Judy Cho
Judy Cho: Power of Stories
Nothing would have prepared me for the disturbing images in the film, Spirits Homecoming, a film based on the horrendous experiences lived by Korean sex slaves before and during the Second World War. Shortly after the film ended, I was ready to excuse myself from the event commemorating the historic independence movement in Korea called (Sam-Il Movement), but Judy Cho had a powerful presence, which urged me to stay for the rest of the event.
Judy exuded a poised conviction, and I sensed that she had an important message for me. That evening, she added flesh to the all too familiar account of Korean sex slaves. (Familiarity, not in the sense of a deeply rooted understanding of the history, but in the sense of repeated exposure to anger felt by many ethnic Koreans with the awareness that the unthinkable had happened to fellow Koreans, who easily could have been our grandmother or even ourselves.) In the short time we had with Judy, the Korean sex slaves came to life and the simple anger I felt toward Japan was replaced with a strong feeling that such brutalities must be prevented through education and empathy.
Weeks later, I came to hear of the Korean Canadian Stories 150 initiative, and the first person that came to mind was Judy Cho. At first, it was a simple association. Judy Cho, a Canadian of Korean descent shares stories of Korean history to Canadians and non-Canadians in Canada. She was the perfect mix of Korea and Canada, her story was noteworthy, and she was a storyteller herself. But as I interviewed her, I realized that she was more than the ideal harmony between Korea and Canada. She embodied the powerful effect of stories—the reason why we need to hear and rehear various stories.
Judy lives in Toronto and works for ALPHA (Association for Learning and Preserving History of WWII in Asia) Education.1 She got involved with ALPHA Education by serendipity when she hosted a Korean grandma, who lived through sex slavery during the Second World War. In 2007, ALPHA Education spearheaded an initiative to pass a motion on “Comfort Women” in the Canadian Parliament. This motion constitutes Canada’s urging, as a nation, the Japanese government to recognize the history surrounding comfort women and to issue a proper apology and compensation.2 As part of an awareness raising campaign, four sex slave survivors from China, Philippines, Netherlands, and Korea were invited to Canada, and Judy had housed the Korean grandma, Grandma Jhang.
Having been born in Korea, Judy was already aware of comfort women issues, but they were just text in a history book to her until she lived with Grandma Jhang for two weeks. Their relationship resembled that of a typical grandmother-granddaughter relationship. Judy drove Grandma Jhang around; they made Korean side dishes together; and they enjoyed each other’s company during the downtimes in between scheduled events. Although Judy’s initial nervousness of meeting Grandma Jhang almost felt unwarranted because she was so “normal”, certain triggers would remind Judy that Grandma Jhang had indeed lived a part of her life as a sex slave. The whole experience felt surreal to Judy, and she quickly got increasingly involved with comfort women issues both in her private life in her encounters with her usual networks and with ALPHA Education by volunteering at full capacity. Her time with Grandma Jhang left an impression so raw and strong that she was on fire and just had to do something.
At ALPHA Education, Judy educates Canadian communities about the historic events surrounding the Second World War including the Nanking massacres, unit 731, and ill treatment of prisoners of war. She expanded the ALPHA Education’s signature study tour program to Korea through which educators visit historical sites in five to six cities in China and Korea. Upon their return, educators impart their knowledge to their students, so the program is an efficient way of reaching many individuals. Judy is motivated to share these stories because she believes education is key to prevention. These horrific events are not isolated. Similar events continue to haunt the lives of some people, though the location, context, and colour of the people affected may differ. Judy is mindful of the vulnerability of women, and thus linked the narrative of comfort women with a youth program to prevent violence against women. To empower women to fight against violence, Judy and Kathy Kim, with the help of the Korean-Canadian Women’s Association, held a Free and Empower Me (FEM) program to run workshops and nurture peer leaders among female youths from ages sixteen to twenty-four.
Judy emphasizes the importance of critically engaging with history, going beyond the simplistic renderings that are frequently present in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean education circles. For example, Judy had not heard of the Nanking massacres prior to getting involved with ALPHA Education. Nanking massacres were a notable event where around 300,000 people were killed, over 60,000 raped, and countless looted in China’s then capital within a six week period, but it slipped under the radar of the Korean education system. Korea emphasized aspects of the World War II that was relevant to its country while Japan did the same by focusing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. These targeted teachings breed nationalistic views of history and create possible conflicts in the future. To move beyond the immediate emotional reactions from discussing only the part of history that is relevant to a particular group, Judy continues to work closely with ALPHA Education in dispersing the holistic story. She attempts to teach the unaware and to broaden the perspectives of those in anger for reconciliation. Her work helps people to adopt an inclusive framework that understands other countries and even fractions beyond border divisions.
Korea was a victim of war atrocities, but it was also a perpetrator. When I brought up Vietnamese sex slaves, who suffered at the hands of Korean men during the Vietnam War, Judy responded that we cannot pinpoint one ethnic group as the underlying perpetrator. We are no different, and equally capable of becoming a victim or perpetrator. Judy frequently reminds herself of the idea that between the inevitable Birth (B) and Death (D), we are faced with Choices (C) over which we have a degree of control. She educates others to be an “upstander“ (as opposed to a bystander), and lives her life to bring some good in the world in the hope that others may do the same. She is a prime example of an individual grounded in Korean heritage while embracing humanity. Judy not only inspires us to live as upstanders, she reminds us of the importance of listening to stories to live as vigilant upstanders.
- ALPHA Education is a non-profit organization founded in 1997 that “promotes a critical historical investigation of the events of World War II in Asia.” Its purpose is “to activate historical memory and dialogue, to promote reconciliation, healing, closure and cross-cultural understanding.” For more information on ALPHA Education, visit http://www.alphaeducation.org/.
- The United States and European Union had previously adopted such a motion, and Canada was next to follow suit. The motion was passed unanimously.