日韩解决“慰安妇”问题

AS IT IS 2015-12-29 Japan, South Korea Settle 'Comfort Women' Issue 日韩解决“慰安妇”问题

Japan and South Korea reached an agreement over the issue of “comfort women” in Seoul Monday.

“Comfort women” were Korean women forced to work as prostitutes in military brothels during World War II. Japan brutally¹ occupied the Korean peninsula and other parts of Asia. 

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korea’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se reached the agreement. It calls for the "comfort women" to be awarded money for mistreatment.

Japan will pay over $8 million to support living "comfort women." The money will go into a South Korean fund to assist the elderly women.

In return, the Japanese government also wants South Korea to remove a statue of a young "comfort woman" that sits in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul. "Comfort women" supporters held protests at the site each week.

Japan will also officially apologize to the women.

Over 200,000 women from the Pacific region were forced to become sex slaves during World War II. A total of 238 former "comfort women" came forward during the last 20 years in South Korea, according to the New York Times. The newspaper’s count also revealed that only 46 of the Korean "comfort women" are still living.

“The 'comfort women' issue is an issue whereby many women under the then-military’s involvement, bore deep scars to their honor and dignity,” Kishida said. “From this perspective, the Japanese government feels responsible.”

A statement released by both countries during Monday’s news conference included a message from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The Japanese prime minister expressed “his most sincere apologies and remorse² to all the women who underwent painful experiences as 'comfort women.' ”

Words in This Story

prostitute – n. a person who has sex with someone in exchange for money

brothel – n. a building in which prostitutes are available

dignity – n. the quality of being worthy³ of honor or respect

yen⁴ – n.  the basic unit of money of Japan

1 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

2 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

3 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

4 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。