ＮＯ Ｃｈｏｎｇｉａ

Aren’t I Proof Enough?

The testimony of Chongja No of Boryeong Korea. Born February 16, 1922. Died August 23, 2004.

I was born to a poor farming family who lived in [the village] of Yuseong Hot-spring in Daejeon province. It was in March of my 17th year.

My mother and I had been sowing beans in the field but she returned home in the afternoon. Some villagers came by saying that the Japanese are taking young girls away. Soon after, my mother came running back saying "The soldiers have come! You need to run away!"

We decided I should escape to my father's sister's house. My mother took off her white chima and put it over my head to hide my face. It was 12 kilometers away from there and because I knew the way, I said I would go alone. Before a mountain pass I could hear a girl crying. When I looked in that direction, I saw soldiers and a girl being captured. Because I was wearing my mother's chima, I didn't see the soldiers in front of me. With my legs shivering in fear I couldn't run away and was caught on a bridge. The soldier who caught me was wearing an arm badge with "military police" written in red lettering.

I was taken about 100 meters to a place where three large trucks were parked. There were 10 soldiers there carrying small arms, with swords at their sides.  One of the trucks was covered with a hood. Inside were girls who had been captured in other areas. There were 38 of us in total. Most of the girls were from Chungcheongnam-do. They were mainly 18 or 19 years old but some were as young as 16. All of them were strangers to me. We thought for sure they were going to kill us and held each other and cried. At that time I had fiancé who worked at the village office as  a clerk. We were planning to marry five days later.

That night the truck arrived at a train station and we were quickly put on an uncovered train. It was my first time riding a train so I don't know what station it was. After riding for four days and nights we arrived in Tientsin, Northern China. From there we were taken by a truck to a unit on the frontline called Mount Wutai.

After we arrived, we were placed in a hut which was located about 100 or 200 meters from the unit. Inside were narrow rooms divided by boards with numbers written on them. My room was number 7. To make it possible to enter from the outside, each room had an entrance with a curtain hanging over it.

At around 7 p.m. that evening, soldiers began entering the rooms. They were 1st and 2nd class privates. I resisted violently so the soldiers beat and kicked me. I bled from my nose and mouth and received a serious injury on my buttocks. From then on our daily routine started with the 6 a.m. reveille call. After that, the girls shared rice brought to us by soldiers in a big pail.  After bathing between 9 and 10 a.m. the soldiers started coming from 11. The regular soldiers came until 10 or 11 at night. From then until 3 in the morning it was the officers turn. Between 30 and 40 of them came every day. For that reason the girls didn't bother to take off their clothes and just left their bottom half bare.

We never received any kind of payment but sometimes we were given comfort bags. When soldiers would leave for or return from the battlefield they had us greet them wearing sashes with the words Imperial Japan National Defense Women's Organization written on them.

The building that the unit was in was located in the middle of something like an old fortress. We couldn't go through the gate without fastening a [special] mark on our chests so it was impossible for us to run away. After a year and a half, we were allowed to go out. There were open air stalls that sold sweaters and western clothes and also a   korean restaurant. A Korean merchant named Yondo Ken who lived in Tientsin came to the fortress to sell Kimonos. He was about 50 years old. He and his wife came to Tientsin because of the poverty in Korea.

Mr. Ken who had a fondness for me told me  "If you continue that life, you never know when you'll die" and helped me run away. He had me lie down in a box with breathing holes that was placed on a truck. Then he put other merchandise on top to hide me. This happened two years and three months after my capture.

Mr. Ken came from Nonsan and his wife's name was Hokins. I lived secretly with them in Tenshin. After that, I returned with them to Korea. A few months later, I struck out on my own. I returned home to find that only my mother was left. My father, who had been conscripted and taken to islands in the south seas, apparently died when his back was broken by a Japanese soldier. My older brother died of a heart attack. My mother thought that I must have died, as well.  I gave her a full account of my ordeal. Though my mother said "I'm just glad your came back alive", she cried and cried.

After returning home, I left to work as a field hand, as a maid and a number of other different jobs. Just getting by took all I have. I didn't marry even once because of the pain of the injuries I received from being beaten by the Japanese soldiers. Even now it hurts so much that I can't sleep. The money I save from work goes to the hospital.       I gave up hope of receiving proper medical care when the doctor told me it would cost 500,000 yuan ($700). I live on the 36,000 yuan($50), 10 kilos of rice and 2 liters of grain that I receive from the ward office each month. I do some work peeling garlic. It takes two days to peel 20 kilos and only brings in about 3,800 yuan ($5). I stay alive by eating rice porridge.  My landlord is telling me I have to leave my apartment because I can't afford to pay 50,000 yuan a month in rent.

I was about to be married when my virginity was defiled and my youth snatched away.

I curse and curse and can't stop cursing Japan for what it did to my life. When I see a Japanese, I feel so much hatred that makes me grind my teeth.  I decided to come forward in January of 1992 after seeing Kim Hakusun speaking on television. After doing so I felt a small sense of relief. The Japanese government may try to cover up the truth by saying that there is no evidence of forced labor but aren't I proof enough?  I want them to humbly apologize for their crimes and quickly provide reparation. If they do I won't have to leave my apartment. I have no relatives and I’m barely surviving. If things don't change, It might be better for me to just die.


Translated by Ryan Ball

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