Date of letter:1992-09-15
Address of author:Wuhan City, Hubei Province
Date of event:1940-1945
Location of event:Chongqing Province, Hubei Province, Hunan Province
Name of author:Jin Yiqing
Name(s) of victim(s):Jin Yiqing
Type of atrocity:Sex Slaves (SS)
Other details:I am a South Korean named Kim Yiqing. In 1940 I was brought by the Japanese Army to China. I was cheated by the Japanese, I was cheated to board a train and saw there were over 30 women on the train. When the train stopped Japanese soldiers would come up to gang rape us, anyone wanted to escape would be killed. Later I came to Nanjing. In the day I was asked to wash clothing for the Japanese Army, and in the evening I was ravaged. Later I was sent to brothel, and they took a photo of me and give me a number, available for ravage by the Japanese soldiers. I lived a nonhuman life, and it was not until 1945 when Japan surrendered that I and several others escaped.
Mr. Tong Zeng,
Thank you, if there is reply, please use the address on the envelope, and the receiver is Dai Desheng.
Because my previous residence was to be demolished and relocated, now I temporarily stayed elsewhere, you can also write to the address of my temporary residence.
3F, 48 Kaiming Road, Jiang
an District, Wuhan City
Receiver Yi Qizhou
Yi Qizhou
92.9.23
Complaint
I am Jin Yiqing, a native of Taepyong-no, Kyongsong Municipality, South Korea, born on November 14, 1918, now 74 years old, I was forced to come to China in 1940.
Because my parents died early, plus there were five siblings including brothers and sisters in my family, life was extremely difficult. One day, a middle-aged man came to my hometown, and said if we went to work in the city, we could find a job to make a living, in this way I and other four sisters were cheated to board a train bound for abyss.
After boarding the train, we did not know the direction, my experience of first time persecution was most vivid, when the train approached an unknown wilderness place, all of a sudden it stopped, and a group of Japanese solders rushed onto the train, opened the door with force, back then in the entire carriage there were nearly 30 women, the Japanese soldiers dragged us to the wilderness and gang raped us, we desperately resisted, the Japanese solders then used bayonets and rifle stocks to beat us, till we were wounded and bloody, several sisters wanted to escape and were killed with pistol, I only remember that I was aware I had fallen into a trap, and my doomsday was.
Because I had no education, coupled with fear, nor did I know where the train was going, each time when the train stopped, Japanese soldiers would rush onto the train, and randomly raped us, I became totally numbed, frightened to be, and didn’t know what to do.
Later the train arrived at a place in Jiangbei, Nanjing, we lived in a stable, sometimes for several consecutive days we had no food, and we starved, in the day we washed clothing for the Japanese, in the night we were raped by Japanese, this troop had several hundred soldiers.
Later this troop was transferred to an unknown place in Nanjing, we five sisters from the same village were all separated from each other, I was escorted by the Japanese to a brothel, the Japanese took a photo of me, and gave me a number, in this way I was available for the Japanese solders for raping, since then I lived a nonhuman life……
Later I was taken by this troop to go to Yichang, and Changsha, during the 5 years of non-human life, I suffered the most intolerable pain and sadness on earth, I cried, and dreamed, and anticipated, until both eyes became blind, and heart was broken, I looked forward to the day when I could return to my hometown to have reunion with my family members, but in the end what waited for me was the Japanese soldiers……
In 1945 after Japan surrendered, the Japanese solders all left, we several sisters also ran out, and we followed the railway and begged along the way till we came to Wuhan.
I first went to Hanyang to live with a Chinese man, later due to the discrimination from my mother-in-law and street neighbors, I found it indeed intolerable, later I married a Chinese named Jin Bingcheng, he worked in a factory in Manchun Street in Hankou, in 1961 he died of illness, in 1962 I married my current husband Jin Kean, he worked at the Post and Telecommunication Equipment Supply Office. In 1987 he died of stomach cancer.
The past humiliation is too painful to recall, the Japanese imperialists destroyed my life, I feel sad, and I hate, I strongly demand the Japanese government to compensate all my losses!
Jin Yiqing
September 15, 1992
