A children’s book that delves into the issue of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery was published in English, the publisher said last week.

“Touch-Me-Nots” was published on Jan. 9 by the House of Sharing, a shelter in Gyeonggi Province for the few surviving victims, who are euphemistically called comfort women, and its adjacent museum, the Museum of Sexual Slavery by the Japanese Military.

The book is an English translation of a Korean-language book written in 2008 by Yoon Jung-mo, the author of many historical novels, including “Mommy’s Name was Josenpi.” It was translated by a group of volunteers and students. 

“The book is published with the hope that at least one child will be able to embrace the victims’ courage with an open heart,” the publisher said through a press statement.

The 170-page book is based on a true story of the late Kim Hak-sun. Kim ― who was 17 when she was abducted and forced to provide sex to frontline Japanese soldiers during World War II ― was the first comfort woman ever to go public with her story in 1991. In the book, she goes by the name Soon-yi.

Researchers say up to 200,000 girls and women faced the same abuse across Asia, many of them from Korea, then a Japanese colony. However, Japan denies its involvement in the wartime sexual enslavement, claiming it was voluntary prostitution.

The book is available worldwide through donations. To order, call (031) 768-0064 or visit www.nanum.org.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)