A memorial dedicated to the so-called “comfort women” — who were used as sex slaves by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II — has found a home, say members of the “Comfort Women” Justice Coalition.
Approved unanimously by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Sept. 22, 2015 through a resolution authored by Supervisor Eric Mar, the goal of the memorial is “to help bring justice for the hundreds of thousands of victims and survivors,” said publicity material for the CWJC.
The location of the memorial will be a planned extension of St. Mary’s Square, located on Pine Street between Kearney Street and Grant Avenue, with a street-grade entrance on Quincy Street.
According to leaders of the CWJC, the location was selected in part as it borders three “important” districts: Chinatown, the former Manilatown that housed many Filipino immigrants, and the Financial District. The memorial site — currently on private land that will be an eventual extension of St. Mary’s Square — was also selected because it does not have to go through a master plan process that could delay it for several years, said CWJC leader Lillian Sing, a retired San Francisco Superior Court judge.
“A lot of the ‘comfort women’ are dying,” said Sing. “We cannot wait.”
According to Sing, other locations that were considered included Portsmouth Square, Lincoln Park, and Golden Gate Park, among others.
The CWJC is working with the architectural firm Heller Manus Architects, who are overseeing the 500 Pine Project, a 55,000 square foot, 4.5-story building whose rooftop plaza is adjacent to St. Mary’s Square.
Heller Manus President Jeffrey Heller helped to get the location of the memorial realized. “I am a friend to the ‘Comfort Women’ Justice Coalition,” said Heller. “I’m very sensitive to the issue.”
According to Heller, the rooftop plaza — projected to be completed by July 2016 — will eventually be transferred to San Francisco Recreation and Park.
The rooftop will have a public terrace area of 4,485 square feet, a planting area of 1,681 square feet, and a public art space of 113 square feet — the latter of which will be a public art project by the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco, the architects said.
The “comfort women” memorial space itself will be a 4-by-8-foot “pad,” designed to hold a maximum load of 3,200 pounds.
St. Mary’s Square already features a statue dedicated to Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the father of modern China and its first president, as well as a plaque dedicated to Americans of Chinese descent who fought for the U.S. in World Wars I and II.
“I think the location is great,” said Phyllis Kim of the Korean American Forum of California, an advocacy group supporting the “comfort women.” Kim said the memorial should “express the sorrow and unfulfilled justice.”
While the governments of South Korea and Japan in December 2015 came to an agreement to address the wartime issue of “comfort women,” with the Japanese government committing to funding 1 billion yen ($8.4 million) from its state budget to a South Korea foundation to provide support for former “comfort women,” Kim and others say the agreement falls short of expectations of the victims.
“Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe expresses anew his most sincere apologies and remorse to all the women who underwent immeasurable and painful experiences and suffered incurable physical and psychological wounds as ‘comfort women,’” Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said in a joint news conference with his South Korean counterpart Yun Byung Se after their Dec. 28 meeting in Seoul, according to Kyodo News.
“The victims refused the agreement,” explained Kim, who said the agreement does not address victims outside of Korea. “If the victims say ‘no,’ there’s no agreement.”
The CWJC is hoping to raise $400,000 for the overall project, of which $280,000 has been raised thus far. The plaza maintenance will be negotiated.
According to Jocelyn Zanzot, the project manager of the memorial, a jury has been selected to decide on the memorial design “that honor and remember those who have suffered and inspire commitment to the on-going fight for justice for the ‘comfort women’ and for the safety and equality of women and children around the world.”
A request for proposals is being planned for issue July 1, according to Zanzot. An information session is also being planned for late July, with the RFP deadline currently set for Sept. 16. The project installation is currently scheduled for the spring of 2017.
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