During WW II, the Japanese government kidnapped girls from Korea and other Japanese-occupied countries and forced them to service Japanese soldiers. What were these women called?

“Comfort women’, were women forced to perform sexual acts for the Japanese armed forces during World War II. Young girls then, they are old women now. Shame, stigma and feelings of guilt have made them maintain silence about their wartime experiences for decades.

Regulated sex in military brothels was advocated as an effective means "to boost the spirit of the troops, keep law and order and prevent rape and venereal disease," a 1938 directive of the Japanese Department of War shows. In the occupied territories, the Japanese armed forces instigated the establishment of thousands of military brothels, in which an estimated 50,000 - 200,000 comfort women were forced to serve the three million Japanese troops.

Even after more than six decades, many women still try to keep their wartime history a secret for their family and immediate surroundings.