Activists in the Perpetrator State

The chapter gives an overview of the book, providing a general description of the comfort women issue and discussing theoretical orientation, methodology, and terminological considerations. I conceived the idea of doing research on the comfort women movement with a focus on activist narratives after speaking with several activists in 2014. The abstract image I had held about the movement was turned into a web of face-to-face interpersonal relationships rich in affection. As I continued to meet activists with diverse backgrounds in the following years, I decided to present what activists told me as individual narratives. Their stories were full of transformative moments and laden with personal feelings, resisting simple characterization.