Taiwanese and South Korean groups dedicated to women’s rights are organizing a summer trip for Taiwanese teenagers to South Korea to learn more about the “comfort women” issue.
As part of the program, 15 Taiwanese aged 16 to 18 are to visit Daegu City from Aug. 17 to 19, the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation said.
Participants will visit the Museum of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, meet surviving Korean comfort women, watch related documentaries and attend seminars to discuss human rights in Asia, the foundation said.
The Taiwanese teens will also have an opportunity to exchange views with their South Korean counterparts through group discussions, joint presentations or art performances, it added.
The program is free of charge, with the organizers covering all costs, including airfare, food, accommodation and travel insurance, it said.
The program is organized by the foundation’s Ama Museum, which is dedicated to preserving the stories of former Taiwanese comfort women, and Masan Changwon Jinhae Civil Assembly for Japanese Military Sexual Slaves, a South Korean group advocating rights for comfort women.
Those interested in the program are required to submit by tomorrow a self introduction, a study plan and an article either on their thoughts after visiting Ama Museum, or on the issue of comfort women and sexual violence, the foundation said.
The list of finalists will be announced by the end of this month.
The program, the first of its kind, was initiated by the South Korean group, which is seeking to help Taiwanese and South Korean youth learn more about the issue of comfort women, it said.
It is estimated that the Japanese Imperial Army forced more than 200,000 women into sexual slavery throughout Asia, including in Taiwan, China, South Korea and the Philippines, during World War II.
Since 1992, the foundation has worked to help comfort women cope with their mental anguish, while seeking justice and compensation from Japan.
It has also documented the women’s stories.
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