In 2009, a trip to Asia would change my life forever. That’s when I first met “the grandmothers.” Prior to that trip I knew very little about the atrocities that occurred during World War II in Asia—specifically, the institutionalized sexual slavery system that held captive more than 200,000 girls and young women. When I asked the elders in my family to tell me stories about the past, what it was like during the war, they would shake their heads slowly and somberly say, “没有什么好说的, 不好听 (Mei yoa shimo hao shio de bu hao tin)” which means, “There’s nothing good to say, nothing good to hear.” And that was the end of my history lesson.

As a “CBC” (Canadian Born Chinese), I often felt conflicted culturally. The North American approach is to speak out against injustice, while the Chinese way of dealing with hardship is to “吃苦 (chi ku)” which literally translates to “swallow the bitterness.” And of course, one must always “save face” to preserve pride and honor. I was first confronted with this dilemma at 8 years old, after being sexually assaulted at home by a so-called family friend. I was paralyzed by the choices I could make, but either way, I felt that my world had already been shattered. I chose the temporary comfort and safety of keeping silent and, like the women of generations before me, I just learned to swallow the bitterness.

Fast-forward 17 years, when I would meet the remarkable women in my film The Apology. History refers to them as “comfort women”—a term used by the Imperial Japanese Army to describe the girls and women they forced into sexual slavery. But to me, they are the grandmothers. What started off as a journey to uncover this dark history of human atrocities soon turned into an exploration of perseverance.

When Korean survivor Kim Hak-sun first spoke out publicly in 1991, nearly five decades after the end of World War II, she set off a domino effect. Other women in their respective countries started to speak out, too, and the world would hear testimony after testimony from hundreds of women describing unimaginable crimes against them with the hope that justice would soon follow. Twenty-seven years later, their fight still continues.

After the first few years of spending time with Grandma Cao in China, Grandma Gil in Korea and Grandma Adela in the Philippines, it was clear that there was more to this chapter in history, more than just the sexual slavery, more to these women that people weren’t seeing. I came to learn about their lives after the war and how they survived. The grandmothers had incredible resilience, made tremendous sacrifices and ultimately displayed the true power of the human spirit.

Over the course of six years, each of the communities that we filmed demonstrated the importance of camaraderie. Knowing that you aren’t alone and that you will be supported after disclosing your past can make the difference between speaking out versus living the rest of your life in silence and carrying the burden and pain of what you experienced as a victim. Society has perpetuated a culture of shame that has resulted in decades, or even lifetimes of silence for survivors of sexual violence.

These days the Me Too and Time’s Up movements are sparking a global dialogue that de-stigmatizes and reframes what it means to be a victim of sexual violence. The grandmothers have taught me that although my past does not define me, the journey to come to terms with my past makes me who I am today. Discovering why I wanted to make this film was extremely difficult, because I thought it was a story I wanted to tell, when, in fact, it became a story I always needed to tell. It’s a story for the 8-year-old girl within me that struggled to tell her own family about the abuse. It’s a story for all the courageous grandmothers who survived months and years of sexual slavery. It’s a story for all the survivors who never had the space to be known outside the ugly crimes committed against them. It’s a story that brings to light the millions of untold stories of sexual violence that continue to go unheard.

Tiffany Hsiung

Director, The Apology

The Apology follows three women who were among the more than 200,000 girls and young women kidnapped and forced into military sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Military in the years before and during World War II. Seventy years after their imprisonment and after decades of living in silence and shame, the survivors in the film give their first-hand accounts for the record, seeking acknowledgment and an official apology with the hope that this horrific chapter of history not be forgotten. As models of courage and perseverance, they carve a path for others to find reconciliation and justice. And they challenge viewers to examine why sexual violence continues to permeate military conflicts today.

The Apology is an excellent tool for outreach and will be of special interest to people who want to explore the following topics:

“comfort women”

conflict rape

constructions of manhood

gender studies

human rights

Japan

justice

Korea

militarized sexual violence

peace studies

rape

reconciliation

reparations

sexual slavery

sexual violence

trauma recovery

war

war crimes

wartime sexual violence

World War II

The Apology is well-suited for use in a variety of settings and is especially recommended for use with:

• Your local PBS station
• Groups that have discussed previous PBS and POV films relating to war and war crimes, sexual violence, or objectification of women, including Lumo, The Storm Makers, The Reckoning, Hooligan Sparrow, The Look of Silence, Girl Model or Regarding War.
• Groups focused on any of the issues listed in the “Key Issues” section
• High school students, youth groups, and clubs
• Faith-based organizations and institutions
• Cultural, art and historical organizations, institutions, and museums
• Civic, fraternal, and community groups
• Academic departments and student groups at colleges, universities and high schools
• Community organizations with a mission to promote education and learning, such as local libraries.

This guide is an invitation to dialogue about a very difficult chapter of history. It is based on a belief in the power of human connection and designed for people who want to use The Apology to engage family, friends, classmates, colleagues and communities in conversations about reconciliation, trauma, and the power of a story to understand the consequences of war and the power of healing. In contrast to initiatives that foster debates in which participants try to convince others that they are right, this document envisions conversations undertaken in a spirit of openness in which people try to understand one another and expand their thinking by sharing viewpoints and listening actively.

The discussion prompts are intentionally crafted to help a wide range of audiences think more deeply about the issues in the film. Rather than attempting to address them all, choose one or two that best meet your needs and interests. And be sure to leave time to consider taking action. Planning next steps can help people leave the room feeling energized and optimistic, even in instances when conversations have been difficult.

The subject matter of The Apology is intense and may provoke strong reactions, especially from victims of sexual assault and abuse, and their loved ones. Facilitators should keep an eye out for audience members who become especially upset. Be prepared to take them aside and follow up with a referral to local professionals and support services. Remember that people respond to trauma in different ways. In addition to tears or panic, trauma can look like: “spacing out,” silence, laughter or jokes during “inappropriate” moments or anger.

For more detailed event planning and facilitation tips, visit www.pbs.org/pov/engage/.

Japanese Military Sexual Slavery

Between 1932 and 1945, an estimated 200,000 girls and young women were abducted by the Japanese military and forced into sexual slavery in military brothels. Women and girls were taken from Japan, its colonies, and Japanese-occupied countries throughout East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands, including Korea, Taiwan, China, the Philippines, and Indonesia, among others. Girls were captured or lured away from their families with the promise of a job, then detained in facilities, called “comfort stations,” where they were systematically raped and abused by Japanese military personnel. Throughout history, systemic rape and other forms of sexual violence have been used as weapons of war aimed at dehumanization, humiliation and the destruction of community bonds, and is now considered a war crime by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Women were recruited from existing brothels in Japan. In Korea and Taiwan, the Japanese government licensed contractors to recruit or otherwise procure women, oftentimes through kidnapping or coercion and sometimes in collaboration with local governments and police; in other occupied countries, the military kidnapped women or forced local leaders to provide them. While women entered “comfort stations” under different circumstances, they are considered victims of sex trafficking by today’s standards. In addition to sexual assault, they endured other forms of violence such as beatings and stabbings, along with sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies and psychological trauma.[3] Most of the women did not survive - it’s estimated that 87% died as a result of their experiences. Some survivors were able to return to their families after the war. However, due to cultural taboos regarding sex and morality, as well as the complicity of the colonized Korean state and lack of public knowledge about military sexual slavery, the women were often viewed as “defiled”, and rejected by their local communities.

In 1990, a coalition of activist groups formed to support the survivors and demand redress from Japan. Japan had not yet acknowledged its role in the atrocities, insisting that the women were voluntarily serving as prostitutes. In 1991, a Korean woman named Kim Hak-soon became the first survivor to share her story publicly and to demand redress from the Japanese government. Since then, hundreds of women in Korea, the Philippines, China and across Asia, many of whom had stayed silent for decades, came forward to testify about their experiences.

After Kim Hak-soon came forward, a group of Korean survivors who were called halmoni—grandmother in Korean—filed a class-action lawsuit against the Japanese government, demanding an official investigation, admission of war crimes, formal apology, and compensation. In 1992, after a Japanese historian discovered evidence proving that the Japanese military established and operated the “comfort stations”, Prime Minister Miyazawa issued a personal apology and launched two formal investigations. In 1995, Japan established the Asian Women’s Fund, which provided compensation for the remaining survivors funded jointly by the government and private donations. But many survivors and activists rejected this fund, arguing that it framed reparations as a generous moral act rather than an admission of legal culpability for the government’s war crimes. Indeed, a 2015 agreement between the governments of South Korea and Japan that established another national fund to care for the survivors still did not recognize Japan’s legal responsibility. Advocates criticized the 2015 statement for its evasive wording about the state’s institutional role in the atrocities and apologetic stance, the omission of the need for education and memorialization, and the absence of survivors and their advocates at the negotiating table.

The issue of sexual slavery during World War II is still contentious in Japan, where the public is split on whether Japanese military sexual slavery constituted a war crime. As part of the 2015 agreement, the Japanese government called for the removal of a bronze statue of a young girl, which memorializes survivors, that was installed across from the Japanese embassy in Seoul in December 2011. In January 2017, Japan temporarily recalled its ambassador to South Korea in protest of an installation of another bronze girl statue near the Japanese consulate in Busan, and in October 2018, the city of Osaka terminated its 50-year sister city relationship with San Francisco over a "comfort woman" memorial. As of October 2018, there are 109 similar bronze girl statues in South Korea and 22 abroad, including ten “comfort women” memorials in the United States.

Since 1992, activists with the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (now called the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan) have staged weekly protests outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul. As of 2017, only 35 of the Korean grandmothers were alive, and their average age was 91. Some of the women live together in group homes in Seoul, and some attend the protests regularly.

Advocacy groups working with survivors have five primary demands of the Japanese government. First, an official apology accompanying a Cabinet or parliament resolution (rather than one that can be construed as one leader's personal view, such as the Prime Minister's letter issued in 2015); second, formal compensation to the victims; third, lessons on this history in Japanese classes and textbooks; and finally, investigation of official policies that established and maintained the system of sexual slavery; and finally, memorialization of the survivors.

For further information on this period in history, please see:

Center for Korean Legal Studies at Columbia Law School: Military Sexual Slavery During World War II: The "Comfort Women" – https://www.law.columbia.edu/korean-legal-studies/sexual-slavery-during-wwi-comfort-women-issue

Facing History and Ourselves: Rape as a Weapon of War –https://www.facinghistory.org/nanjing-atrocities/judgment-memory-legacy/rape-weapon-war

Fact Sheet on Japanese Military “Comfort Women” (The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus)

https://apjjf.org/-Asia-Pacific-Journal-Feature/4829/article.html

Sources

Bemma, Adam. “South Korea: World's Longest Protest over Comfort Women.” South Korea News | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 8 Sept. 2017, www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/09/south-korea-world-longest-protest-comfort-women-170908024721239.html.

Fact Sheet on Japanese Military “Comfort Women” (The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus)

https://apjjf.org/-Asia-Pacific-Journal-Feature/4829/article.html

Hsu, Nicole. “Comfort Women Dispute: The Pursuit of Justice Continues”, Claremont Journal of Law and Public Policy, 3 November 2017.

“Item 9(a) of the Provisional Agenda.” United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Economic and Social Council, http://www.awf.or.jp/pdf/h0004.pdf.

Kindig, Jessie. “Nightmares Must Be Told.” Jacobin Magazine, www.jacobinmag.com/2017/08/south-korea-japan-comfort-stations.

Lee, Sue R. "Comforting the comfort women: Who can make Japan pay." University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Economic Law. 24 (2003): 518.

Lynch, Ami. “Comfort Women.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 6 June 2018, www.britannica.com/event/comfort-women#ref1192179.

“Rape As a Weapon of War.” Facing History and Ourselves, www.facinghistory.org/nanjing-atrocities/judgment-memory-legacy/rape-weapon-war.

“Sexual Slavery During WWI: The ‘Comfort Women’ Issue.” Columbia Law School, www.law.columbia.edu/korean-legal-studies/sexual-slavery-during-wwi-comfort-women-issue.

Son, Elizabeth W. Embodied Reckonings: “Comfort Women,” Performance, and Transpacific Redress. Ann

Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2018.

Son, Elizabeth W. “‘Comfort Women’: Traveling Between History and Hope.” Los Angeles Review of Books, 5 February. 2018, https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/essays/comfort-women-traveling-history-hope/

Taylor, Adam. “Analysis | Why Japan Is Losing Its Battle against Statues of Colonial-Era 'Comfort Women'.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 21 Sept. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/09/21/why-japan-is-losing-its-battle-against-statues-of-colonial-era-comfort-women/?utm_term=.a901b78e24df.

“The Brutal History of Japan's 'Comfort Women'.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/news/comfort-women-japan-military-brothels-korea.

The ever-shifting sands of Japanese apologies by Tessa Morris-Suzuki

http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2016/02/22/the-ever-shifting-sands-of-japanese-apologies/

What happened after the war? (Fight for Justice)

http://fightforjustice.info/?page_id=2770&lang=en

Why did the Japanese military establish the “comfort women” system? (Fight for Justice)

http://fightforjustice.info/?page_id=2762&lang=en

Selected People Featured in The Apology

Grandma Gil Won Ok – 86-year-old survivor living in South Korea

Meehyang Yoon – Co-Chair, Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (and frequent support for Grandma Gil)

Hwang Seon Hee – Grandma Gil’s son

Grandma Cao – 92-year-old survivor living in China

Li Gui Hua – Grandma Cao’s daughter

Zhang Shaun Bing – author, Comfort Women Survey Records

Adela – 80-year-old survivor living in the Philippines

Eric – Grandma Adela’s son

Immediately after the film, you may want to give people a few quiet moments to reflect on what they have seen or pose a general question (examples below) and give people some time to themselves to jot down or think about their answers before opening the discussion:

• What did you learn from this film? Did you gain a new insight?
• Describe a moment or scene in the film that you found particularly disturbing or moving. What was it about that scene that was especially compelling for you?
• Did anything in the film surprise you? Was anything familiar?
• If you could ask anyone in the film a single question, whom would you ask and what would you want to know?
• At the end of your discussion, to help people synthesize what they’ve experienced and move the focus from dialogue to action steps, you may want to choose one of these questions:
• What did you learn from this film that you wish everyone knew? What would change if everyone knew it?
• If you could require one person (or one group) to view this film, who would it be? What do you hope their main takeaway would be?
• The story of these women is important because ___________.
• Complete this sentence: I am inspired by this film (or discussion) to __________.

Understanding the Trauma

Grandma Gil says, “I didn't know what war was. I didn't know what men were. I had no idea what was being taken from me...” What was being taken from her?

Consider the ways that the Grandmas’ physical and emotional scars intertwine. In what ways did their trauma linger even after they escaped from the comfort stations? What are the long-term consequences of:

• Being rendered sterile in a culture that values motherhood?
• Being raped at an age so young you didn’t know what sex was?
• Being forcibly impregnated by an enemy of your country and feeling that there was no choice but to kill your baby?
• Returning to communities where it was shameful to be a victim of rape?

Adela’s son, Eric, guesses that his mother kept her secret for so long “because she wanted to protect the family.” How does the weight of such heavy secrets influence families? How did finally sharing her secret change Adela and change her relationship with her son?

For a time, all of the women featured tried to forget the suffering they endured. How does memory suppression both help and hinder the recovery process?

What do the survivors have in common with other people who have been imprisoned and tortured? What is it about their situation that prevented their countries from treating them as prisoners of war?

Zhang Shaun Bing observes that “Chinese survivors could not speak out. Nobody cared to listen. After suffering, they just had to swallow their pain and keep silent.” Li Gui Hua, Grandma Cao’s daughter, adds that many Chinese felt lucky to have survived the war at all. How were the Grandma’s lives affected by returning to communities where everyone was living with the traumas of war? Why is it important for people to be able to tell their stories and to know that other people are hearing them?

Constructions of Womanhood and Gender Roles

How do you account for the reaction of Japanese protestors who call the Grandmas vile names and accuse them of being prostitutes? What do the particular slurs and taunts they use suggest about their motives?

Grandma Adela says she never told her father “Because at that time, it was really a great... It's really a shame as a woman, to be raped.” And she never told her husband because she feared he would leave her. What does a society have to believe about the nature and value of women in order to blame victims for rape?

The co-leader of Japan's Restoration Party, Toru Hashimoto, says that Japan should not apologize for its wartime use of sex slaves because “sex slavery was necessary.” Others echo his belief. What versions of manhood, womanhood, and war are validated by the notion that sex slavery was “necessary”? How do those beliefs about gender roles compare with your beliefs about what it means to be a man or a woman?

Grandma Cao explains, “I can't read. I never went to school. Only boys were allowed to go, not girls. If they let us go to school, then I would be able to read.” How did existing sexism contribute to the situation they faced trying to re-create normal lives?

The Importance of Memory

Scholars have observed that those who tell the stories control the culture. Both Zhang Shaun Bing and Japanese students indicate that the stories of the Grandmas are absent from history books. Why have the stories of military sexual slavery been silenced? Why would it be important for people in Japan and in the Grandmas’ home countries to hear their stories? Who controls the stories that are included or excluded from your history books? How have those decisions shaped your culture or your understanding of who you are?

Chinese villagers say that they “don't like to talk about these things. Why would we want to? Who would feel happy if their daughter was raped by Japanese soldiers?” How does such silence square with the notion that those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it?

The filmmaker asks Li Gui Hua if she will share her mother’s story with her daughter. She answers, “I will, after she graduates. After she graduates, when she's older. She's too young now. It might affect her emotionally.” If you were in her shoes, what do you think you would do? How would you start the conversation?

At the end of the film, young women speak to the Grandmas. If you were among them, what would you say? What would your message be?

Lessons about War

Does the fact that the comfort stations were created during wartime make a difference? What sorts of traumas did soldiers experience that might have contributed to their willingness to treat the girls in the comfort stations as objects?

Grandma Gil says, “We are travelling all over to create a peaceful world. Not just for Korea and Japan, but for the world.” How do their stories help bring peace?

Because Grandma Gil was kidnapped from North Korea, and the conflict between North and South never officially ended, she was never able to return home or contact her family. How did the separation exacerbate the trauma?

What did you learn from the film that you could apply to sexual violence in conflict situations today?

The Meaning of Redress

Given that the Grandmas’ experiences were atrocities common to war, do you believe that Japan owes them reparations? Why or why not?

Why do you think Japan has resisted accepting legal responsibility for the military sexual slavery system? What’s at stake?

How does the language used to describe the Grandmas – “comfort women” rather than, say, underage sexual slaves, prisoners of war, or victims of torture – influence the debate over apologies and reparations?

Healing

Grandma Gil recognizes that her wounds will not go away even with an apology, but even though “the scars will remain, my heart can heal. I am waiting for that day.” Why is an apology such a vital part of the healing process? Why would the Grandmas and their supporters put in decades of effort demanding one?

Meehyang Yoon asks Grandma Gil, “Why do you always hold it in? Sometimes you've got to let your tears come out. That's healing. It'll console your heart. Why do you hold your tears in?” In your experience, what role does crying play in the healing process? Why might Grandma Gil hold back her tears, especially in public?

Grandma Adela meets with a group of other “Grandmas.” What difference does it make to have peers who understand your experience, especially for those who have kept their past a secret?

After Grandma Adela “removes this thorn that's been stuck in my heart” by telling her son about her past, she says, “My spirits have been lifted. I feel 10 kilos lighter.” How does speaking about one’s experience of atrocity aid the healing process?

At many of their protests and gatherings, the Grandmas and their supporters sing. Are there circumstances when you sing with others? What songs inspire you? Comfort you?

Adela questions the idea of revealing her story: “It's very shameful to be a victim. That's the attitude in Roxas, in the Philippines. If you expose yourself, then what for? To be a hero? When in fact you are a society outcast?” The filmmaker answers, “But you know that... because you're willing to tell people, that you allow people to feel strong. You do that for other people.” How do the Grandmas who have publicly shared their stories make others stronger? Did hearing their stories make you feel stronger?

Additional media literacy questions are available at: www.pbs.org/pov/educators/media-literacy.php

Get involved in current actions to stop sexual violence in conflicts. To start, you might look at the UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict (http://stoprapenow.org/) or consider participating in observances of International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict (un.org/en/events/elimination-of-sexual-violence-in-conflict/index.shtml).

In the film, we see one of several statues that have been placed outside Japanese embassies or other meaningful locations (statue of the sitting girl with the empty chair beside her). Create or commission your own public art honoring those who have been victims of or fought against sexual or gender-based violence. Discuss where the art should be exhibited and why. Use the art installation to spark conversations about the issue of militarized sexual violence.

Track the current status of Japanese apologies and reparations to the survivors in China and the Philippines, as well as South Korea and North Korea. Learn more about advocacy efforts to encourage officials to actively engage in the healing process and compensate survivors.

FILM-RELATED WEB SITES

The Apology

https://www.nfb.ca/film/apology/ — The National Film Board of Canada’s website about the film includes purchase information and streaming clips.

The Space We Hold

http://spacewehold.nfb.ca/ — The interactive web project based on this documentary.

The Apology on POV

www.pbs.org/pov/theapology — offers a streaming video trailer for the film; an interview with filmmaker; a list of related websites, articles and books; a downloadable discussion guide; and special features.

History of Military Sexual Slavery

Women’s Human Rights Education Institute

http://learnwhr.org/comfort-women/ - Details on the demands for an apology

Korean Council on Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan

peoplepower21.org/English/37829 - An archived English version of the website of the original advocacy organization

Digital Museum: The Comfort Women Issue

awf.or.jp/e1/index.html - Document-based accounts of comfort station statistics and historical background, along with reports about the Asian Women’s Fund

Lolas’ House: Survivors of Wartime Rape Camps

huffingtonpost.com/entry/comfort-women-philippines-m-evelina-galang_us_57232d48e4b0f309baf08490 – 2016 Huffington Post story about M. Evelina Galang’s work collecting the stories of the Philippines’ “grandmas” (lolas) includes reports of official Japanese responses

Fight for Justice

http://fightforjustice.info/?lang=en – This academic resource is maintained by the Center for Research and Documentation on Japan's War Responsibility, led by historian Hirofumi Hayashi.

Women’s Active Museum on War and Peace

https://wam-peace.org/en/ - This museum in Tokyo holds records and documentation of war crimes.

Wartime Sexual Violence

Sexual Violence and Armed Conflict: United Nations Response

un.org/womenwatch/daw/public/cover.pdf - A useful historical overview. Also see: un.org/en/preventgenocide/rwanda/about/bgsexualviolence.shtml

Wartime Sexual Violence

washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2014/09/24/wartime-sexual-violence-is-not-just-a-weapon-of-war/?utm_term=.f0f124c93236 – An overview of how wartime sexual violence is reported and the impact of the portrayals

“Comfort Women” Justice Coalition, San Francisco

http://remembercomfortwomen.org/ - A grassroots group part of the global “comfort women” justice movement.

Japan-U.S. Feminist Network for Decolonization (FeND)

http://fendnow.org/ - A network of activists and scholars working to undo colonialism in the United States and Japan.

Writer

Faith Rogow, InsightersEducation.com

Guide Producers, POV

Alice Quinlan

Director, Community Engagement and Education, POV

Ione Barrows

Senior Associate, Community Engagement and Education, POV

Rachel Friedland

Community Partnerships Assistant, POV

Thanks to those who reviewed this guide:

Tiffany Hsiung

Filmmaker, The Apology

Japan-U.S. Feminist Network for Decolonization (FeND)

Dr. Alexis Dudden

Professor of History, University of Connecticut

Dr. Jessie Kindig

Author, “'War for Peace': Race, Empire, and the Korean War”

Founding member, Histories of Violence Collective

Editor, Verso Books

Elizabeth W. Son, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Department of Theatre

Interim Director, Interdisciplinary PhD in Theatre and Drama Program

Northwestern University

Author, Embodied Reckonings: “Comfort Women,” Performance, and Transpacific Redress

Fran Sterling

Blueshift Education

This resource was created, in part, with the generous support of the Open Society Foundation and The Center For Asian American Media.