented May 2

Mike

Arizona

May 2

@Al Mostonest

My R&R was in Honolulu for a rendezvous with my fiancee in '69...still together today. Others met their spouses, family members in Hawaii. But I wasn't aware of the "comfort women" aspect elsewhere. My question: Is it history or did/does it continue during the so-called War on Terror?

21 RecommendShareFlag

ML commented May 2

Washington, D.C.

May 2

Some sex workers in S. Korea, like some proportion of sex workers everywhere, were forced into prostitution by human traffickers. These human traffickers and pimps were S. Korean nationals.

Got it.

Now where's the part where the customer, who has no way of knowing who is trafficked and who is not, guilty of some atrocity beyond what some would call the moral depravation of hiring a sex worker?

5 Replies21 RecommendShareFlag

Anne commented May 2

Anne

San Rafael

May 2

@Mike F. The only possible solution is the economic and psychological liberation of women.

21 RecommendShareFlag

T commented May 2

May 2

@Aokai Ironically animals don't do this to their species, only humans do.

21 RecommendShareFlag

Terrils commented May 2

Terrils

California

May 2

@Al Mostonest It is not "organized sex." It is "organized rape." These women did NOT agree to this.

21 RecommendShareFlag

Juan commented May 2

Juan

Columbus

May 2

I remember the days when I went through Camp Casey (Turtle Farm) on my way to Camp Howze on the Western Corridor (1/503rd Inf Bn). It was really sad to see how the people lived just outside the Camp Howze front gate, and across the street from Camp Casey. The bars were nothing but prostitution centers for those who dared. The Army did warn us GI’s about the dangerous sexually transmitted diseases, not to mention leftover beer being sold as “new,” and many of us stayed away from that. Unfortunately, many really young GI’s stayed “down range,” felled in love with the prostitutes and often married them. The Korean government used to deny that prostitution existed in Korea, but it was there on plain sight. It is a shame that they forced some of those women to do the prostitution thing. Having said that, I am glad to see Korea become such an economic powerhouse in such a short time. Hope I could visit those little towns, and Soul, so I can reminisce about the one year that I spent there.

21 RecommendShareFlag

Bobby commented May 2

Bobby

May 2

The headline focuses on who the sex trade was built FOR rather than who it was built BY which seems to misplace the culpability.

2 Replies20 RecommendShareFlag

Bordercollieman commented May 2

Bordercollieman

Johnson City, TN

May 2

Congratulations to the Times for this article, especially its emphasis on the brutal and sadistic behavior of U.S. soldiers and the economic/political reasons for maintaining this system. It is the sort of reality that the current De Santis type Republicans would like to keep from our eyes. Stories like this may slowly redeem the press from its seemingly congenital timidity about telling it like it is.

1 Reply20 RecommendShareFlag

AL commented May 2

IE, CA

May 2

How does the ROK outgrow its dependence on its benefactor/client/big brother when its relationship with the US, symbiotic at best, exploitative at worst, was embedded into its founding as a nation? Can individuation ever be possible? Or has geopolitics destined it to remain a vassal to the powers to which it is susceptible at any given point in history (China, Japan, USA)?

As a Korean American who spent two years in Korea (2019-21) for the first time in my 40’s, the relationship I observed between the two cultures was … complex. The familiarity that Koreans had with American cultural output — music, film, books, material goods — facilitated connection and offered comfort. There was also, in extreme cases, the weird adoration of White Americans. I saw it play out at the international school where I worked. The teachers and admins effectively had license to behave unprofessionally, being above reproach, as Korean families made great sacrifices to buy their children a “superior,” Western education. It was discomfiting to see the native Korean staff — the older janitors and cooks — showing deference to their expat superiors.

Korea’s wretched origins haven’t faded from collective memory. My parents who grew up in the aftermath of the Korean War have grateful memories of GI’s handing out coveted American food staples. The lionized image of the American hero lives on.

In the alleyways of Pyeongtaek, home to the world’s largest US military base, sex slaves from SE Asia are on display

1 Reply20 RecommendShareFlag

Feldman commented May 2

Feldman

Portland

May 2

We know that, as humans, we have a long way to go before we measure up to our own hype. I see great progress -- but also accept that our social evolution, since we left the trees, to be pretty thin.

Just think back less than 100 years ago: the various examples of genocide itself, all horrific. Less than a 100 years ago.

1 Reply20 RecommendShareFlag

arvay commented May 2

arvay

new york

May 2

So, let's imagine all that "our" government and the corporate news media are hiding from us, that will be stifled like this was for decades. If recent whistleblowers and even the 21-year old document-posting gameplayer are any indication -- a LOT.

1 Reply20 RecommendShareFlag

David commented May 2

David

Winston Salem

May 2

as the author & Vietnam veteran Karl Marlantes said: " we exploited their poverty, and they exploited our loneliness "

20 RecommendShareFlag

Firefly commented May 2

Firefly

May 2

@Annie B. We don't acknowledge any of the bad behavior because Americans mindlessly fetishize military service members (and high tech weapons of war) .... and a large segment of society seems to believe that the only true patriots in America are those who wear military uniforms.

20 RecommendShareFlag

KestrelFlight commented May 2

KestrelFlight

Connecticut

May 2

@JY Lee

The two situations aren't even remotely comparable.

20 RecommendShareFlag

Skip commented May 2

Skip

Indiana

May 2

It’s terrible. Who sold them? The use of passive voice is maddening.

1 Reply19 RecommendShareFlag

JR commented May 2

Seattle

May 2

Not excusing this behavior, but you are talking about 18 and 19 year old kids serving in the US military. And, yes, the Army had a huge interest in keeping these boys safe and not getting VD. Maybe the Korean government was complicit, I don't know, but the blame lies in the supplier, not American 18 year olds.

28 Replies19 RecommendShareFlag

Al commented May 2

Cleveland

May 2

Am I the only one who fed up with stories of Asian countries like South Korea and Japan getting away with "deep prejudice against biracial children" at the same time we fight so hard in this country to eliminate prejudice of all sorts? Germany was forced to confront its history of racism, which they did with some measure of success. When are we going to wake up and put some real pressure on these so-called allied countries to shape up and embrace diversity?

4 Replies19 RecommendShareFlag

JB commented May 2

Houston

May 2

What century does this comment come from? So 18-year-old men can drink, vote, and shoot the enemy, but they are too weak to be able to keep it in their pants? Everyone involved who used these women for sex is guilty. Everyone.

28 Replies19 RecommendShareFlag

CMM commented May 2

CMM

May 2

22 RecommendShareFlag

JHa commented May 2

JHa

NYC

May 2

@Deborah Lieberson

Thank you for this comment. I was thinking exactly the same thing.

22 RecommendShareFlag

Jane K I’m commented May 2

Jane K I’m

Northern California

May 2

@ML, sometimes people see only what they want to see.

Long ago, I once dated someone who liked to travel to Thailand.

It never occurred to him that was even a possibility. He just assumed that he was so charming, charismatic and good looking that all these women wanted to be with him.

I quit spending time with him after that.

5 Replies22 RecommendShareFlag

Carol Eliason commented May 2

Carol Eliason

Fresno

May 2

Perhaps a little DNA testing might be helpful in some cases.

22 RecommendShareFlag

irina commented May 2

irina

latitude 64 north

May 2

@Abby

I think the problem is, if this situation is remedied for these

survivors, the US military with its 800 bases around the world would be exposed for similar, ongoing crimes against

women. Compensation would set a dangerous precedent.

Agree about some of the comments, which in all honesty

sound like they are made by 'incels' who seem to think they

are owed sexual access to females.

22 RecommendShareFlag

KM commented May 2

Berkeley, California

May 2

21 RecommendShareFlag

Dan commented May 2

Dan

illinois

May 2

how can you possibly come to this conclusion after reading this article where sex work appeared to have been "regulated" by the SK government and US military. Yes those girls had it much better.

21 RecommendShareFlag

Mike commented May 2

Mike

Arizona

May 2

@Al Mostonest

21 RecommendShareFlag

ML commented May 2

Washington, D.C.

May 2

Some sex workers in S. Korea, like some proportion of sex workers everywhere, were forced into prostitution by human traffickers. These human traffickers and pimps were S. Korean nationals.

Got it.

Now where's the part where the customer, who has no way of knowing who is trafficked and who is not, guilty of some atrocity beyond what some would call the moral depravation of hiring a sex worker?

5 Replies21 RecommendShareFlag

Anne commented May 2

Anne

San Rafael

May 2

@Mike F. The only possible solution is the economic and psychological liberation of women.

21 RecommendShareFlag

T commented May 2

May 2

@Aokai Ironically animals don't do this to their species, only humans do.

21 RecommendShareFlag

Terrils commented May 2

Terrils

California

May 2

@Al Mostonest It is not "organized sex." It is "organized rape." These women did NOT agree to this.

21 RecommendShareFlag

Juan commented May 2

Juan

Columbus

May 2

21 RecommendShareFlag

Bobby commented May 2

Bobby

May 2

The headline focuses on who the sex trade was built FOR rather than who it was built BY which seems to misplace the culpability.

2 Replies20 RecommendShareFlag

Bordercollieman commented May 2

Bordercollieman

Johnson City, TN

May 2

1 Reply20 RecommendShareFlag

AL commented May 2

IE, CA

May 2

In the alleyways of Pyeongtaek, home to the world’s largest US military base, sex slaves from SE Asia are on display

1 Reply20 RecommendShareFlag

Feldman commented May 2

Feldman

Portland

May 2

We know that, as humans, we have a long way to go before we measure up to our own hype. I see great progress -- but also accept that our social evolution, since we left the trees, to be pretty thin.

Just think back less than 100 years ago: the various examples of genocide itself, all horrific. Less than a 100 years ago.

1 Reply20 RecommendShareFlag

arvay commented May 2

arvay

new york

May 2

1 Reply20 RecommendShareFlag

David commented May 2

David

Winston Salem

May 2

as the author & Vietnam veteran Karl Marlantes said: " we exploited their poverty, and they exploited our loneliness "

20 RecommendShareFlag

Firefly commented May 2

Firefly

May 2

20 RecommendShareFlag

KestrelFlight commented May 2

KestrelFlight

Connecticut

May 2

@JY Lee

The two situations aren't even remotely comparable.

20 RecommendShareFlag

Skip commented May 2

Skip

Indiana

May 2

It’s terrible. Who sold them? The use of passive voice is maddening.

1 Reply19 RecommendShareFlag

JR commented May 2

Seattle

May 2

28 Replies19 RecommendShareFlag

Al commented May 2

Cleveland

May 2

4 Replies19 RecommendShareFlag

JB commented May 2

Houston

May 2

28 Replies19 RecommendShareFlag

CMM commented May 2

CMM

May 2

22 RecommendShareFlag

JHa commented May 2

JHa

NYC

May 2

@Deborah Lieberson

Thank you for this comment. I was thinking exactly the same thing.

22 RecommendShareFlag

Jane K I’m commented May 2

Jane K I’m

Northern California

May 2

@ML, sometimes people see only what they want to see.

Long ago, I once dated someone who liked to travel to Thailand.

It never occurred to him that was even a possibility. He just assumed that he was so charming, charismatic and good looking that all these women wanted to be with him.

I quit spending time with him after that.

5 Replies22 RecommendShareFlag

Carol Eliason commented May 2

Carol Eliason

Fresno

May 2

Perhaps a little DNA testing might be helpful in some cases.

22 RecommendShareFlag

irina commented May 2

irina

latitude 64 north

May 2

@Abby

I think the problem is, if this situation is remedied for these

survivors, the US military with its 800 bases around the world would be exposed for similar, ongoing crimes against

women. Compensation would set a dangerous precedent.

Agree about some of the comments, which in all honesty

sound like they are made by 'incels' who seem to think they

are owed sexual access to females.

22 RecommendShareFlag

KM commented May 2

Berkeley, California

May 2

21 RecommendShareFlag

Dan commented May 2

Dan

illinois

May 2

how can you possibly come to this conclusion after reading this article where sex work appeared to have been "regulated" by the SK government and US military. Yes those girls had it much better.

21 RecommendShareFlag

Mike commented May 2

Mike

Arizona

May 2

@Al Mostonest

21 RecommendShareFlag

ML commented May 2

Washington, D.C.

May 2

Some sex workers in S. Korea, like some proportion of sex workers everywhere, were forced into prostitution by human traffickers. These human traffickers and pimps were S. Korean nationals.

Got it.

Now where's the part where the customer, who has no way of knowing who is trafficked and who is not, guilty of some atrocity beyond what some would call the moral depravation of hiring a sex worker?

5 Replies21 RecommendShareFlag

Anne commented May 2

Anne

San Rafael

May 2

@Mike F. The only possible solution is the economic and psychological liberation of women.

21 RecommendShareFlag

T commented May 2

May 2

@Aokai Ironically animals don't do this to their species, only humans do.

21 RecommendShareFlag

Terrils commented May 2

Terrils

California

May 2

@Al Mostonest It is not "organized sex." It is "organized rape." These women did NOT agree to this.

21 RecommendShareFlag

Juan commented May 2

Juan

Columbus

May 2

21 RecommendShareFlag

Bobby commented May 2

Bobby

May 2

The headline focuses on who the sex trade was built FOR rather than who it was built BY which seems to misplace the culpability.

2 Replies20 RecommendShareFlag

Bordercollieman commented May 2

Bordercollieman

Johnson City, TN

May 2

1 Reply20 RecommendShareFlag

AL commented May 2

IE, CA

May 2

In the alleyways of Pyeongtaek, home to the world’s largest US military base, sex slaves from SE Asia are on display

1 Reply20 RecommendShareFlag

Feldman commented May 2

Feldman

Portland

May 2

We know that, as humans, we have a long way to go before we measure up to our own hype. I see great progress -- but also accept that our social evolution, since we left the trees, to be pretty thin.

Just think back less than 100 years ago: the various examples of genocide itself, all horrific. Less than a 100 years ago.

1 Reply20 RecommendShareFlag

arvay commented May 2

arvay

new york

May 2

1 Reply20 RecommendShareFlag

David commented May 2

David

Winston Salem

May 2

as the author & Vietnam veteran Karl Marlantes said: " we exploited their poverty, and they exploited our loneliness "

20 RecommendShareFlag

Firefly commented May 2

Firefly

May 2

20 RecommendShareFlag

KestrelFlight commented May 2

KestrelFlight

Connecticut

May 2

@JY Lee

The two situations aren't even remotely comparable.

20 RecommendShareFlag

Skip commented May 2

Skip

Indiana

May 2

It’s terrible. Who sold them? The use of passive voice is maddening.

1 Reply19 RecommendShareFlag

JR commented May 2

Seattle

May 2

28 Replies19 RecommendShareFlag

Al commented May 2

Cleveland

May 2

4 Replies19 RecommendShareFlag

JB commented May 2

Houston

May 2

28 Replies19 RecommendShareFlag

CMM commented May 2

CMM

May 2

22 RecommendShareFlag

JHa commented May 2

JHa

NYC

May 2

@Deborah Lieberson

Thank you for this comment. I was thinking exactly the same thing.

22 RecommendShareFlag

Jane K I’m commented May 2

Jane K I’m

Northern California

May 2

@ML, sometimes people see only what they want to see.

Long ago, I once dated someone who liked to travel to Thailand.

It never occurred to him that was even a possibility. He just assumed that he was so charming, charismatic and good looking that all these women wanted to be with him.

I quit spending time with him after that.

5 Replies22 RecommendShareFlag

Carol Eliason commented May 2

Carol Eliason

Fresno

May 2

Perhaps a little DNA testing might be helpful in some cases.

22 RecommendShareFlag

irina commented May 2

irina

latitude 64 north

May 2

@Abby

I think the problem is, if this situation is remedied for these

survivors, the US military with its 800 bases around the world would be exposed for similar, ongoing crimes against

women. Compensation would set a dangerous precedent.

Agree about some of the comments, which in all honesty

sound like they are made by 'incels' who seem to think they

are owed sexual access to females.

22 RecommendShareFlag

KM commented May 2

Berkeley, California

May 2

21 RecommendShareFlag

Dan commented May 2

Dan

illinois

May 2

how can you possibly come to this conclusion after reading this article where sex work appeared to have been "regulated" by the SK government and US military. Yes those girls had it much better.

21 RecommendShareFlag

Mike commented May 2

Mike

Arizona

May 2

@Al Mostonest

21 RecommendShareFlag

ML commented May 2

Washington, D.C.

May 2

Some sex workers in S. Korea, like some proportion of sex workers everywhere, were forced into prostitution by human traffickers. These human traffickers and pimps were S. Korean nationals.

Got it.

Now where's the part where the customer, who has no way of knowing who is trafficked and who is not, guilty of some atrocity beyond what some would call the moral depravation of hiring a sex worker?

5 Replies21 RecommendShareFlag

Anne commented May 2

Anne

San Rafael

May 2

@Mike F. The only possible solution is the economic and psychological liberation of women.

21 RecommendShareFlag

T commented May 2

May 2

@Aokai Ironically animals don't do this to their species, only humans do.

21 RecommendShareFlag

Terrils commented May 2

Terrils

California

May 2

@Al Mostonest It is not "organized sex." It is "organized rape." These women did NOT agree to this.

21 RecommendShareFlag

Juan commented May 2

Juan

Columbus

May 2

21 RecommendShareFlag

Bobby commented May 2

Bobby

May 2

The headline focuses on who the sex trade was built FOR rather than who it was built BY which seems to misplace the culpability.

2 Replies20 RecommendShareFlag

Bordercollieman commented May 2

Bordercollieman

Johnson City, TN

May 2

1 Reply20 RecommendShareFlag

AL commented May 2

IE, CA

May 2

In the alleyways of Pyeongtaek, home to the world’s largest US military base, sex slaves from SE Asia are on display

1 Reply20 RecommendShareFlag

Feldman commented May 2

Feldman

Portland

May 2

We know that, as humans, we have a long way to go before we measure up to our own hype. I see great progress -- but also accept that our social evolution, since we left the trees, to be pretty thin.

Just think back less than 100 years ago: the various examples of genocide itself, all horrific. Less than a 100 years ago.

1 Reply20 RecommendShareFlag

arvay commented May 2

arvay

new york

May 2

1 Reply20 RecommendShareFlag

David commented May 2

David

Winston Salem

May 2

as the author & Vietnam veteran Karl Marlantes said: " we exploited their poverty, and they exploited our loneliness "

20 RecommendShareFlag

Firefly commented May 2

Firefly

May 2

20 RecommendShareFlag

KestrelFlight commented May 2

KestrelFlight

Connecticut

May 2

@JY Lee

The two situations aren't even remotely comparable.

20 RecommendShareFlag

Skip commented May 2

Skip

Indiana

May 2

It’s terrible. Who sold them? The use of passive voice is maddening.

1 Reply19 RecommendShareFlag

JR commented May 2

Seattle

May 2

28 Replies19 RecommendShareFlag

Al commented May 2

Cleveland

May 2

4 Replies19 RecommendShareFlag

JB commented May 2

Houston

May 2

28 Replies19 RecommendShareFlag

Truth Seeking commented May 2

Truth Seeking

NYC

May 2

JR,

So are you saying that 18-year-old males are adult enough to fight as soldiers but should not be considered adult enough to take responsibility for their sexual behavior? Misogyny goes along way when it comes to excusing men for predatory sexual behavior.

28 Replies19 RecommendShareFlag

David Parker commented May 2

David Parker

London

May 2

The article does not allege “equivalence”, but it refers to evidence that many women were coerced into prostitution, and then detained against their will as prostitutes, undergoing medical treatment as if they were animals, an inhuman and degrading situation made possible only by the long lasting connivence and support of the South Korean government and local authorities who were keen to retain US military support and to earn foreign currency. This is not speculation but is substantiated by the highest court in South Korea. There are different shades of evil, but this is black enough for most decent people.

19 RecommendShareFlag

stosh commented May 2

stosh

Oregon

May 2

@DWeid - yes. We created their mess.

19 RecommendShareFlag

Lee Knott commented May 2

Lee Knott

Skiatook OK

May 2

Acknowledge the facts, accept responsibility, apologize? Surely you jest. Will never happen.

19 RecommendShareFlag

Tiffani commented May 2

Tiffani

Iowa City

May 2

We need to eliminate the circumstances that push women into sex work. Legalizing it will not protect sex workers from the brutality of their clients and it's laughable to think that legalizing the industry would give them much more ability to get justice when they're abused than they currently have. Look at how seriously sexual assault is taken in the general population. People like the idea of legalizing sex work because it would make it easier for men to access it and they wouldn't be risking arrest to do so and because the rest of us could then pretend everyone working in the sex trade was doing so by choice. They don't push for it because it would help the women who do sex work.

10 Replies18 RecommendShareFlag

Lindsay commented May 2

Lindsay

May 2

The article is murky on how long this went on, and when it stopped (has it stopped?)

It mentions a murder of a South Korean woman by an American soldier in the 90s. A lot of this is more recent than we want to think, and our military essentially condones it.

1 Reply18 RecommendShareFlag

Joan commented May 2

Joan

Illinois

May 2

@JR these “boys”

“Just kids”

women and girls get treated as if they aren’t quite as human as boys and men. We’re not quite animals, but our lives are not as important as “these boys”

28 Replies18 RecommendShareFlag

Al Mostonest commented May 2

Al Mostonest

Manassas, VA

May 2

The problem I'm finding, here, is to determine on what level people want to make corrections in the way the world works. If exchanging sex for money is wrong, then...

1. Should we ban males?

2. Should we ban sex?

3. Should we raise better boys?

4. Should we ban all sexual references in TV, sports, movies, music, books, magazines, social media, and casual conversation?

5. Should be stop stationing U.S. troops in 130+ countries?

6. Should we reform the Capitalist system that creates massive wealth in some places while creating massive poverty in others?

How DEEP do we need to REFORM in order to limit (I don't think we can eliminate paid sex) the damage caused by so many global, political, economic, social injustices? Or course, we can all pretend to be outraged and signal our virtue by saying we've never engaged in any undignified activity.

4 Replies18 RecommendShareFlag

Netterfugue commented May 2

Netterfugue

NYC

May 2

"The women described how they were gathered for monthly classes where South Korean officials praised them as “dollar-earning patriots” "

I'm not sure how that squares with no documents linking the SK government to this unless one splits hairs and says "well, they didn't recruit the women, they just maintained the system". Pretty shaky.

18 RecommendShareFlag

HJ Kim commented May 2

HJ Kim

Ohio

May 2

@John Park This is such a valuable comment, thank you. Comment sections rarely bring up actual academic and scholarly work that has been done. So much time and emotional work goes into writing articles and doing research on topics like these. I’ll be looking up those authors.

18 RecommendShareFlag

Caytie commented May 2

Caytie

Maine

May 2

@JW I'm sure this isn't limited to South Korea. The same likely happens at near every foreign military facility and has since eternity. But for the US military, in recent history, we can likely look to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, etc, etc.

18 RecommendShareFlag

DeAnna C commented May 2

DeAnna C

California

May 2

The US is not occupying South Korea. The US presence in S Korea is a bilateral agreement, in which troop levels and activities are negotiated between both governments. Without the US presence, it is likely the Korea would have already been unified under the Kim family rule, with Kim Jong Un doing his best to starve S Koreans as well. Or, alternatively, without US support and security guarantees, South Korea would have a nuclear weapon program to deter the North.

The sex slavery that went on and was exploited by US service members is inexcusable, disgusting, and dishonorable. Those women deserve acknowledgment and compensation, not half baked comments about the American “occupation.”

18 RecommendShareFlag

Just My Opinion commented May 2

Just My Opinion

California

May 2

Legalize sex services like in Nevada. Sex should be a beautiful thing and for many it is out of reach. Protect the providers, treat them with respect and keep them healthy.

1 Reply18 RecommendShareFlag

Mike commented May 2

Mike

California

May 2

They were praised as "Dollar earning patriots" might be the saddest line in this piece. Nothing humans do surprises me much anymore. I feel horrible for them. Who could these women ever trust?

17 RecommendShareFlag

Ellen commented May 2

Ellen

NYC

May 2

Of course - we all know about the Japanese using 'comfort women' but I had never heard of the US military allowing / encouraging this.

I guess the US isnt so exceptional after all.

Each women or their families should be given 10MM USD. And Biden and the heads of the military should issue a formal apology. It can come from the military budget.

1 Reply17 RecommendShareFlag

Cynthia commented May 2

Cynthia

N. America

May 2

@rjs7777 One has nothing to do with the other. The U.S.'s military role, debatable to be sure, in the status of current-day S. Korea has nothing to do with the moral failing--irrespective of "today's moral prism," another debatable point--described in this story. Nothing justifies, either then or now, the treatment of these girls and women.

17 RecommendShareFlag

Ms. Peacock commented May 2

Ms. Peacock

The Conservatory

May 2

For some of the women in the article, it wasn't a "trade" - they were forced into sexual slavery.

17 RecommendShareFlag

KB commented May 2

May 2

You seem not to understand that being that poor is a type of coercion — it’s not a clean transaction. It’s the same principle that doesn’t allow medical trials to compensate people too heavily — it becomes coercive.

17 RecommendShareFlag

ASHRAF CHOWDHURY commented May 2

ASHRAF CHOWDHURY

NEW YORK,

May 2

Human right champion America is exporting its values to the third world and forcing those poor countries to accept or get sanctions. It is the same story that happened in Japan and Philippine.

17 RecommendShareFlag

Tautologie commented May 2

Tautologie

May 2

@JR Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. So wrong. 18 and 19 year olds are young men. They have agency and responsibility. Stop writing off adults as imbeciles with no self control or capacity for ethics.

28 Replies17 RecommendShareFlag

Cyba commented May 2

Cyba

The Un-United States Of America

May 2

I felt sick reading this article but it is so important to get the information out there especially as these women get on in years and their stories lost.

17 RecommendShareFlag

John Smithson commented May 2

John Smithson

California

May 2

Sad stories, but all too common around the world throughout human history.

1 Reply17 RecommendShareFlag

Jenny commented May 2

Jenny

New York

May 2

@Chris Wren Stanford -- It is a courageous feat to confront our most shameful transgressions. Sincerely appreciate you generously sharing your perspective. Peace to your late boss.

17 RecommendShareFlag

Henry commented May 2

Henry

Berkeley CA

May 2

And meanwhile the US continues its military occupation of South Korea.

3 Replies17 RecommendShareFlag

Christopher commented May 2

Christopher

Brooklyn

May 2

@Queen of Feral Cats It is precisely because these comments are so chilling that they are important and should be encouraged. The vast majority of men who participated in these practices never speak out about it at all. It is far easier to remain silent than to admit to having done something shameful.

Of course it shouldn't "take relationships with women who share your blood to make you have the epiphany that the acts you participated in long ago were sick, dehumanizing, and unethical" but the sad fact of the matter is that it often does.

It is also important for us to confront the institutional character of these horrifying practices that these comments expose. These practices are not just tolerated by the U.S. military, they are actively organized and encouraged by base commanders and senior officers who occupy positions of authority over young men who are, after all, under military discipline.

Young men in the armed forces should absolutely be held morally responsible for their individual actions and their failures to refuse and resist participation in these crimes against women and girls, but if we actually want to eradicate these practices we need to applaud those who take responsibility for what they have done by telling the truths that far more powerful men have sought to conceal.

13 Replies17 RecommendShareFlag

Common Sense commented May 2

Common Sense

May 2

@Craig Mason I don’t know that would help in wartime, when it is cheaper to abuse people. Comfort women was in the open. The issue is those in charge just didn’t care, and neither did the soldiers.

16 RecommendShareFlag

Independent American commented May 2

Independent American

USA

May 2

Another example of women being used and abused by "leaders" who claim to care about their country's citizens, but what they really mean is it's STILL a "man's world" and their "needs" must always come first regardless of all the detrimental costs to women and girls!

16 RecommendShareFlag

Gretna Bear commented May 2

Gretna Bear

17042

May 2

the 'Ville." Most every troop camp, fort, base, has a commercial and entertainment 'ville,' patronized by soldiers on tours of duty, in the states or foreign lands. Vietnam and Korea were unique in that large numbers of young combat soldiers were on one year unaccompanied tours. So yes, all parties knew the purpose of these 'villes,' often patrolled by military police, and off limits to locals unless they worked there. Was it right, that's a moral question to be answered by those that were there in those circumstances and times.

3 Replies16 RecommendShareFlag

LB commented May 2

NYS

May 2

It's wrong, period.

16 RecommendShareFlag

Jim commented May 2

Jim

Bayonne, NJ

May 2

I understand the arguments and controversies behind the Comfort Women issues and yes the US military is complicit. Yet there is more to this story. The fact is that Korea needs to own up to its long history of slavery left unacknowledged and their own complicity in exploiting their own people for profit. Just ask any average Korean what it is like to work for a company there. While Japanese colonialism was very brutal, historians have long known that Korean elites were complicit in using it to their advantage and that only a minority of people actively resisted. High time for Koreans to stop the finger wagging and cleanup their own backyard and abandon the nationalist mythology and historical revisionism.

1 Reply16 RecommendShareFlag

Zamboanga commented May 2

Zamboanga

Seattle

May 2

If you ever experience the industrial scale prostitution in Thailand you’ll quickly see that Americans are not the overwhelming majority of patrons. Europeans, Australians, Arabs, and others are all well represented. American self-loathing is tiresome, as is the confirmation bias it engenders.

16 RecommendShareFlag

eheck commented May 2

eheck

Ohio

May 2

@Todd Howell

It's not a "trade," and the women in the article were coerced and forced into sex slavery.

The world's "oldest trade" is nursing.

16 RecommendShareFlag

Liz commented May 2

Liz

Alaska

May 2

I served in the Republic of Korea for three years in the 1980's. I was not aware of "sex trafficking" or what it means in the abuse of women, but I do know many of these Korean women married American soldiers and came stateside to the big PX in the sky. I actually went to these villes and brothels. I also saw Koreans knee deep in water in the rice fields hour after hour, day after day. Had I the choice, I don't know what I would have chosen; nor do I know which fate is worse for a woman in poverty.

16 RecommendShareFlag

Jalapa12 commented May 2

Jalapa12

NYC

May 2

Nope. An 18 yo in the US can vote. They can purchase a gun, a car, and have a full time job. They can father children. They are adults and need to be held accountable.

28 Replies16 RecommendShareFlag

STI commented May 2

STI

Iowa

May 2

Sexually transmitted infections causing cancer due to Papilloma virus were not sought so returning veterans brought home a virus that caused cancer in their subsequent sex partners and had undoubtedly spread among the sex workers that were so abused. Consequences long kept secret.

16 RecommendShareFlag

Angela commented May 2

Angela

Earth

May 2

@JR A big part of the fault also lies with the military culture of machoism. The higher ranks of the US Army should have made it clear that the behavior would not be condoned. Additionally, NOTHING justifies the violent behavior of some American GIs reported by some of the women. NOTHING, regardless of age. But yes, the culture of condoning abuse came from the top, so Army leaders were even more at fault.

16 RecommendShareFlag

Mimi commented May 2

Mimi

Minnesota

May 2

@Al Mostonest I'd lose that word "amused" if I were you. It speaks volumes about you, nothing about the other readers or commenters.

As for myself, although I don't kid myself about what American GIs did and do in other countries (or what too many people do here, for that matter), all I feel when reading this is a combination or horror and sorrow at what we are, and how different it is from what we claim to be.

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Caytie commented May 2

Caytie

Maine

May 2

@SisterLove It must be interesting now in times of 23andme and DNA testing sites, how many may find half brothers or sisters in countries around the world.

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Stale frybread commented May 2

Stale frybread

Ohlone land

May 2

I encourage these survivors to come to the United States and testify to what American soldiers did to them. We all need to hear the true cost of war, empire, and colonization. And the American men who engaged in these horrible acts should make restitution to their victims.

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Barefoot I commented May 2

Barefoot I

Jerusalem

May 2

Will we see an American hero come up and say "I used those services, I contributed to this shame?"

Will we see an ex-commander of US troops admit he knew about this?

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VCM commented May 2

VCM

Boston, MA

May 2

Koreans and historians of Korea have long known about all this. Katherine Moon's study "Sex Among Allies" is, for example, one scholarly exposition of the whole sordid story. Ordinary Koreans are always outraged at the despicable Japanese exploitation of Korean women during Tokyo's colonial rule of Korea( 1910-1945), but the reprehensible treatment of vulnerable women by their own "elites"-- winked at, even "administered" by, the American armed forces --in postwar Korea, is often grossly underplayed-- such is the visceral hatred of Japan among them. The shame for the abomination belongs not to the victims but to their unrepentant abusers-- whether Japanese, Korean or American.

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The Liberated commented May 2

The Liberated

Out in the West

May 2

The South Koreans who ran the kidnapping/trafficking ring for Americans were the same people who ran the racket under Japanese. South Korea has been run by the Japanese collaborators ever since the nationalists were assassinated and the US swept the Japanese atrocities under the rug, under the Red Scare. It is still going on under the China Scare, as shown in 2015 agreement to bury the sex slave issues "permanently and irreversibly" for $10m, with help of American arm-twisting.

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JF commented May 2

Ohio

May 2

@JR so, 18 year old's can't be expected to know better? Are you kidding me? You must think very little of the men of their time, to assume that they are incapable of knowing not to physically assault women, even if they are prostitutes. Do you really think an 18 or 19 year old doesn't know that if the woman he is about to have intercourse with is drugged up or crying that they shouldn't be going forward?

There is no moral ambiguity here. Do not try to make innocents out of men who did things they knew were wrong. I understand it was a different time, but let us recognize that is was a time where men treated women like garbage with little repercussion. That didn't make it ok.

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Counter Measures commented May 2

Counter Measures

Old Borough Park, NY

May 2

On the flip side of this story, while growing up in southern Brooklyn in the late 1950's, there were a couple of children who had mothers who were Korean while their Dad's were Americans of European origin! The kids were nice, as were their parents! They war thought of, as war brides! This was just like the G. I's, who returned from WW II with theirs! All lovely people.

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Elizabeth commented May 2

Elizabeth

May 2

@Daniel J MDJD this has been going on in recent conflict s and reported by major media, but let me guess...it was in Africa and other non-European country so no outrage

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steve commented May 2

steve

hawaii

May 2

@stosh Um, prostitution is legal in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. So if your issue is with paying for sex, this is not an Asian problem. The real problem is that culturally, women in Asian nations have been treated as second-class citizens, or even property instead of human beings. It manifests itself in a lot of different ways other than prostitution.

And your comparison with marijuana is way off base. We spent billions of dollars tracking, trying, and incarcerating people for using something far less dangerous than alcohol. Legalizing it has not resulted in the dire consequences that some predicted, at least in Colorado.

https://www.colorado.edu/today/2022/11/04/decade-after-legalizing-cannabis-colorado-heres-what-weve-learned

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Anne commented May 2

Anne

San Rafael

May 2

@Craig Mason But then who would do it? Maybe two percent of current "sex workers."

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CitizenOfTheWorld commented May 2

CitizenOfTheWorld

USA

May 2

So horrible to read. Thank you for exposing this to a larger audience.

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ML commented May 2

Washington, D.C.

May 2

@larkspur

Because the US isn't and never did "occupy" South Korea.

What the author describes is Koreans committing crimes and US servicemembers going to prostitutes, some of whom were willingly sex workers and others of whom were victims of human trafficking ... at the hands of S. Korean nationals.

That is a far cry from Japan's actual occupation of Korea, abduction of women, and rape.

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eheck commented May 2

eheck

Ohio

May 2

@Donald Luke

My minister in high school had the same experience when he was serving in Korea. He was man enough to decline the "service," and refused to pay (and nearly came to blows with) a cab driver who kept taking him and fellow soldiers to brothels when they kept asking to be taken to a hotel. He did a sermon about it.

It may have been "the norm"; that doesn't make it right. People can choose whether or not to do the right thing.

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자본주의 사회주의 대안적 경제사회(학)

Saturday, May 6, 2023

A Brutal Sex Trade Built for American Soldiers - The New York Times

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A Brutal Sex Trade Built for American Soldiers

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