The Statue of Peace is one of many replicas of the original which resides at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, Korea. It resides in front of an office building within a predominantly populated region of Northern Virginia. Depending on the time of the year, the statue might be adorned with different articles of clothing.
"Known as the "Statue of Peace," and also called Sonyeo Sang [Statue of a Girl] this is THE Comfort Woman statue. It was designed by the Korean sculptor couple, Kim Seo-Kyung and Kim Un-Sung. The first statue was installed in front of the Embassy of Japan in Seoul, Korea by the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan on December 14, 2011 in commemoration of the 1000th Wednesday demonstration." -Asia Policy Point
Main Inscription:
The Statue of Peace
In memory of the painful history of numerous victims of Japanese military "comfort women" who were sexual enslaved by the Japanese imperial movement during World War II, we will continue to stand in solidarity to call for victims and eliminate such war crimes against humanity
2019.10.27
Concerned Korean Americans & Their Friends of the Greater Washington DC Area.
Second plate inscription:
This statue is a replica of the one that stands across the street from the Japanese Embassy in South Korea, commemorating the 1000th consecutive "Wednesday Demonstration."
Below are meanings of various aspects of the statue:
"The Roughly Cut Hair" represents the violent dislocation of the girl from her parents and home.
"Clenched Fist" show the strong will to resolve the "comfort women" matter & the lifelong pain.
"The Bird on the Shoulder" symbolizes freedom and peace. It presents a spiritual medium connecting the living and the dead.
"The Shadow of the Grandmother" indicates that time has passed as the young girl now became an elderly woman. But nothing has been resolved, and she has never been apologized by Japan for what she had to go through in her life.
"The White Butterfly in the Shadow of the Grandmother" represents the reincarnation and the hope for the hope for the deceased victims to reincarnate to hear the apology from the Japanese government.
"The Tiptoe of the Girl" represents the discomfort of the girl's life. The shoes were taken from her not to be able to run away. Even the survivors could not settle down inn their home town when they came back after the war.
"The Empty Chair" means the absence of the victims already deceased, the companionship with survivors in the present, and the promise to fight with the survivors for the women and children's rights in the future.