Comfort Women

Oral testimonies of “comfort women” survivors and personal memoirs by former Japanese military personnel

The primary sources in this collection provide an essential narrative of crucial but overlooked history in the Asia Pacific prior to and during the Second World War (1930s-1945). They substantiate the historical truth about Imperial Japan’s use of systematic sexual and gender-based violence to further the goals of imperial expansion and military dominance. The Japanese military “comfort women” system is one of the largest known institutions of state-sponsored human trafficking and sexual slavery in the 20th century.

The Archives houses historical materials regarding the comfort women issue, main documents, protocols of board meetings and all publications of the Asian Women's Fund.
Includes the resources on comfort stations, testimony of the victims, lawsuits in Japanese courts, and more.

Documents on the Establishment of the "comfort station" system as a military apparatus, Conscription/Recruitment, Transportation of Women, and Management of the "comfort stations"

Documents on U.S. and Allied Forces providing valuable insight into the perspectives of victims and witnesses through fragmentary evidence of the tragic realities in which “comfort women” lived

These records, related to Japanese military 'comfort women,' were collected by Jinseong Jeong's research team at Seoul National University from archive institutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Thailand, with support from the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The records have been donated to the Seoul Archives since 2018 and will be continuously updated in the future.

'Archive 814,' the digital archive of the 'Comfort Women' issue collected by the Research Institute on Comfort Women in the Japanese Military, opened for the 3rd Memorial Day on Comfort Women on August 14, 2020. The research institute has been gathering data on 'comfort women' scattered throughout Korea and abroad. provides the original text of various materials, including official documents of the Japanese government (Japanese military), UN Human Rights Commission reports, and various photos and videos.

One of the photos belonging to the 'Collected photos related to Japanese military 'comfort women,' 1939 ~ 1958,' is a collection of photographs depicting Japanese military 'comfort women,' comfort stations, and the Allied POW camps where the 'comfort women' stayed. All the photos were taken by the Allied forces during World War II.

This research guide provides information on the composition and search method of the Japanese military 'comfort women' record collection held by the Seoul Archives, the context of record accumulation, and details about related record holdings beyond those held by the Seoul Archives.

The War and Women's Human Rights Archive preserves historical data on the Japanese military sexual slavery system, records of survivors of Japanese military 'comfort women,' and records of movements to resolve the issue of Japanese military sexual slavery, making them available to citizens around the world. Collection includes; Records of international community activities, Records related to domestic and foreign litigation, Records of Wednesday Demonstration since 1992, Records of Asian Solidarity Conference since 1992, Records by comfort women-related researcher Jeong-ok Yoon, Collection related to Japanese military sexual slavery evidence records, Records related to civil society's response to the Japanese government, Records produced and collected by Jeong Jin-seong’s research team related to comfort women, Records of the construction and operation of the Peace Monument, Records of testimonies, oral records, and works drawn by survivors of 'comfort women' victims, and Collection of newsletters on the activities of the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan.

The Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan (Korean Council) works towards just resolution of the issue and prevention of wartime sexual violence.