Historic Photo Exhibition

[Anchor Lead]

There are victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery in North Korea as well but their stories are little known. A photo exhibition has opened where pictures of both South and North Korean victims of the wartime crime have gathered at one place.

[Pkg]

Ri Kyung-saeng was the first in North Korea to publicly speak about her experience as a victim of Tokyo's sexual enslavement during World War Two. Jung Ok-sun said she kept repeating the names of her murdered colleagues so she will never forget them. They are victims of Japan's wartime crime who settled in North Korea following the nation's independence. When North Korean Kim Yong-sil gave her testimony in Tokyo in 1992, South Korean victim Kim Hak-soon jumped onto the podium. Japanese reporters documented these stories of the North Korean victims. They searched for the victims for two decades, believing such atrocities should never be repeated.

[Soundbite] Takashi Ito(Japanese photojournalist (filmed N. Korean sexual slavery victims)) : "I consider what they told me as their will conveyed to me, and with this mindset, I relayed their stories."

The exhibition displays photos of ten South Korean and 14 North Korean victims including Kim Bok-dong who passed away this January.

[Soundbite] An Hae-ryong(Documentary director (filmed S. Korean sexual slavery victims)) : "A scene that brings together the victims of South and North Korea can send a powerful message to the viewers."

The victims are no longer with us but their painful cries captured in the images still speak volumes.