Comfort

Artist Dave Young Kim, who painted this mural during the Inaugural Reno Mural Expo in October of 2017, explains his mural as follows: "Before and during World War II the Japanese army took [hundreds] of thousands of girls, mostly from Korea, China and the Philippines, as sex slaves. These 'comfort women' were often times as young as 13 when they were kidnapped, lured in by promises of debt resolution or work. The smile symbolizes the innocence that was lost, and the pink carnations say we will never forget. The open sign completes the piece. History is only history when it no longer happens. Although legal in the state of Nevada, prostitution is illegal in Reno and Las Vegas [and] yet more than 90% of the profits come from those two cities. The same tactics are used today to lure underage girls into a world they never suspected. There are more slaves today than there ever were in history" (https://www.instagram.com/p/BanqFu7lcpm/?hl=en&taken-by=daveyoungkim).