Author to talk about WWII Comfort Women
The Ste. Genevieve chapter of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC) is hosting award-winning author Maija Rhee Devine for two presentations in Ste. Genevieve today and Saturday.
Devine will be appearing in conjunction with the district-wide meeting of the 9th Missouri District of the GFWC which is being held in Ste. Genevieve on Saturday. The local chapter, the GFWC Woman’s Club of Ste. Genevieve, is hosting the meeting, which is expected to draw approximately 100 attendees from 15 women’s clubs from the 9th district to the town’s historic district.
Today, Devine, a Korean War survivor, author and former TedX Talk presenter, will talk about her upcoming book, “Women of Comfort,” at the Ste. Genevieve Welcome Center at 3 p.m. After the presentation, she will be signing her current book, “The Voices of Heaven.” The presentation and book signing are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
Included in her presentation, Devine will share with her audience information about World War II “Comfort Women” and who they were before they became comfort women. She’ll talk about their daily lives and why they became comfort women and whether they were actually paid sex slaves.
Devine will also share stories about what happened to them after WWII ended. She will try to answer the question of why it took over 40 years before the women went public with their stories.
On Saturday, Devine will appear as the keynote speaker for the GFWC 9th Missouri District Convention at the Audubon Restaurant in downtown Ste. Genevieve.
For this presentation, Devine will discuss “The Voices of Heaven,” her autobiographical novel about Korea. The book portrays the life of one man living with two wives in the same house in order to produce a male child. Devine will discuss how this story of the Korean War era (1950s) relates to today’s South Korean society, particularly related to women, gender-equality and population issues.
Her first book, “The Voices of Heaven” won four book awards in 2014 including one from the Kansas City branch of the American Association of University Women and an award for Best Adult Fiction E-book from an independent publisher.
Devine earned a bachelor’s degree from Sogang University in Seoul and a master’s degree from St. Louis University. She and her husband, Michael J. Devine, former director of the Harry S. Truman Library, share interests in travelling and giving talks on a variety of international topics.
Her commentaries on comfort women of WWII and other topics dealing with Korean culture and history have appeared in The Korea Times and Kansas City Star.
For more information about Devine, visit MaijaRheeDevine.com, send an email to maijadevine@gmail.com or look for her on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
The Ste. Genevieve Welcome Center is located at 66 S. Main St. The Audubon Restaurant is located at 9 N. Main St. in Ste. Genevieve.
The Ste. Genevieve chapter of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC) is hosting award-winning author Maija Rhee Devine for presentations in Ste. Genevieve today and Saturday.
Amy Patterson is a reporter for the Daily Journal and can be reached at 573-518-3616 or apatterson@dailyjournalonline.com.
