The History Of 'Comfort Women': A WWII Tragedy We Can't Forget

The phrase "comfort women" is a controversial term that refers to approximately 200,000 women who were recruited as prostitutes by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Many of the young women were forced into servitude and exploited as sex slaves throughout Asia, becoming victims of the largest case of human trafficking in the 20th century.

The trade of comfort women is thus a massive violation of human rights that's been left out of our textbooks, leaving the individuals embroiled in the atrocious practice to be remembered merely as abstract characters in a taboo history. Korean-born, New York-based artist Chang-Jin Lee seeks to correct this constructed view in "Comfort Women Wanted," a multimedia exhibition that delves into the personal histories of the Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, Indonesian, Filipino, and Dutch women whose identities have long been overlooked and misunderstood.

The History Of 'Comfort Women': A WWII Tragedy We Can't Forget