Sungshin women's university, Transit station in Seoul, South Korea

This is the second time that Seoul has commemorated International Memorial Day for Comfort Women, a term for some 200,000 mostly Korean women who were forced to work in brothels for Japanese Imperial troops stationed mainly in China and on the Korean Peninsula from the 1930s until the end of World War II in 1945.In 2018, the government designated the International Memorial Day for Comfort Women, which falls on August 14, as a national day.The main ceremony was held at the Kim Koo Museum and Library in Seoul and was attended by around 300 people, including government representatives and former "sex slaves", as South Korea calls them, Efe news reported.Various symposiums, exhibitions and rallies were also being held, both in the capital and the rest of the country, and a new statue symbolizing the women was scheduled to be inaugurated in Seoul's Namsan Park.In November 2018, the South Korean government dissolved a foundation established in 2015 under an agreement between Tokyo and the previous conservative government in Seoul to put an end to the controversial topic, a frequent source of diplomatic tension.Japan believed the matter settled with that pact, which included over $8 million as compensation for the victims, but Seoul says that the agreement failed to take into account the views of those affected.The problem was exacerbated further after a series of rulings by the South Korean Supreme Court at the end of 2018 that ordered Japanese companies with a presence in South Korea to pay compensation to Korean citizens (or their heirs) who were enslaved during World War II.Japan responded to these rulings by imposing trade restrictions on South Korea, who in turn responded with similar measures.The events in South Korea on Wednesday took place on the eve of Liberation Day, which marks the end of the Japanese colonial era (1910-1945) and for which mass demonstrations against the neighbouring country for this latest series of disputes had been convened.Meanwhile, Japan on Thursday will commemorate the 75th anniversary of its surrender at the end of the World War II and will pay tribute to those killed in combat at a memorial in Tokyo, where Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Emperor Naruhito are expected to deliver addresses.( With inputs from IANS )

Sungshin Women's UniversityFOLLOW

Sungshin women's university, Latest News

Seoul on Thursday said negotiations between North Korea and the US may resume soon, following a US special envoy's visit to South Korea. ...

North Korea has warned that "dangerous and unusual military moves" by South Korea and the US would trigger a new cold war on the Korean Peninsula. ...

BJP leader Shazia Ilmi, who confronted Pakistan supporters raising anti-Modi and anti-India slogans in South Korea, said that it is imperative to peacefully register protest if insulted as an Indian. ...

North Korea on Saturday said that it has tested a "new weapon" under the guidance of its leader Kim Jong-un. ...

North Korea fired two unidentified projectiles into the East Sea on Friday, South Korea's military said, the sixth such launch in about three weeks. ...

North Korea launched two unidentified projectiles from its east coast, according to the South Korean Army, as it rejected any talks with Seoul. ...

He is 'Ayodhya Naresh the king of Ayodhya and yet he is not a stakeholder in the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute. ...

The government of South Korea on Wednesday organized a series of events to pay tribute to comfort women amid escalating diplomatic and trade tensions with Japan. ...