Standing before hundreds of friends, family and supporters, collectively known as the HR 121 coalition, Yong-Soo Lee spoke through her tears and declared she was humbled and grateful. 

The 79-year-old former sex slave was at the JJ Grand Hotel in Los Angeles on Aug. 3 to celebrate the passage of House Resolution 121, which calls upon Japan to unambiguously apologize for its coercion of “comfort women” into sexual slavery during World War II. 

Despite the victory, Lee reminded everyone that this was just the beginning, a first step toward a formal apology and legal reparations.

“This is not the end and I want to live until this issue is resolved,” she said.

—   Chris Paek

 

Voices From The HR 121 Coalition

 

This is a great step to show Japan that we’re not going to let them push these women around anymore. It’s finally time to have them hear our voices and acknowledge the fact that this tragedy happened.

—   Amanda Huh, 17

 

 

Resolving an act of injustice in our history really unites the Korean American community. It’s very hard to create that unity. But we all came together, because we knew that this was an injustice. No one really questioned that and it allowed us to work together.

AmandaHuh, 39

—   Annabel Park, 39

 

 

Any time there is some sort of dispute between the parties, usually the reconciliation begins when someone makes a sincere apology. If the government of Japan makes a sincere, official apology to all the victims, I think that would be the first step toward healing.

— Daniel Lee, 39

 

 

Korean Americans, as well as the citizens of the world, have fought not for revenge or bashing, but for human rights and global peace. So this is a victory that should be enjoyed and appreciated by every global citizen of the world.

— Jonghwa Lee, 36

 

 

Some people viewed this resolution as a potential risk to the diplomatic relationship between the United States and Japan, but the American Civil Society and United States Congress were mature enough to represent this resolution as a human rights issue.

—   Phyllis Kim, 38

 

Secret Agent Man

Steve Park is charged with spying on North Korea

 

 

Steve Park may have been spying on North Korea, but the U.S. attorney’s office isn’t cutting him any slack.

On July 19, Park, whose Korean name is Park Il Woo, was charged with spying on North Korea for the South Korean government and lying about his espionage activities in the United States to federal agents.

Annabel Park, 39

A legal U.S. resident for 20 years, Park, 58, has allegedly engaged in espionage for South Korea for the past five years. U.S. law requires that anyone working as a foreign agent must register with the U.S. attorney’s office and disclose the nature of their activities.