Wednesday, October 9, 2019
6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Barus and Holley, Room 153
BASE (Brown Asian Sisters Empowered) invites you to a screening of "My Name is Kim Bok Dong": a documentary celebrating life and activism of Kim Bok Dong (1926-2019). Come join us -- eat Kabob and Curry, watch the documentary, cry, and discuss Asia Pacific history with experts from South Korea.
(Content warning: sexual and military violence)
Kim was an peace activist and survivor who had been coerced into sexual slavery during the WWII by the Imperial Japanese army. As the world mourns her death, her legacy continues to breathe in the current activism around survivor-centered restorative justice for gender-based violence in wars, which she helped move forward through organizing peace protests and testimonies, building global coalition with other survivor-activists, and funding grassroots organizations. Here is a link to her last interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsT97ax_Xb0
As Asian/American womxn in the diaspora, BASE wants to make space for us to grow around the issue of modern history of Asia Pacific. We ask: How do we honor our ancestors and pave the way for the next generation to move forward? How do we resist the homogenization of our history by the West and the dominance of our narrative by men? How do we make the survivors' voices matter in the making of the past and the present?
We are honored to be joined by Meehyang Yoon* and Gunyoung Kim** as our discussion panels, both of whom worked closely with Kim Bok Dong before Kim passed away.
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*Yoon is the representative of the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan.
**Kim is the global campaign director at MARYMOND, a South Korean lifestyle brand that has advocated for folks affected by the sexual slavery of the Imperial Japanese Army during WWII.
Co-sponsored Events
Student Events
This event is made possible by additional funding of the Pembroke Center, the Global Brown Center, the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and Korean International Student Association.