Perhaps most young Korean Americans today may wonder why there is a statue of a little Korean girl in Glendale of all places where a majority of the residents are either successful Hollywood filmmakers and animators or Armenian immigrants. Sadly this means they do not even remember what their ancestors had gone through during World War II, when the Japanese military forced Korean, Chinese, and Southeast Asian women to serve as "comfort women" in their bases.
In an age where Japan is the center of popular culture and perhaps in the top three of any teenager's list of countries to visit, it is not easy for young Korean Americans to remember where their people came from.
On December 19th 2013, members of the Japanese Parliament requested that the statue in Glendale be removed. Already, Youngnak Presbyterian Church started collecting signatures both from the congregation and the local community to keep the statue.
Perhaps this small and in a way shameful piece of history is an important part of the Korean identity that the younger generation is on the verge of losing, and reaffirming their identities as Koreans could eventually remind them that they are ultimately a people of God.
