May We Speak?

May we speak of the unfortunate, unspeakable and untold stories of the imperialism during World War II?

the Unfortunate

During World War II, German Nazis confined 6 million Jews into concentration camps and slaughtered them in order to create justification for their power. These kinds of civilian massacres do not apply only to German Nazism, however. Japan’s imperialists, also mainly responsible for World War II, performed similar acts that could be referred to as the “Asian Holocaust.”

the Unspeakable

Sexual violence during the Holocaust was used as means to subjugate, exert power, and humiliate Jewish women. Likewise, the Japanese government seized many girls and women from Korea, China, Taiwan, and other Southeast Asian countries to “serve” Japanese soldiers. Although German government has sincerely apologized for all their crimes during the Holocaust, Japan’s foreign policy still denies the existence of “comfort women.”

the Untold

After the end of World War II, Japan, as one of the defeated countries, was forced to return all territory seized under imperialism to the rightful owners. Nevertheless, Japan still insists that Dokdo is Japan’s territory, although many historical documents prove that Dokdo was always historically Korea’s territory. Even Japan’s public documents emphasize that Dokdo is not part of Japan. Japan’s current assertions on Dokdo can be explained as threat to Korea’s sovereignty and a repetition of the imperialism that triggered World War II in the past.