Repairing Korea-Japan relations for good

By Edward Jeong-hoon Song (Student at the Korean Minjok Leadership Academy)

“CLOSING SALE,” reads a one-story-high poster on the wall outside of Uniqlo's flagship store in Seoul. The “Boycott Japan” campaign had started in the summer of 2019 and even Uniqlo could not withstand the tsunami of anti-Japanese sentiment that swept away 50 percent of Uniqlo's revenue in 2019, 34 of its stores in 2020, and at least 10 more stores in 2021.

Tension between Korea and Japan is old news. After Japan's colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula was shattered by Japan's defeat in World War II, it took almost 20 years before the two countries restored diplomatic relations in 1965. Diplomatic restoration opened the door for a thawing relationship. Japan's cultural influence grew through the introduction of Japanese movies, animations and video games. Korean children who grew up with Mario and Naruto tended to view Japan more favorably than their parents, and trade had been booming for over a decade.

The current conflict between Korea and Japan is all the more alarming because of the good relations that had previously prevailed.

Following an October 2018 decision by the Korean Supreme Court requiring Nippon Steel to compensate surviving South Koreans who had been forced to work in the Japanese company's facilities during World War II, Korean courts handed down a series of similar rulings against other Japanese corporations. In return, Japan tightened export control rules on strategic materials exported to South Korea.

The economic effects of the disagreement between the two countries have been staggering. The Korea Press Foundation reported that in 2019, nearly 80 percent of Koreans intentionally avoided purchasing Japanese goods. In 2020, Koreans' unfavorable views of Japan jumped by almost 22 percentage points, according to the East Asia Institute. The Japan National Tourism Organization claims that the number of Koreans visiting Japan fell by half, even before the pandemic.

Koreans generally do not believe that they are overly swayed by nationalism or ethnic racism. Indeed, Koreans are known as supporters of human rights and democracy, and many supported the Black Lives Matter movement. As Michael Breen, a former correspondent for The Korea Times, has argued, anti-Japanese sentiment may boil down to education. Schools in contemporary Korea simultaneously emphasize the equality of humanity and the atrocities Koreans suffered under the Japanese colonial occupation. When the grim view of Japan espoused in textbooks is aggravated by geo-political tensions, the particular vilification of Japan seems to outweigh a mutual belief in commonalities.

Still, there is some hope for a breakthrough. In line with the Biden administration's emphasis on improving the relations between Korea and Japan to counter escalating tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, President Moon Jae-in announced in August that his government is ready to enter talks with his Japanese counterpart. As former Korean Ambassador to Japan Shin Kak-soo notes, “Both countries can cooperate in multiple areas, including taking preventive measures against COVID-19 and spurring economic recovery.”

Any changes need to cut deeper than momentary shifts of policy pursued by revolving administrations. Without downplaying any of the real historical atrocities, education must adopt a forward-looking approach to de-escalating tensions. Measures include greater support for student exchanges, a less lopsided focus on Japan's historical aggression in textbooks and public campaigns to reduce the use of incendiary anti-Japanese language. If leaders in Korea succeed in reshaping public dialogue about Japan, it will set a course to a flowering of stability, cultural exchange and mutual respect between the two countries.

Edward Song (

edwardjhoon@gmail.com

) is a student at the Korean Minjok Leadership Academy.