Peace Statue: A Tribute

Created by artists Kim Seo-Kyung and Kim Eun-Sung, the Statue of the Girl for Peace commemorates the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery, often euphemistically called "comfort women," during the Asia-Pacific War from the early 1930s to 1945. An estimated 200,000 young girls and women from colonized and occupied regions were subjected to brutal exploitation.

The original statue was installed in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul in 2011, marking the 1,000th Wednesday Demonstration, a weekly protest by survivors and their supporters, seeking justice and redress for this historical atrocity. Since then, the Statue has become a powerful symbol of the redress movement, fostering alliances across generations and transcending national borders. Replicas have been installed in over 100 locations across Korea and globally, including Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the United States.

The empty chair beside her symbolizes both the absence of victims who have passed and the ongoing struggle for justice in unresolved war crimes. It extends an invitation for you to join in intergenerational and transnational solidarity against gender-based sexual violence.

This event is presented by mihyun maria kim, Nava Messas Waxman, Marc Nair, and Joshua D. Pilzer.

Organized by Hong Kal & Nava Messas Waxman.