Halmoni Means Grandmother
By Stephanie Drenka
Stephanie Drenka of Dallas Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation
“Halmoni” is the Korean word for Grandmother.
Because I was adopted from Korea as an infant, I spent most of my life not knowing my own. But a woman named Lee Yong Soo became my Halmoni and set me on a path of advocacy and truth-seeking.
During college, I worked with a coalition to support House Resolution 121, legislation calling upon the Japanese government to issue a formal apology for the sexual enslavement of approximately 200,000 women and girls, referred by the euphemism “comfort women,” during World War II.
On April 26, 2007, while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited President George Bush for a summit meeting, we organized a dignity walk from the Lincoln Memorial to the White House. Lee Yong Soo, in her 80’s at the time, had traveled from Korea to attend and give her testimony. She was only 16 years old when the military captured her.
We called all the survivors “halmoni” out of respect. We never used the phrase “comfort women”—because, as the sign I carried during the march said, there is no comfort in rape. Halmoni held up a sign saying, “Abe, Apologize” as the Prime Minister’s motorcade passed by.
House Resolution 121 passed unanimously on July 30, 2007.
Halmoni and I grew especially close during a trip to Los Angeles for the victory party. She apologized to me on behalf of Korea— saying she wanted help me find my birth mother. As the others discussed next steps, she held one of my hands between hers and fell asleep on my shoulder.
Watching her sleep, I knew despite the language barrier and different life experiences—we were connected; as Koreans, as women, as people who believed in justice and human dignity. My future work would be in her honor.
““We never used the phrase ‘comfort women’—because, as the sign I carried during the march said, there is no comfort in rape”—@Stephaniedrenka, Communications Director @DallasTRHT. #PowerToChangeStories”
Stephanie Drenka is Communications Director, Dallas Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation. @stephaniedrenka; https://facebook.com/stephaniedrenka; https://instagram.com/stephaniedrenka https://stephaniedrenka.com