We Koreans are emotional and rational

Koreans gather in front of the Japanese Embassy in downtown Seoul, Aug.3, protesting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push for the delisting of Korea from its favored trade partners' list. Korea Times

By Oh Young-jin

Amid heightened tension after Japan's retaliatory trade sanctions against Korea, I met some foreigners who observed that Koreans are "emotional" compared with Japan's reputed exterior calmness and purposefulness.

Even some domestic media outlets editorialized a cautionary tale against an "emotional" approach to Japan.

The foreigners' definition of emotional likely indicates that Koreans are irrational and unrestrained, while the Koreans' definition means something opposed to measured and deliberate.

Are Koreans emotional? True. Are they irrational? No. Let's rationally analyze the irrational epithet further.

Emotional with rational reasons

The current Korea-Japan trade row was triggered by Japan's export restrictions that hinder Korea's bread-and-butter industries such as semiconductor production. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Korea was untrustworthy so didn't deserve the privilege of being exempt from case-by-case approval on key export items.

The virtual embargo followed the Supreme Court's decision that enabled Korean forced laborers to seek compensation from Japanese firms that withheld their proper wages during Japan's Second World War effort. Abe said the issue of compensation was covered by the 1965 Basic Treaty.

Abe, the descendant of a Class-A war criminal recognized by the Allied tribunal, has repeatedly said Japan does not need to apologize to Korea anymore and it is time to move on.

Millions of Koreans lived under Japan's rule of terror, with their identity denied. Many who were mobilized for Japan's war effort as soldiers and workers were killed, maimed or otherwise did not return home.

Koreans even had their spoons and chopsticks taken away to make guns and bullets as part of Japan's war effort. And women and girls were kidnapped to serve as sex slaves for Japanese Imperial Army soldiers.

Abe is acting as if Korea should keep quiet because he wrote a check he think enough to cover the damage. Besides, where does the 1965 treaty give total immunity to Japan as claimed by Abe for what misdeeds it committed against Korea? The Korean judiciary's ruling highlighted these remaining issues but Abe took retaliatory action in violation of the very basic tenet of free trade.

So we are emotional in a sense that we won't forget what Japan did to us and will keep reminding Japan of being a perpetrator of crimes against humanity.

Perhaps some Western sympathizers find it easy to accept Abe's denial of history because their countries shared the same past as a colonial power. Other colonial victim countries then may take the Korean example and get emotional about their past to see if anything is amiss in their settlements.

Coping mechanism

Koreans are seen crying, yelling, red-faced and in other emotional states. For instance, South-North family reunions are where "floods of tears" are shed by family members who have been separated for decades since the 1950-53 Korean War. It is no wonder, because often these intermittent gatherings are the last chance to see relatives.

The two Koreas have been in a technical state of war since the 1953 armistice, with millions of soldiers pointing their guns at each other. Making matters worse, the North has become a nuclear weapons state, which adds to safety concerns.

The Korean Peninsula has been a constant flashpoint where big-power interests clash. At the turn of the 20th century, the Joseon Kingdom was absorbed by Japan after it beat the Qing Dynasty and the Russian Empire and cut a deal with the U.S. Now, a repeat of it is taking place with different twists and turns.

So Koreans have not just suffered from occasional traumatic experiences, rather, their entire modern existence is one of an unending trauma. This gives rise to their quick emotional outbursts as a kind of coping mechanism.

Candlelight revolution

Korea's 2016 candlelight vigil would be hard to repeat in other countries. First, it involved millions of people protesting for many weeks without much violence. Second, it achieved a peaceful revolution to force a corrupt leader to step down.

But it has history. Korea's candlelight vigils started when two girls were crushed to death by U.S. armored vehicles, moving to protests against the impeachment of the late President Roh Moo-hyun and cresting with people protesting President Lee Myung-bak's decision to resume the import of U.S. beef despite health concerns. Then came the 2016 vigil that caused Park Geun-hye's dethroning.

These candlelight vigils represent the confluence of national emotion that interestingly played a key role in determining the direction of Korea's democracy and making it mature ― an example of mature emotion or emotional maturity.

2002 World Cup

Tens of thousands of Koreans, together with many foreign visitors, enjoyed and celebrated the World Cup Korea hosted with Japan. This paved the way for large-scale street festivals that were dubbed a "sea of reds" because of the jerseys the self-styled "Red Devil" Korean football supporters wore in a scene that has rarely been seen in other parts of the world.

It showed the potential and strength of Koreans when they are emotionally connected. This connection is being displayed and is likely to strengthen the unity of the nation if the Korea-Japan trade row escalates. So next time when you ― both Koreans and foreigners ― call Koreans emotional, please do so while bearing in mind that we have some reasons to be so and for us, it is not really a bad or negative thing.

Oh Young-jin (foolsdie@gmail.com, foolsdie5@koreatimes.co.kr) is digital managing editor of The Korea Times.