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Why Are Koreans So
Against Japanese?
A Brief History Lesson Helps Foreign Investors Do Business
By Tom Coyner
Korea Times
July 12, 2006
International business professionals dealing
with Korea
encounter the Koreans’ intense anti-Japanese feelings. These national
sentiments can complicate multinational dealings that include the two
neighbors. When a foreigner hears about Korea’s tragic history,
the accounts may not seem sufficient for such strong passions to continue
into the 21st century.
So, as a break from my normal column, I will attempt to give you a concise
snapshot of the historical background for much of the anti-Japanese
feelings.
While the Koreans had been harassed by Japanese pirates for over a thousand
years, they had similar run-ins with neighboring tribes to their north.
What really hurt Korea
was what Japan
did when the Yi Dynasty was aspiring to new heights shortly after experiencing
King Sejong’s blossoming of Korean civilization.
About that time and following the military’s reunification of Japan, the new dictator Hideyoshi schemed to
rid himself of Kyushu’s Christian
samurai. The Japanese would take on China
via Korea
and possibly be victorious. If not, Hideyoshi reasoned he would have rid
himself of potentially dangerous excess of samurai and soldiers. So in
1592, he invaded Korea.
Two weeks later Seoul
fell.
Korea’s
brightest light during this conflict, or “Imjin
War,” was Admiral Yi Sun-Shin who developed the world’s first
iron clad “turtle ships.” Admiral Yi is lionized to this day
for his skill and courage in sinking the Japanese armada that included
supply and troop ships. Tragically, he died in battle.
Meanwhile, Korea’s
destruction was seemingly complete. The Japanese spared few cultural
buildings and monuments from burning or defacement. Thousands of civilians
were slaughtered, their farmlands spoiled. The Koreans ultimately called on
the Chinese for help. With the Chinese army, the Koreans were able to drive
out the Japanese – only to have two Chinese competing armies invade
the peninsula in 1627 and 1636. After another humiliating capitulation of Seoul, the Koreans
developed a policy of avoiding foreign entanglements. This attitude and
policy in time made Korea
the “Hermit
Kingdom.”
Though Korean history books give short shrift to the Chinese driving out
the Japanese, the Koreans were victimized in the end by their allies. To
this day, Koreans are often skeptical of the “good” intentions
of their allies, especially those who send troops into their land. In any
event, the experience left a huge legacy of bitterness towards the
Japanese.
By the mid 19th century, Korea
had reached its political, economic and spiritual nadir. Social was order
on the brink of collapse and government institutions were no longer
effective. Into this void, the newly internationalized Japanese spotted an
opportunity to create a buffer state between themselves and the Western
powers. As much as the Koreans feared and detested the Japanese, the
Japanese offered what appeared to be an Asian alternative to being
colonized by a Western power. In any case, the Korean government was
militarily too weak to resist signing an amity pact with Japan in
1876. The prior decade had been marked by advances by French and American
warships demanding Korea
to open itself to trade. Given this chaotic environment, it made sense to
some Korean leaders to get close to the Japanese.
Soon after, Japanese merchants and residents poured into Korea.
Within a few years, many aspects of government and the military appeared as
Meiji Japan
copies. Japanese interests exploited the resources and taxed the people.
This in turn led to a xenophobic peasant revolt, the Donghak
Rebellion, in 1894. The Korean court again called on China to
send in troops to help crush the revolt. The arrival of Chinese troops
triggered the Sino-Japanese War. From the resulting 1895 Japanese victory, Korea came
under virtual Japanese control. Yet, within these circumstances, a modern
if frustrated nationalist movement was formed.
With Russia at its
northeast border and Japan
dominating its economy, the Korean court made a desperate move to counter
Japanese control by improving relations with the Russians. The Japanese
retaliated by invading the Seoul
palace and murdering Queen Min. The King escaped to the Russian legation
and formed a pro-Russian court as the population rose up against the
Japanese.
But this was short lived, and anti-foreign antagonism reached such a point
that the Russians felt it proper to move Russian troops into Manchuria. The Japanese countered by landing troops
at Incheon. This pitched the two dominant powers into the Russo-Japanese
War that resulted, in 1905, in a Japanese victory. With that, Korea’s Yi Dynasty ended and the
international powers at the Treaty of Portsmouth -- brokered by Teddy
Roosevelt for which he received a Nobel Peace Prize -- laid the foundations
for Japan to formally
colonize Korea
5 years later.
Japanese Colonial Period (1910 - 1945)
Within memory of many today’s senior citizens, the shame of the
systematic national and cultural destruction by the Japanese can be
recounted. Photographs of Seoul and Pyongyang, taken during that time, often look as if
they were taken in Japan.
Japanese language was forced on all segments of society including being
used solely in public schools. Farm lands were routinely confiscated due to
the previous, obscure land registration. All of Korea’s natural resources
were up for plunder by Japanese interests. Most architectural monuments to
Korean culture were destroyed and Shinto shrines were established. Finally,
the colonial powers forced the ultimate dishonor on to a Confucian society
– the adoption of Japanese names for all Koreans. The Koreans were
very much on the same path forced upon the Okinawans.
Being essentially Confucian, the Koreans have a strong sense of a ranking
among older and younger brothers. Many Koreans revere China as the elder brother who can be unfair
at times -- but who can be depended upon occasion to help sibling Korea in
times of severe need. Japan,
on the other hand, the recipient of Buddhism and other advanced culture
during the Three
Kingdoms and Yi
Dynasty periods, is the younger brother. Japan is therefore regarded as
an insolent and ungrateful sibling who quite improperly tries to dominate
its older brothers.
On March 1, 1919, the Japanese were startled by nationwide protests that
focused on a Declaration of Independence read publicly in Seoul’s
Pagoda Park. The Japanese panicked and
fired indiscriminately into the 1500 demonstrations of some 2 million
protestors nationwide. The resulting carnage was traumatic: 7,000 killed,
15,000 wounded, with destruction by fire of some 700 homes, 47 churches and
2 schools.
Though the movement failed, it crystallized Korean nationalism and both Koreas
today celebrate March 1 (Sam-il) as a national
holiday. Today, one can find the “Sam-il”
included in various naming conventions in Korean culture, society and business.
Some years ago, an Irishman once mused about the Koreans being so uptight
about 35 years of colonial history when the Irish do not harbor as intense
feelings towards the English after 700 years’ colonization. I tried
to offer a deeper view of Korean-Japanese history. However, the Irish were
able to liberate themselves as a result of WWI while the Koreans had to
wait to be liberated by others at the end of WWII.
History by itself arguably comprises just half of the overall explanation.
Much of the animus toward Japan is due to their refusal to specifically
acknowledge, as opposed to generally apologize for -- their offenses toward
their neighbors as the Germans did, and truly move on to a new chapter in
their national identity. The recurring textbook fracases, the interminable
"comfort women" complaints, the offensive
“unofficial” visits to the Yasukuni
Shrine -- are thumbs in the eyes of their neighbors. That topic alone would
merit a column, but next week I will hurry back to a purely business topic.
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