Anti-Slavery Monument

[Anchor Lead]

A fifth statue honoring the victims of Japanese sexual slavery was installed after a two-year effort by Korean American students. The sculpture went up in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The young volunteers planned the project, designed the monument and even raised the funds. And now it’s been revealed to the public. Here’s more.

[Pkg]

The silhouette of a girl wearing hanbok is carved out on a round stone tablet. It's a little taller than one and a half meters. At the base of the monument is a poem commemorating the victims of the horrific war crime. This is the fifth monument remembering the victims of wartime sexual slavery. But this sculpture in New Jersey has an extra special meaning. Korean-American students in the area were directly involved in planning and designing the monument, and they even wrote the memorial poem.

[Soundbite] Mark Sokolich (Mayor of Fort Lee, NJ)

The students started this project 2 years ago, after being moved by a movie about survivors of the atrocity.

[Soundbite] William Jung (Member, Youth Council of Fort Lee)

They felt it was a meaningful opportunity to look back at the history of human rights infringement. The Japanese Consulate General meanwhile, requested the Fort Lee government prior to the unveiling ceremony to cancel the event.