The Wednesday Demonstration is a weekly protest held in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, at noon. The first demonstration was held on January 8th, 1992, for the visit of then Prime Minister of Japan Kiichi Miyazawa. Since then, the "Wednesday Demonstrations have turned into a place for solidarity between citizens and the victims, a living site for history education, a platform for peace and women's human rights, bringing people together in solidarity beyond gender, age, borders, and ideologies," according to the Korean Council.
The protest demanding Japan's apology to the victims of its large scale sexual slavery system during World War II marked its 1,600th edition on June 14th, 2023, and I was able to attend it! Around 200 activists, students, and foreigners gathered to participate in the 31-year-old protest.
Lee Yong-Soo (이용수), a former Korean "comfort woman," personally attended the 1,600th Wednesday Demonstration. She has given numerous testimonies in the past and is an activist demanding justice for victims from Japanese sexual slavery.
In the video below, she declares, "Everyone! Hello! I am Lee Yong-Soo! It's nice to see everyone! Thank you! I'm grateful that you all are here today! I don't know how to repay you all who do this all the time. Thank you. Thank you. I always bow my head in this gratitude."
However, opposition to the Wednesday Demonstration and the "comfort women" redress movement has been increasing. Politics has been a factor driving this resistance, with some asserting that the sexual slavery "comfort women" underwent is a lie. In fact, during the 1,600th Wednesday Demonstration, police were stationed to prevent potential fighting, and the Statue of Peace had to blocked.
Participating in the Wednesday Demonstration has been an eye-opening experience. I marveled as people of different ages, gender, race, and religion gathered to rally for a common goal, but also realized that opposition exists, no matter how clear-cut the "comfort women" issue seems to be.