Visualising Korea: The Politics of the Statue of Peace

In 2015, the Japanese imperial army’s system of military sexual servitude/military prostitution once again became central to relations between South Korea and Japan. After the signing of a 2015 agreement meant to resolve disputes between the two countries, the Statue of Peace, an effigy of a young Korean woman, was reproduced in both physical form and through digital media, expanding its visual presence in both the material and virtual worlds. This study examines events between 2015 and 2018 through the lens of visual politics and argues that, to fully understand the political impact of the Statue of Peace, we need to assess it not only as a physical effigy, but also as a form of digital reproduction. In doing so, it highlights that the mechanical reproduction of the Statue of Peace freed it from the limitations of being a physical representation, and allowed it to interact in more diverse contexts as a tool of resistance against the Japanese government’s proposal and the Korean government’s complicity with the 2015 agreement. This study adds to the analytical toolbox of visualising Korea with the aim of providing greater insight on an important issue facing South Korea and its relationship with Japan.