Statue to return to Japan art show

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Statue to return to Japan art show

Published: 08 Oct. 2019, 19:07

A Korean sculpture symbolizing Japan’s sexual enslavement of Asian women will be put back on display Tuesday at a major Japanese art show in Nagoya after its controversial withdrawal from the show, organizers said.

The girl statue representing Korean women who were forced into sexual service for the imperial Japanese military during World War II and its umbrella exhibition, “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’” were withdrawn from the Aichi Triennale 2019 in Nagoya just days after the Japanese art show opened on Aug. 1.

The unilateral withdrawal, which the host of the triennale attributed to security reasons, triggered angry accusations of artistic censorship in Korea and beyond.

As the controversy continued, the host of the triennale agreed late last month to bring back the exhibition including the girl statue, and Aichi Prefecture Governor Hideaki Omura announced Monday the exhibit will resume the following day and run till the triennale closes on Oct. 14.

The triennale on Tuesday announced the show’s exhibition schedule on its official website.

Yonhap