„Japaner fragen sich oft, warum Koreaner ‚die Geschichte immer wieder aufwärmen‘ und ihnen gegenüber so feindselig zu sein scheinen. Das liegt nicht daran, dass sie ‚schlechte Persönlichkeiten‘ haben. Vielmehr unterscheidet sich ihre Geschichte auf einer Halbinsel und ihre daraus resultierende nationale Einstellung zu ihren Nachbarn stark von der des Inselstaates Japan.“
https://president.jp/articles/-/116275
21 Kommentare
Without harping on history, Japan and South Korea might become unequivocal allies. Certain political actors cannot allow that to happen.
and all Japan had to do was recognize it officially, apologize for it, and do what the Germans did and emphasize it in academia. AND STOP REVISING THE HISTORY BOOKS, the information is already out there.
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their history on a peninsula and their resulting national outlook on neighbors is very different from the island nation of Japan“
Am I correct in reading this not as „Koreans bring up history because they have legitimate points about it“ but rather „Koreans bring up history because somehow being on a peninsula makes cultures prone to doing that?“ Basically, this is some weird academic way to explain away Korean historical grievances with their largely unrepentant colonizers, right?
It’s not that Koreans constantly rehash history, but rather that the Japanese have always constantly suppressed their history, so to their perspective any mention of it is offensive. As long as a significant portion of Japanese continue to defend Imperial Japan and WWII and attack any criticism of it, these issues are inevitably going to continue.
The author of this article actually suggests that Korea *chose* to adopt the „Japanese system“ after formerly aligning itself with China, and then later shifted to a new alignment with the United States.
This argument is sort of like if I punched someone in the face and then tried to claim that they are only angry with me because they live in a crowded apartment building and thus are overly suspicious of others. No, they are angry because I punched them in the face.
When the sitting mayor of Tokyo is a crackpot conspiracy theorist who believes the genocide of Koreans in 1923 didn’t even happen, yeah, it’s hard for Koreans to let it all slide
I taught elementary in Korea and from a young age they are basically taught to hate Japan. Little kids saying things like I wish all Japanese would die etc. o remember asking one kid once why he hated Japan so much, he said he didn’t hate Japan, he just wishes they would all die ㅋㅋ
I don’t think it’s just a „peninsula mindset.“ For many Koreans, these issues still feel unresolved. Japan’s occupation of Korea ended only 80 years ago, so it’s still within living memory for many families. The legacy includes forced labour, the „comfort women“ system, attempts to suppress Korean language and culture, and other wartime abuses.
It’s also about what has happened since the war. Japan has made multiple official apologies, but there have also been ongoing disputes over school textbooks, politicians appearing to downplay wartime atrocities, and visits to Yasukuni Shrine. To many Koreans, those visits aren’t seen as simply honouring the dead because the shrine also enshrines convicted Class A war criminals. They see it as sending a message that Japan still isn’t fully confronting that part of its history.
You don’t have to agree with that view, but it’s a much more convincing explanation for why these issues keep coming up than just saying Koreans like to dwell on the past.
Wait, please tell this isn’t what most Japanese think….
Cause if so, Jesus did the post war generation grow up under the lies of the Imperial generation that Japan did nothing wrong…
Well… being under constant threat and repeated invasion for a few hundred years does that to a country u know…
In a nutshell, the author says Japan didn’t do anything wrong, but Koreans act awful because of their geography, haha. This is fucking crazy.
The author also insists 水に流す(letting bygones be bygones) is a Japanese mindset, unlike Koreans‘. But I don’t think so… cause I find it bizarre how every year Japanese news, movies, and dramas cry over what they suffered during WW2, but turn evasive when the topic comes to what they DID in other countries.
If they really let bygones be bygones, why can’t they just be cool instead of clinging to Yasukuni Shrine no matter what? It’s not rising above history, but just turning away from it
I definitely see that the Japanese hold a grudge too, but they can’t outwardly blame the US because it’s a superpower and it’s a fact that Japan started all the invasions and wars. So instead, they choose to target Korea, erasing all the context behind it and seizing on the ‚Korean mindset‘
Calm down guys, this is an article from President.jp
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この違いは埋まらないよね
日韓関係は未来永劫、このまま良くはならないと思うわ
I’ll just say that there are people in South Korea who still believe that the Japanese colonial era was a net plus for Koreans and they are often evangelical or cult-based* Protestant Christians today who worship America at the same time.
* South Korea has a long history of having Christian cults as political forces also due to the American military presence. South Korea in real life doesn’t respect the separation between church and state.
Japan ‚doesn’t understand‘ because they’re motivated to not understand. It’s gross behavior to deny your country’s war crimes and abuses of your neighbours.
Taiwan was also governed by Japan but seem to like that period of development? What was the difference between two colony administratively?
if they hate Japan they have a funny way of showing it.
Yesterday here in Fukuoka I’m not exaggerating when I say all I could hear was Korean being spoken around me, on the streets, in the stores, in the parks. More Korean than Japanese, swear on mums life. I dunno maybe this is some new tactic? give the Japanese all their money so they can later say ‚and you made your country so nice on purpose- to rob Koreans!!‘
The question itself reveals a perspective and bias. Not surprising since most countries learn a white washed version of their own history.
I thought many Japanese people read Naruto???
*insert gif of Pain here*
I think the Japanese should ask themselves this: What if, after WWII, the Shōwa Emperor had been tried and executed as a war criminal? What if the Imperial Household had been abolished, and English had become mandatory in schools? That’s essentially what happened to Koreans around 100 years ago.