Former comfort woman and activist donates money to Chosen schools in Japan

On Sept. 9, former comfort woman and women’s rights activist holds Kim Bok-dong holds up an envelope on containing her donation to schools in Japan damaged by recent natural disasters. (provided by the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance)

Money to go toward North Korea-affiliated schools damaged by natural disasters

On the afternoon of Sept. 5, Kim Bok-dong, 93, was in the car about to leave when she called out to Yoon Mi-hyang, president of the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance.

“Mi-hyang, do you have a camera? If you do, could you take a video of me and post it?” Kim said.

As Yoon held the camera, this former comfort woman and women’s rights activist began to speak what was on her mind. “I heard that the schools [Chosen Gakko] were hit hard [by the disaster]. Don’t you think we ought to help them repair the schools so the students can study? I’d really appreciate it if you would all chip in so that the school can be repaired and the students go back to school.”

The Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance announced on Sept. 10 that Kim Bok-dong had recently donated 10 million won (US$8,886) to the Kim Bok-Dong Scholarship Foundation to repair Chosen Gakko schools that had been damaged by a series of natural disasters in Japan including a flood, typhoon and earthquake.

“Kim Bok-dong was really worried after she saw on the news that Chosen Gakko schools in various parts of Japan had been damaged by Typhoon Jebi and the earthquake in Hokkaido. She donated 10 million won to help them repair the schools since students can’t study if they don’t have a school,” Yoon said.

Since Kim set up the Kim Bok-dong Scholarship Fund in 2016, she has been helping students at Japan’s Chosen Gakko. Kim’s scholarships enabled two students to attend a Chosen Gakko in Osaka in 2016 and four students to attend a Chosen Gakko in Kyoto in 2017. After delivering a lecture at a Chosen Gakko in Osaka in 2014, Kim said she had been heartbroken to learn how Chosen Gakko are discriminated against in Japanese society.

“Kim is very interested in children’s education because she wasn’t able to get much of an education after she was kidnapped and forced to become a comfort woman. During her lecture at the Chosen Gakko, she told the students they shouldn’t let Japanese discrimination get them down because they have a country of their own and to keep applying themselves to their studies,” Yoon said.

Kim’s donation will be used to repair Chosen Gakko that were damaged in the various disasters.

“We’re planning to donate money to fund repairs at the schools that were most damaged by the natural disasters,” Yoon said.

By Hwang Geum-bi, staff reporter

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