TaiShang
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Agony of the 'Comfort women' still waiting for an apology after 70 years: 81-year-old man sets himself on fire in protest at Japan's refusal to say sorry to women forced to have sex with WWII soldiers
PUBLISHED: 06:07 GMT, 12 August 2015 | UPDATED: 23:26 GMT, 12 August 2015
The haunting legacy of the Second World War lives on in the South Korean 'comfort women' who were forced into prostitution by the Japanese army.
Gil Won-Ok, 88, was taken to a Japanese army brothel in 1940 - when she was just 13.
She has demanded an apology from the Japanese government for the years of sexual abuse she suffered, during which time she caught syphilis and developed tumors. A military doctor then removed Gil's uterus, leaving her unable to bear children.
Lee Ok-Sun, also 88, was taken to a Chinese airfield in 1942 - when she was 15 - where she was repeatedly raped. Later she was taken to various Japanese army brothels.
Now 70 years on from Japan's World War Two defeat on August 15, 1945, hundreds took part in a rally outside Japan's embassy in South Korea's capital - demanding an apology on their behalf - where an 81-year-old man lit himself on fire.
Trauma: Another South Korean 'comfort woman' Lee Ok-Sun, also 88, was taken to a Chinese airfield in 1942 - when she was 15 - where she was repeatedly raped
Human cruelty: Zhang Xiantu was abducted by Japanese soldiers aged 16 and was forced to serve as a 'comfort woman' for over 20 days during the Second World War
Immolation: An elderly South Korean man has set himself on fire during a protest outside the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, in which hundreds demanded an apology for South Korea's 'comfort women'
The 81-year-old staged the incident to demand an apology from Tokyo for forcing women into brothers during World War II
Never forget: Former 'comfort woman' Gil Won-Ok (pictured) wears a badge in the shape of the butterfly during the weekly Wednesday protest demanding for an apology and compensation from the Japanese government
Enslaved: Former 'comfort woman' Hao Juxiang (right) was abducted by Japanese soldiers when she was 15 or 16 and forced into prostitution
- South Korean women and girls were abducted and taken to Japanese 'army brothels' during the Second World War
- Previous Japanese leaders have apologised to the 'comfort women' who were sexually abused by Japanese troops
- Hundreds of South Koreans have marched outside Japanese embassy in their country on the women's behalf today
- An 81-year-old man set himself on fire during the largely peaceful protest to demand that Japan finally apologises
PUBLISHED: 06:07 GMT, 12 August 2015 | UPDATED: 23:26 GMT, 12 August 2015
The haunting legacy of the Second World War lives on in the South Korean 'comfort women' who were forced into prostitution by the Japanese army.
Gil Won-Ok, 88, was taken to a Japanese army brothel in 1940 - when she was just 13.
She has demanded an apology from the Japanese government for the years of sexual abuse she suffered, during which time she caught syphilis and developed tumors. A military doctor then removed Gil's uterus, leaving her unable to bear children.
Lee Ok-Sun, also 88, was taken to a Chinese airfield in 1942 - when she was 15 - where she was repeatedly raped. Later she was taken to various Japanese army brothels.
Now 70 years on from Japan's World War Two defeat on August 15, 1945, hundreds took part in a rally outside Japan's embassy in South Korea's capital - demanding an apology on their behalf - where an 81-year-old man lit himself on fire.
Trauma: Another South Korean 'comfort woman' Lee Ok-Sun, also 88, was taken to a Chinese airfield in 1942 - when she was 15 - where she was repeatedly raped
Human cruelty: Zhang Xiantu was abducted by Japanese soldiers aged 16 and was forced to serve as a 'comfort woman' for over 20 days during the Second World War
Immolation: An elderly South Korean man has set himself on fire during a protest outside the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, in which hundreds demanded an apology for South Korea's 'comfort women'
The 81-year-old staged the incident to demand an apology from Tokyo for forcing women into brothers during World War II
Never forget: Former 'comfort woman' Gil Won-Ok (pictured) wears a badge in the shape of the butterfly during the weekly Wednesday protest demanding for an apology and compensation from the Japanese government
Enslaved: Former 'comfort woman' Hao Juxiang (right) was abducted by Japanese soldiers when she was 15 or 16 and forced into prostitution