San Francisco Comfort Women Memorial, Bronze memorial statue in Saint Mary's Square, San Francisco, United States.

The San Francisco Comfort Women Memorial centers on the "Comfort Women" Column of Strength, a 10-foot-tall bronze by sculptor Steven Whyte unveiled on September 22, 2017. Three teenage girls of Chinese, Korean and Philippine nationality stand back-to-back in a circle on a cylindrical steel pedestal, holding hands. Below, a bronze halmoni (grandmother) figure resembling activist Kim Hak-sun gazes up at them.

The memorial commemorates a dark chapter during World War II when over 400,000 women from eleven Asian countries were forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army. It was installed in 2017 and has since sparked important conversations about these overlooked survivors.

The memorial depicts women from different Asian backgrounds whose stories were long overlooked by history. Today, it serves as a gathering place where visitors encounter these accounts and reflect on their importance.

The memorial is freely accessible at any time and located in a central spot with regular foot traffic. Take time to read the informational plaques that provide context about the figures and their stories.

Osaka's mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura dissolved the sister-city tie with San Francisco, established in 1957, only in early October 2018, not 2017; the break followed the memorial's recognition as a city monument in November 2017. In 2013 San Francisco had already refused a visit by Osaka mayor Tōru Hashimoto.