Anti-Japanese car movement sparks backlash

A Toyota dealership in Seoul is a boycott target of nationwide anti-Japanese movement. Yonhap

By Ko Dong-hwan

A nationwide boycott of Japanese products has encouraged gas stations and auto service stations in Korea to stop providing services for Japanese cars.

But some Koreans who own Japanese cars are upset with the auto service workers, claiming that just because Koreans owned such cars did not mean they had "sold out" to Japan.

People are claiming online that the boycott, joined by some private gas station owners and car service centers, is turning Koreans against each other.

Media outlet E Today said the most important thing for Koreans was to be able to discern friends from enemies ― an elementary rule in military engagements.

"A war can never be won if we don't know if those we are shooting at are our friends or enemies," the outlet said.

"The victim of the gas stations refusing to fill up Japanese cars isn't the Japanese government but the car owners. If people don't use gas stations, the victim is not the Japanese government but the gas station owners."

Another person said online that if such a boycott was to be pertinent, people on the anti-Japan bandwagon should "stop also using wrenches, spanners, bolts and other mechanic parts and equipment made in Japan."

Earlier this month, a bulletin board on the Korea Oil Station Association's homepage carried posts asking the organization to join the anti-Japan move. Some social network posts even threatened that oil stations that did not join would be boycotted.

Some auto service centers from a cooperative based in Namwon, North Jeolla Province, said online they had formed an alliance to refuse to service Japanese cars. The news began to spread on July 19 throughout online communities.

One gas station owner said that whenever he saw a Japanese car he saw "a Japanese flag." His stance was supported by other members of the cooperative, who said the move could "scare off those interested in buying Japanese cars."

Anti-Japan sentiment spread fast after Japan earlier this month delisted Korea from its "white list" of trading countries to restrict the export of semiconductor-building material to Korea, a global chip-making giant.

The move has angered and motivated Koreans to boycott Japanese products at all levels, from marketplaces to clothing stores.

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