[Photo] Comfort woman statue finally finds home near Washington, DC, after 3 years

A comfort woman statue has finally found its home near Washington, DC, after three years of postponement. The statue arrived in 2016, but plans to erect it on the campus of Salisbury University in Maryland were derailed by opposition from Japan. Three years later, thanks to the efforts of a coalition of civic groups, the statue will be erected in Annandale, Virginia, unofficially known as the state’s Koreatown. A groundbreaking ceremony and press conference will be held on Oct. 17, with an unveiling ceremony scheduled for Oct. 27. Comfort women survivors Gil Won-ok and social activist Yoon Mi-hyang, president of the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance, will be present at the unveiling ceremony. The photo shows Lee Hyeong-jeong, head of a committee for erecting the statue, next to the “girl of peace” in front of a Korean-American church in Annandale on Aug. 15. (provided by Lee Hyeon-jeong)