Comfort women statues installed on buses in S. Korea

August 14, 2017

SEOUL- A Seoul bus service operator on Monday started running buses each carrying a girl's statue symbolizing the issue of comfort women forced into prostitution for Japanese troops before and during World War II.

The 1.3-meter-tall plastic statue was installed on five buses on routes that go near the Japanese embassy in the South Korean capital. The statues will be placed until the end of September.

According to local media reports, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who took a ride on one of the buses on Monday, welcomed the installation of the statues.

Now people can mourn for many women that fell victim without taking the trouble to going out to visit a statue, he said.

According to the reports, Park also stated that the Japanese and South Korean governments need to conclude a fresh bilateral accord to settle the comfort women issue.

A new agreement emotionally acceptable to South Korean citizens would be necessary, even if it takes time to form such an accord, the mayor was quoted as saying.

A federation of South Korean citizens groups has designated Aug. 14 as the day to commemorate the comfort women, because a former comfort woman spoke out about her experience at a press conference for the first time on that day in 1991.

The administration of South Korean President Moon Jae-in plans to make the day a government-designated memorial day. Jiji Press