Makers Of ‘Comfort Women’ Statue To Create ‘Vietnam Pieta’ To Memorialize Victims Of Vietnam War
Kim Seo Kyung and Kim Eun Sung were known for their creation of famous statue of a young girl which represents "comfort women" during World War II. Korea Joongang Daily reported Monday that the two are now working to create a new statue to commemorate the victims of the Vietnam War.
"This kind of history and that kind of history is all ours, whether it is something to be proud of or something that falls short," Kim Seo Kyung said. "Just as ordinary Japanese civilians' willingness to care about comfort women induced more Japanese to become aware of the issue, we need to start the movement to see what was done and how some Koreans once victimized others."
The two sculptors plan to create a statue of a mother carrying a child, which is tentatively called "Vietnam Pieta."
"People see the girl statue as a human instead of an artwork," she said, referring to the "comfort women" statue.
"The act of individuals adding a knit hat or scarf, letters, poems or heat packs to the statue means that people have started to add their own meanings to it, and use it as a medium to express their thoughts about the issues related to the abused women, just like we made it to express our anger and the wish never to repeat the painful history."
The 51-year-old female sculpture revealed that they plan to speed up the creation and finish "Vietnam Pieta" by May.
"It is not easy to find a place to set up the statue as it involves some diplomatic issues. It's not decided if we will make one for Korea first or for Vietnam first. I have been to Vietnam three times in the past two years and met with civilian victims. I learned there are many infants who died without being given names because they died before turning 1 year old. I will be donating this statue to the town where it is installed," Kim Seo Kyung added.
The Hankyoreh reported Saturday that statues are being erected in Vietnam and South Korea as a symbol of apology to civilians who were killed by Korean soldiers during the Vietnam War. Aside from that, the creaters hope to give comfort to the victims through the monuments.
"This year, memorial services are being held on the 50th anniversary of massacres in several villages in central Vietnam," a spokesperson for the Committee for the Establishment of a Korean-Vietnamese Peace Foundation stated. "This year, memorial services are being held on the 50th anniversary of massacres in several villages in central Vietnam."