Published : Aug. 14, 2012 - 19:28
Sato Yukie
A Japanese rock band said it will perform for a crowd of South Koreans demanding an apology from Tokyo for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II at a weekly rally to be held in Seoul on Wednesday, which also marks the country’s National Liberation Day.
The 3-member Japanese group Gopchang Jeongol, whose name refers to a spicy Korean stew, will sing two songs embodying antiwar messages at a peace concert to be held in central Seoul to celebrate the 67th anniversary of the country’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule.
The gig will also be in support of the symbolic “Wednesday Demonstration,” a weekly campaign in which activists and survivors of Japan’s brutal sexual enslavement have been demanding the Japanese government issue an apology and provide compensation since January 1992.
Tokyo has so far rejected the calls, claiming that the issue was already settled in a 1965 treaty normalizing ties between the two countries, a treaty that South Korea insists it does not cover “war crimes” such as sexual enslavement.
“It breaks my heart to see the victims of sexual slavery. We decided to sing at South Korea’s Liberation Day peace concert in the hope that no such tragedies of war are repeated ever again,”
the leader of the band, Sato Yukie, told Yonhap News Agency in a phone interview.
Adding that he is “an advocate of peace,” the 49-year-old Tokyo-born leader said he is not at all uncomfortable about participating in the rally thanks to his firm belief against war and violence.
“Most people in Japan are not interested in listening to songs about social issues,” he said.
“I love that in South Korea, many people are passionate about these problems and can empathize with the songs.”
Having debuted in South Korea in 1999, the indie group said while it has no plans of returning to Japan for the time being, its current goal is to develop its musical career in South Korea.
(Yonhap News)