The Silence narrates the struggle of fifteen "comfort women"—former sex slaves by the Imperial Japanese Army during WWII—for recognition and reparation. The "comfort women" issue has previously been treated almost exclusively within the framework of Korean nationalism. The Silence will provide insight into the ways in which nationalism and the emergence of post-war Asian nation-states have hindered the understanding of "comfort women" narratives through Zainichi Korean documentary filmmaker Soo-nam Park's point of view.
Direction
Park's patient camerawork lets survivors speak without spectacle.
Editing
Brutal juxtaposition of archival denial against lived testimony.
Director
Park Soo-nam
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Park Soo-nam is Zainichi Korean—ethnic Koreans born in Japan—giving her unique positionality between both nations' nationalist narratives. Her insider-outsider status infuriates hardliners on all sides.
The film's release timing (2017) coincided with renewed Japan-South Korea diplomatic tensions over the 2015 'irreversible' comfort women agreement, which survivors immediately rejected. Park treats this political theater as another form of silencing.
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