By Oh Young-jin
Few in this country, a victim of Japan's brutal colonial rule, would be happy to see U.S. President Barack Obama visit Hiroshima, the first of two Japanese cities ― the second being Nagasaki ― that were devastated by nuclear bombs, during World War II.
As a matter of fact, The Korea Times published an editorial opposing such a visit. Vernacular newspapers hit a similar note of opposition through editorials or columns.
Although I could find myself in agreement with them for their stated reasons; I beg to differ from them for another reason, believing in Obama's effort to end all nuclear horrors for mankind.
Definitely, I share the same concerns with my colleagues about Japan under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He has strengthened his country's military, being ready to unshackle it from its pacifist Constitution so as to regain its right to wage a war against other countries. As part of his attempt to make his country "normal" again, he declared that his country wouldn't apologize for its war atrocities.
By any rate, Korea and China have every reason to be suspicious of Abe's intentions. Millions of people were killed by Tokyo's efforts to conquer Asia, but Abe, a descendant of Imperial Japan, has said "enough is enough," telling the victims including a dwindling group of former sex slaves, who were forced to serve several tens of Japanese soldiers per day, to forget about the suffering they endured. It is not necessarily paranoia, if Abe's vow to stop apologizing for these victims sounds as if he is willing to repeat his grandfather's war crimes.
Still, I have to agree with Obama going to Hiroshima because the aim is the bigger cause of protecting humans from the threat of complete annihilation by nuclear weapons.
We Koreans both in the North and South would be the biggest beneficiaries in a world where nuclear threats are removed. The North, led by the young dictator Kim Jong-un, is preparing the second detonation of a nuclear device this year even as you read this column, allocating the scarce resources available to his destitute nation to making inter-continental ballistic missiles.
The North will likely press on until it is accepted as a nuclear weapons state.
Obama has made a nuclear-free world his priority since he took office. The Nuclear Security Summit, the fourth and most recently held in Washington, was Obama's brainchild. The South hosted the second in Seoul in 2012.
His Hiroshima visit is expected to serve as denouement to his eight-year effort toward a nuclear-free world, passing the torch to his successors. In that sense, I feel overwhelmed by his cause and can't easily find a reason to object to his visit because it will benefit us and our children.
Of course, the worry is the lack of trust in Abe's Japan.
As pointed out by my colleagues, the Japanese premier could use the Obama visit to market an idea that Japan was not just an aggressor in World War II but also a victim as well. Tens of thousands of people immediately perished in the two cities from the nuclear blasts, with survivors and their offspring having lived a long suffering life from exposure to radioactivity.
No matter how the nationalist Japanese may twirl the facts, it should be noted that the use of the nuclear weapons helped bring an early end to the war and saved tens of thousands of lives, as Tokyo had no intention of surrendering, even when defeat was certain. In an extreme situation such as war, bartering a small number for a big number, even in terms of human lives, was something inevitable, however inhuman it may sound. Still, there is no way of changing the fact that Japan was the aggressor. If they wanted to be portrayed as victims, they were nothing but victims of their own actions.
In that sense, the Obama visit may well serve two purposes at the same time: Resolving the victim countries' woes about Japan and future concerns about nuclear war.
That can be achieved if Obama reaffirms a commitment to the complete elimination of nuclear weapons, while more broadly, taking up the condemnation of war as a barbaric and inhumane act.
Oh Young-jin is The Korea Times' chief editorial writer and can be contacted at foolsdie@gmail.com.
As a footnote, I hope that President Obama will make his visit a peace tour. The U.S. and China are locked in a hegemonic struggle with the Korean Peninsula and South China Sea emerging as a proving ground. Adding to tension is North Korea, the international pariah and rogue state that is trying to hold the entire region hostage. Perhaps, he can emulate John F. Kennedy's challenge to the Soviet Union to a race not through weapons, but to find out who would be better in promoting peace. I think that Obama still owes us half of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Few in this country, a victim of Japan's brutal colonial rule, would be happy to see U.S. President Barack Obama visit Hiroshima, the first of two Japanese cities ― the second being Nagasaki ― that were devastated by nuclear bombs, during World War II.
As a matter of fact, The Korea Times published an editorial opposing such a visit. Vernacular newspapers hit a similar note of opposition through editorials or columns.
Although I could find myself in agreement with them for their stated reasons; I beg to differ from them for another reason, believing in Obama's effort to end all nuclear horrors for mankind.
Definitely, I share the same concerns with my colleagues about Japan under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He has strengthened his country's military, being ready to unshackle it from its pacifist Constitution so as to regain its right to wage a war against other countries. As part of his attempt to make his country "normal" again, he declared that his country wouldn't apologize for its war atrocities.
By any rate, Korea and China have every reason to be suspicious of Abe's intentions. Millions of people were killed by Tokyo's efforts to conquer Asia, but Abe, a descendant of Imperial Japan, has said "enough is enough," telling the victims including a dwindling group of former sex slaves, who were forced to serve several tens of Japanese soldiers per day, to forget about the suffering they endured. It is not necessarily paranoia, if Abe's vow to stop apologizing for these victims sounds as if he is willing to repeat his grandfather's war crimes.
Still, I have to agree with Obama going to Hiroshima because the aim is the bigger cause of protecting humans from the threat of complete annihilation by nuclear weapons.
We Koreans both in the North and South would be the biggest beneficiaries in a world where nuclear threats are removed. The North, led by the young dictator Kim Jong-un, is preparing the second detonation of a nuclear device this year even as you read this column, allocating the scarce resources available to his destitute nation to making inter-continental ballistic missiles.
The North will likely press on until it is accepted as a nuclear weapons state.
Obama has made a nuclear-free world his priority since he took office. The Nuclear Security Summit, the fourth and most recently held in Washington, was Obama's brainchild. The South hosted the second in Seoul in 2012.
His Hiroshima visit is expected to serve as denouement to his eight-year effort toward a nuclear-free world, passing the torch to his successors. In that sense, I feel overwhelmed by his cause and can't easily find a reason to object to his visit because it will benefit us and our children.
Of course, the worry is the lack of trust in Abe's Japan.
As pointed out by my colleagues, the Japanese premier could use the Obama visit to market an idea that Japan was not just an aggressor in World War II but also a victim as well. Tens of thousands of people immediately perished in the two cities from the nuclear blasts, with survivors and their offspring having lived a long suffering life from exposure to radioactivity.
No matter how the nationalist Japanese may twirl the facts, it should be noted that the use of the nuclear weapons helped bring an early end to the war and saved tens of thousands of lives, as Tokyo had no intention of surrendering, even when defeat was certain. In an extreme situation such as war, bartering a small number for a big number, even in terms of human lives, was something inevitable, however inhuman it may sound. Still, there is no way of changing the fact that Japan was the aggressor. If they wanted to be portrayed as victims, they were nothing but victims of their own actions.
In that sense, the Obama visit may well serve two purposes at the same time: Resolving the victim countries' woes about Japan and future concerns about nuclear war.
That can be achieved if Obama reaffirms a commitment to the complete elimination of nuclear weapons, while more broadly, taking up the condemnation of war as a barbaric and inhumane act.
Oh Young-jin is The Korea Times' chief editorial writer and can be contacted at foolsdie@gmail.com.
As a footnote, I hope that President Obama will make his visit a peace tour. The U.S. and China are locked in a hegemonic struggle with the Korean Peninsula and South China Sea emerging as a proving ground. Adding to tension is North Korea, the international pariah and rogue state that is trying to hold the entire region hostage. Perhaps, he can emulate John F. Kennedy's challenge to the Soviet Union to a race not through weapons, but to find out who would be better in promoting peace. I think that Obama still owes us half of the Nobel Peace Prize.
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