Art in urban space
Ari awaits their fate- The Peace Statue in its fifth year
In early 2020, the Korea Association submitted an application to the Mitte district for permission to erect a peace statue by Kim Seo-Kyung and Kim Eun-Sung. The artwork commemorates the approximately 200,000 women and girls who were forced into prostitution by the Japanese army during the Asia-Pacific War. The statue is intended not only to commemorate the so-called ‘comfort women,’ but also to draw attention to the continuity of sexualised violence in times of war and peace.
Britta Schubert
The statue was created as a result of weekly protests outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul since 1992 and quickly became a global symbol. Replicas can be found in North America and Europe; after failed attempts in Freiburg and Hamburg, the first statue was erected in Regensburg in 2017, followed by temporary locations in Frankfurt am Main, Kassel and, in 2025, Cologne.
The Mitte district art commission expressly endorsed the Korea Association's application in 2020. It praised the social relevance of the project and suggested that German responsibility for sexualised war crimes should also be addressed. At the inauguration in September 2020, speakers adopted the suggestion and drew parallels to other historical and current contexts. Nataly Jung-Hwa Han, chairwoman of the Korea Association, explained: "The Peace Statue is intended to serve as a warning and a reminder, as well as an incentive to prosecute, punish and ultimately eradicate crimes against girls and women."
Shortly afterwards, the district withdrew its permit, officially on the grounds that it was not permitted to take sides in international conflicts. However, media reports revealed that pressure had been exerted by the Japanese government: Foreign Minister Motegi had urged his German counterpart to have the statue removed. Protests against the threatened removal and decisions by the district council ensured that the statue remained in place for the time being. In 2021 and 2022, the permit was extended, and in 2022, a museum dedicated to the ‘comfort women’ opened nearby. In September 2024, the Mitte district parliament voted in favour of the statue remaining permanently at its location in Moabit. A residents' petition, signed by more than 3,000 citizens, was endorsed. A second, similar petition initiated by the Linke, SPD and Grünen was also accepted.
Since the statue was erected, there have been repeated diplomatic interventions. According to nd (9 July 2025), representatives of the Japanese embassy in Berlin met with both senate and district politicians. In May 2024, Governing Mayor Kai Wegner stated that there should be no ‘one-sided representation’ after talks with the Japanese ambassador and the then Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa. District Mayor Stefanie Remlinger also advocated its removal, citing a district policy that privately erected works of art may not remain in public spaces for more than two years.
Following a lawsuit filed by the Korea Association, the Administrative Court ruled that the statue could remain in place until at least September 2025. The Korea Association rejected the district's proposals to move the statue to a neighbouring property owned by a cooperative, arguing that events and political visibility would not be on par there.
In a press release dated 15 August 2025 (No. 186), District Mayor Remlinger expressed her regret at the rejection of the offer. She pointed out that the alternative location offered was only 100 metres away, was equivalent and that the costs of the move would have been covered in full by the district office. Since the Korea Association rejected the offer, the Road and Parks Authority must now make a decision within the scope of the legal framework. Remlinger emphasised that a long-term placement would only be possible after a regulated competition process; the Administrative Court had only granted tolerance until 29 September 2025.