Broken Silence: The Brutal Truth of Japanese Colonialism and Korea’s 'Comfort Women'

Beneath the veneer of war and empire lies one of the darkest chapters in modern East Asian history—a government-orchestrated system of sexual slavery that shattered the lives of thousands of Korean girls and women. In this research paper, Japanese Colonialism & Korean ‘Comfort Women’, I discuss the full extent of the Japanese Imperial Army’s comfort station system: a machine of exploitation, rape warfare, and strategic humiliation designed to enforce control over colonized bodies.

What began as a colonial power grab in Manchuria escalated into the militarized trafficking of girls as young as eleven—often under false promises of factory work, or by brute force, like the abduction of 13-year-old Chong Ok Sun, whose searing testimony anchors this study. These were not isolated incidents but part of a calculated strategy to legitimize sexual violence under the guise of military necessity and imperial duty.

Through declassified military documents, survivor testimonies, and medical reports, this paper explores the structural violence embedded in the comfort station system: brothel schedules organized by rank, sexually transmitted disease protocols involving toxic injections, and the silent complicity of Korean intermediaries coerced or bought into service. It also uncovers the long-term trauma and cultural shame that survivors faced in the aftermath—ostracized, erased, and still fighting for justice.

If you've ever wondered how wartime sexual violence is sanitized by states or forgotten by history, this paper doesn’t just demand your attention—it commands it.