The Care Patterns and Meaning Revealed in the Oral Accounts of Activists Supporting Victims of the Japanese Military's “Comfort Women” Suppression-Focusing on the Western Gyeongnam Region in the 2000s

This study focused on the caregiving practices and meanings of activists who supported victims of Japanese military “comfort women” in the western Gyeongnam region in the 2000s. Five victims received care support in the region in the 2000s: Kim Woo-myeong-dal and Kim Ok-seon from Sancheong, Lee Hyo-sun from Hapcheon, Park Sun-im from Geochang, and Jeong Seo-un from Hadong. Four activists—C, D, I, and H—supported them at the time. Based on oral accounts from the support activists involved in caregiving activities at the time, this study assessed the motivations and methods of caregiving, the nature and role of caregiving, and the meaning of caregiving. The support activities of activists C, D, I, and H were individual activities, not organized by civic or women's groups. They transcended the political ideology of the student movement and were driven by personal conscience, compassion, and a sense of indebtedness, providing care for the sociopolitically vulnerable. The support activists provided daily care to victims, accommodating them from their daily lives to funerals, forming close, primary caregiving relationships between mothers and daughters. These caregiving activities played a pivotal role in the construction of Korea's first memorial monument, the Hadong Peace Tower, in 2007, and the Japanese military “comfort women” memorial in Jinju in 2015. The support activists also evaluated their personal growth through their caregiving activities and relationships, and believed that it was necessary to establish a care democracy that would address discrimination and exclusion at the societal and national levels.