The Murmuring

Veteran female director Byeon Yeongju's documentary film "The Murmuring" features the testimonies of former Korean comfort women who led a grief-stricken life during the turbulent period of Korea at the end of the Second World War. At the House of Sharing in Hyehwa-dong in Seoul (though later moved to Gwangju in the Gyeonggi Province) live six elderly women who served as comfort women during the Japanese occupation of Korea. The weekly schedule of the former sex slaves includes the study of the Korean alphabet and the weekly participation in a protest for reparations in front of the Japanese Embassy. Though they have to rely on daily pills to maintain their health, they still have hopes for the future. The movie also introduces eight other comfort women who, having renounced their hopes for returning home, still live in the Hu Bei Province. Subtitled "To Live in Asia as a Woman," the original movie drew more than 40,000 viewers when it was released in 1994. Winner of the film critics' award in 1996, Byeon produced a sequel in 1997