Forgiving Japan without forgetting

Korea and Japan have been caught in a severe case of myopia, overly focusing on their differences and wasting precious energy. Yonhap

By Oh Young-jin

There are countless reasons to dislike Japan, but Korea needs a strategic mind to set them aside to identify areas of common interest and push their joint agenda together.

So far, the two have been caught in a severe case of myopia, overly focusing on their differences and wasting precious energy.

Now, in the new Cold War era, the two neighbors should realize they are like lips and teeth, as Ma Zedong described the relationship between China and North Korea during the old Cold War.

It is worth remembering that the 1950-53 Korean War started when the North ― with the backing of China and the Soviet Union ― invaded South Korea at the start of the capitalism vs. communism contest. The war was brought to a standstill thanks to U.S. intervention, enabling Japan to enjoy post-World War II prosperity.

What if the communists had taken over the South?

Japan would have faced a direct threat from the communists, its dilemma being compared with that of teeth having lost the protection of lips. It could have borne the brunt of U.S.-Soviet rivalry. Could it be ruled out that the clash might have led to a third mushroom cloud over another Japanese city?

Then, if unified under the North's terms, what pressures would have a unified communist Korea have exerted over Japan?

They say there are no ifs in history, but we can learn from hypotheses to limit the chance of mistakes and strengthen our preparations for the future.

The future is already here and forcing us to move.

China is reaching the status of a junior superpower," which signifies that only the U.S. is stronger and indicates China's determination to become No. 1. Hegemonic pursuit is in China's genes and is returning with a vengeance because its supreme leader believes the West has trampled on its history.

And Russia, the successor of the Soviet Union, if not by system but certainly by the heritage of its leader Vladimir Putin, is resurgent.

Completing the axis is North Korea, once an international pariah and an impoverished rogue state that under its young ruler Kim Jong-un is punching well above its weight, going toe to toe with the U.S. in a game of chicken with isolationist Donald Trump.

It is a worrisome sign is that the three old comrade states are closing ranks again.

In contrast, Pax Americana looks wobbly as if age has overtaken an old man. President Trump's U.S. has upended its web of alliances in Asia and Europe, and is fighting an all-consuming trade war with China.

Trump has again insulted and disillusioned the South by calling it a "free loader," and is trying to extort more protection money in the form of paying more toward the cost of U.S. troops stationed here.

The North is luring the South with their blood ties, demonizing the U.S. as a foreign power aimed at perpetuating the division, and by offering peaceful coexistence. It sounds like the song of sirens to southerners who have lived so long with the fear of war and are ready to succumb to the promise of peace. But would it be possible to live peacefully with the nation built on the premise of the demise of the other?

Sweetening the siren's melody is a provocative Japan, whose every aggressive act reminds Koreans of the four-decade colonial occupation with all its accompanying atrocities.

But let's look at ourselves ― Korea and Japan ― from the position of Kim, Xi and Putin. What they see is probably a big hole in enemy lines and a chance to take advantage ― perhaps a reprisal for their loss in the previous round of the Cold War.
True, it is hard to look ahead when there are many unresolved issues inherited from the past.

The recent death of Kim Bok-dong, a former sex slave for the imperial Japanese Army, reduced the number of survivors to 23, convincing Koreans that Japan is waging a waiting game against those their ancestors had brutalized. It makes "our blood flow upstream" in anger.

The propaganda war over a Korean warship's alleged radar lock-on to a Japanese patrol plane and the apparent Japanese "threat" to a Korean warship has sunken their relationship to a very low ebb.

Some believe there could be a clash between the two neighbors, considering their ever-bellicose battle cries. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's approval ratings have recovered to above 50 percent with more Japanese calling for tougher action against Korea.

President Moon Jae-in's visit to the funeral of comfort woman Kim was as much a political act as a human duty.

If we entrust the healing of bad blood to the passage of time and postpone action, we risk hurting the future of countries.

If one chooses a game of chicken, the other won't need to play along. There are other options ― the Talmudic wisdom of not forgetting but forgiving for now.

On the day of sex slave Kim's funeral, I thought with a heavy heart of the ordeal she suffered, and I suggest we Koreans take the Jewish suggestion to heart. I think it would show our big heart and might well lead the other unwilling party along a path of our design.