I agree with Sonagi – "Your country does it too" does not exempt Korea from criticism, from netizens or elsewhere. Although some Koreans are armed with this ready made argument. Prostition is as old as time itself, but the problem is unique and specific every culture.

I actually found this piece to be critical of Japan's distortion of history, and denying a role in the comfort women is one of them. But I could conceivably point out to Korea's (N and S alike) own issues with prostuition, to gain a certain perspective. The Chinese and Koreans foam at the mouth at Kozuimi atteninding memorial enshrined with with war criminal and yet….. China isn't especially remorseful for their own imperial crimes crushing pro dem movements.

Regarding the native americans women rape, I think jurisdiction matter should not be a hindrance for legal and humanitarian protection. Come on !!! you are the richest country in the world and probably the best educated people in the world either, and you allow this think to happen within your boundary? Also if you read carefully you will notice that racism lead american authorities to ignore the abuses and refuse justice to these women. By acting this way you are also responsible for this crimes.

If you are really concerned about the sexual abuse of women around the world I sugest you to start it from your own country. Come on, make me proud of you, send a letter to Bush, make a rally in LA and Washing DC for the sake of these women. I believe this will be more effective that typing messages in the computer. After that let´s do the same in korea. You can count on me. I will be marching besides you.

Something you will never understand is that the comfort women issue is an emotional issue, so yes, I think abe comiting seppuku will do a lot for this problem. Please say to abe "go for it".

Lastly, something that happens most time in blogs on korea run by americans: You start the post with something related to korea and end up insulting korea in one or other way. I wonder if the opinions on these blogs are those of the majority of amricans in korea or of a minority group.

You pulled out a double-barreled 12 guage, and let loose with both of them. I also learned some things. Well done! And from the Heart.

I knew unification will be difficult. You opened my eyes to just how badly it will be.

Wish I could help in some way. Na, the ROK has had too much help already. They don't seem to like help.

I highly recommend everyone read this Asia Times article if you think Korea doesn't have a sexual trafficking problem:

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/FE26Dg03.html

Some how I doubt the 15 dead prostitutes in Kunsan who were killed by a fire due to be jailed in the brothel would agree with anyone who thinks Korea doesn't have a sexual trafficking problem.

Also Tom I already shot down your ancient stat but like I said before 40 people in three years were arrested in all of Southeast Asia from a nation of 300 million. Frankly I'm surprised it wasn't higher and is lower per capita than other countries you mentioned.

However in terms of Korean pedophiles you don't have to look any farther than the small island nation of Kiribati where Korean pedophiles have been flocking too and the Korean government has done little about:

http://rokdrop.com/2007/02/26/rok-sailors-linked-…

Also in schools this is coming all to common:

http://rokdrop.com/2007/06/06/middle-school-prost…

I can keep dropping links but I think I have made my point. Sex trafficking is a huge problem in Korea and denying it doesn't make it go away.

However, with all this said I have consistently stated that the enslavement of Korean women in China today along with promoting human rights for North Koreans in general should be of higher importance than trying to convince Abe to commit seppuku on top of Seoul Tower or the latest manufactured Dokdo crisis.

Dr Yu,

In regards to your question about eskimos in Alaska. Native Americans in general not just eskimos have their own reservations that are governed by their own laws within the reservations. The reservations that make money from casinos are quite wealthy however some of the reservations are so isolated that they cannot make money from casinos and remain very poor. Combine this with alcoholism and problems arise. Additionally the natives receive government subsidicies so they will always have food and shelter. However, alcoholism and crime on reservations is something that the tribes with these issues need to solve.

Also this is not a uniquely American problem. Canada has the same issues and in Australia they have an even worse issue with the aborigines. However, this all has nothing to do with sex trafficking.

Also Dr. Yu I am well aware of the signifigance of the Japanese occupation. My father in law is 74 years old and has told me plenty about it. My mother in law is 68 and she had little interaction with the Japanese because she lived way out in a rural area and attended a school that taught in Korean. Only the government funded schools taught in Japanese. Schools set up by local villagers could teach in Korean. However if you went to one of these schools you were greatly disadvantaged because to attend a university you had to attend a public schoool. To get in government job you had to speak Japanese.

My father in law on the other hand attended a Japanese school knows Japanese but refuses to speak it. He is bitter about the occupation but you know what he doesn't dwell on it either. The people who dwell on it now are mostly people who didn't even live through it like Tom.

My father in law also fought in the Korean War and is more bitter at the Chinese and North Koreans for dividing the country. The Japanese never divided the country and the Japanese did not kill no where near as many Koreans as both the Chinese and the North Koreans. The horrors of the Korean War resonate with both my in laws a whole lot more than the Japanese colonization. The Japanese during the colonization tried to break the spirit of Koreans to enslave them, this was doomed to failure because I have been around Koreans long enough to know you can't break their spirit. The North Korean communist and the Chinese tried to enslave all Koreans through open warfare that ended with disastorous consequences for the Korean people.

Let me state my positions clearly. I have consistently stated Abe should issue an apology for the comfort women issue at some large event, maybe at the UN but something widely public. I have also stated Japan should become a champion for North Korean human rights in a way to make amends for the past sins of the nation against the Korean people. Some how I don't find making demands for seppuku on top of Seoul Tower useful and such arguments only make Koreans look irrational. What I state is a rational way to address the issue.

Also if the Japanese government withdraws its 1993 apology and the Japanese government start buying adds like this one in the Washington Post than it time to start condeming them which I have stated repeadedly

Also I have consistently stated that the South Korean government should do more to promote the human rights of North Koreans and quit giving unconditional an unmonitored aid to the North Korean regime. When Korea reunites how do you think the citizens of that nation are going to react to the ROK government's legitimacy over them after they learn for how long the SK government had sold them out to Kim Jong-il for all these years to simply delay unification so SK citizens would not have to pay more in taxes to help their North Korean brothers and sisters? Look at East Germany and West Germany. They are still having issues integrating and if NK was to collapse tomorrow integrating the North Koreans into the ROK would be 10 times harder than what Germany had to do and the conditions in NK are only getting worse. How bad will it be in lets say 20 years from now when NK finally collapses. By SK putting off the inevitable is only ensuring they one day absorb an even more broken people if they even have the chance to absorb them before China does.

Maybe I was wrong, maybe the Korean spirit can be broken. It can only be broken by Koreans themselves which is happening right now in North Korea which Japan has absolutely nothing to do with. When I continue to follow the unfolding tragedy in North Korea how can I not feel cynical when I hear demands for Abe to apologize for the millionth time? If Kim Jong-il committed seppuku on top of Seoul Tower that would do the Korean people a whole lot more good than Abe doing it.

As for whining, I do feel better when I corner some korean youth on the error of their ways. The best you could do is point out that some GI's use the third country girls that koreans import on entertainment visa. Take their passports away and force the girls to live like cattle and sell themselves.

Damn tom, your right. Koreans are better than americans when it comes to slavery.

Since you brought up Iraq Tom. Guess what, In ten years Iraq will be doing better than Korea in the export department with the US.

Korea didn't do anything untill the 1988 Olympics.

We pulled out of Vietnam, and they went nowhere for almost thirty years.

We should pull out of Korea Tom, but your right, America is not smart enough to see that Korea has nothing to offer America. Not even Friendship. Which would be Enough. Too bad something so simple is so difficult for Korea.

The comfort woman issue happen during the war, by the japanese government that used thoses poor women for their war activity. This issue is related to questions related to war crimes.

The prostitution problem in Korea is a social problem that menace every society in the world. If americans want to discuss this matter than we should discuss prostitution around the world. But honesty speacking, the USA is the world "champion" in term of prostitution problem since it has the world's biggest pornography market and are the major group of people in sexual tourism around the world.

You guys insist that korea has no moral authority to demand compensation from Japan, but you have even less authority to demend korea for whatever in this regard. I remember sometime I wondered the americans guys about the rape of native indian women in Alaska which is denounced by the international amnesty in their site. Well … nobody answered me.

Now, before we move forward here I kindly would like to ask the americans to explain me the rape case denounced by the International amnesty in order to make clear how "pure" and "innocent" the american society is. I think you may agree that someone can not accuse the other until he proves that he is better than the one he accuses.