Moving forward does not mean forgetting the pain and the atrocities of the past.
A statue has been installed near Washington D.C. to remember the thousands of women who were forced to into sexual slavery under the Japanese military before and during the Second World War.
Oh Soo-young reports.
A statue representing the Korean victims of sexual slavery under the Japanese Imperial Army has finally been unveiled near Washington D.C.
Gil Won-ok, a 93 year-old surviving victim,... was forced into serving sex at a Japanese military brothel 80 years ago.
She placed a wreath of flowers on the statue.
"The pain of my past has been shared, bearing this girl the Statue of Peace which sits at this place."
The launch comes after three years of delay due to strong opposition from Japan,... which has made undisguised attempts to remove statues representing comfort women from various locations around the world.
At a ceremony in Annendale, Virginia,... just a 15 minute drive from the U.S. capital,... various state officials and members of the Korean expat community celebrated the launch.
An exhibition has also been set up to raise awareness of the wartime atrocity that affected an estimated 200-thousand women in Asia.
"It provides educational content on human rights and dignity, and the movements against war and injustice to future generations."
It is the 14th Statue of Peace installed in the United States.
Former comfort women and activists for their cause have, for decades, been calling on Japan to issue a formal, heartfelt apology for their wartime sexual enslavement of women.
But time is running out. Only 20 Korean victims remain alive,... as 220 of those registered with the government have already passed away.
Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.