‘Ggeutnaji Anhmeun Jeon Jaeng’ (63 Years
On) Republic
of Korea
Produced by Kim Dong-won and Lee SeungGu
63 Years On focuses on Korean women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese
military during World War II. During the war, an estimated 200,000 women
from Korea, China, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Dutch East Indies and Indonesia were abducted from their homes against their will or
were recruited with offers of work in military factories and subsequently
forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military. The majority of
these women came from Korea, and this film chronicles the survivors' persistent efforts
to be recognised as WWII victims by Japan and international forums. 63 Years On tells the stories
of five women - a Korean, a Chinese, two Filipinas and one Dutch -who reveal
their experiences as survivors, including one elderly Korean woman, Kim
Hak-sun, who by speaking of her ordeal on television, created an international
groundswell to lobby the Japanese government for an official apology.