NYT Highlights Yu Gwansun and Gil Won-ok for Women’s History Month

NYT Revisits 104 Historic Women Figures
"Yu Gwansun, Independence Activist Who Resisted Japanese Rule"
"Gil Won-ok, Comfort Woman Survivor and Advocate"

In recognition of Women’s History Month in the United States this March, the New York Times (NYT) has included independence activist Yu Gwansun (1902–1920) and former Japanese military “comfort woman” survivor Gil Won-ok (1928–2025) on its list of historic figures.

Prison Record Card of Activist Yu Gwan-sun. National Museum of Korea

According to Yonhap News Agency on March 10, the NYT, in an online article published on March 6 (local time), revisited the lives of 104 women who made significant marks on world history. Among the women of Korean descent, Yu Gwansun and Gil Won-ok were selected. Yu Gwansun was recognized as one of eight “women who died too soon,” while Gil Won-ok was introduced as one of thirteen “survivors of historic events.”

The NYT described Yu Gwansun as “a Korean independence activist who fought against Japanese rule.” The newspaper also referred to its 2018 Women’s History Month series, in which Yu Gwansun was featured, and highlighted her contributions to the independence movement. Furthermore, it noted that, due to her role in the March 1st Movement, Yu Gwansun has become “the face symbolizing the collective yearning for freedom of the Korean people.”

The late grandmother Gil Wonok attending the regular Wednesday demonstration in 2018. Photo by The Asia Business Daily DB

Regarding Gil Won-ok, the NYT explained that she was “a survivor and activist of Japan’s military sexual slavery system during World War II.” In her obituary published last February, the NYT commemorated her life, stating, “She fought for decades for Japan to take legal responsibility and provide compensation to survivors, but these demands remain unfulfilled.”

Other figures included in the list are Mother Teresa, American social activist Helen Keller, and former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Among East Asian women, Japanese peace activist and Hiroshima atomic bombing survivor Sasamori Shigeko, who passed away in 2024, and Jiang Qing, wife of Mao Zedong and leader of the Cultural Revolution, were also named.

The NYT stated, “This is an effort to revisit the lives and deaths of women we have chronicled across generations,” adding, “It is not about ranking them or simply making them heroes, but about revisiting their legacies with the perspective of time.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.