{"id":2199154,"date":"2022-10-14T11:33:23","date_gmt":"2022-10-14T11:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/koreapro\/?p=2199154"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:11:09","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:11:09","slug":"how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/","title":{"rendered":"How anti-Japanism stunts South Korea\u2019s ambition to enhance US alliance"},"content":{"rendered":"

As inter-Korean tensions rose this week, another familiar trope of South Korean politics reared its head: paranoia and angst about a former colonizer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, described joint U.S.-ROK-Japan naval exercises as an \u201cextreme pro-Japanese act\u201d \u2014 a major insult in Korean political vocabulary. The DP leader then approached what many outside Korea see as tinfoil hat territory when he suggested the Japanese military will return to the Korean Peninsula under the banner of imperialism.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Then on Oct. 12, DP lawmaker Kim Byung-ju, a retired four-star general, claimed that \u201cJapan is a future threat\u201d and suggested absolute vigilance when conducting military operations together.<\/p>\n

Their claims may appear strange: After all, the drills were in response to a mutual threat \u2014 North Korea \u2014 and South Korea and Japan are liberal democracies, allies of the U.S. with robust economies and pluralistic societies.<\/span><\/p>\n

But millions of Koreans believe Lee Jae-myung\u2019s remarks quite literally, and Japan-bashing is a tried-and-true way to gain popular support for progressive politicians and rally the base.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many South Koreans <\/span>see modern Japan<\/span><\/a> as the same, unchanged imperial power that controlled and brutalized the Korean Peninsula one hundred years ago. According to this view, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was the principal boogeyman for anti-Japanism in South Korea, a militarist whose <\/span>major ambition<\/span><\/a> was to lay <\/span>the groundwork<\/span><\/a> for re-invading the Korean Peninsula.<\/span><\/p>\n

In late September, for example, South Korean state broadcaster KBS aired a 48-minute documentary about the impact of Sino-U.S. conflict on world affairs but devoted a seven minutes to raising the alarm about Japanese militarism. Over half the Japan-related footage in the <\/span>documentary<\/span><\/a> focused on Japanese weapons and military training, complete with dramatic, threatening music.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then the show trotted out a usual line from Korean nationalists that they claim proves their conspiratorial claims to be true: Japan has never apologized for its colonial-era abuses and, since it doesn\u2019t repent, must want to try again. In truth, Tokyo has issued <\/span>dozens of apologies<\/span><\/a> over the past 70 years, though none have apparently fit the criteria to overcome anti-Japan prejudices in South Korea.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

The U.S. Navy, ROK Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force conducting a trilateral anti-submarine warfare exercise in seas in the vicinity of Korea and Japan, Sept. 30, 2022. | Image: 7th Fleet via Twitter<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

LIMITING POTENTIAL<\/b><\/p>\n

In such an atmosphere, military cooperation with Japan is nearly taboo. Even rudimentary agreements like the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) or the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) are seen as highly dangerous steps that make it all the easier for the Japanese Self-Defense Force to invade the two Koreas.<\/span><\/p>\n

The dominant mood of the progressives is well summarized in <\/span>a recent interview<\/span><\/a> \u00a0<\/span>with Nam Ki-jeong, an influential professor of Japanese studies at Seoul National University. He claimed that Japan was responsible for the division of the Korean Peninsula and the outbreak of the Korean War.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nam also stated that Japan did not contribute enough toward creating a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula and that this is the reason why North Korea developed nuclear weapons, which he called a \u201clegitimate reaction\u201d to the U.S.-Japan alliance.<\/span><\/p>\n

This interview accurately synthesized foundational foreign policy views of the South Korean left: Japan brutalized the Korean people, divided Korea into North and South, pushed Pyongyang into a corner (along with the U.S.) and is now responsible for the security crisis in the region.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

The opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung delivering a speech at the National Assembly, July 17, 2022. | Image: Lee Jae-myung via Facebook<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Some on the Korean right share these views too, but not nearly as many. The main reason why progressives love to attack \u201cpro-Japanese trends\u201d is related to their foreign policy line. The progressives would like to keep some distance from the U.S., and some of them still talk about the policy of equidistance from both the U.S. and China.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Progressives take a softer approach to North Korea, as well. Japan is seen as an obstacle to such policies, and thus they often criticize it for its stance on North Korea and rather unfavorable views on China.\u00a0 On the contrary, the conservatives tend to see Japan, a reliable U.S. ally, as a country to cooperate with.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Japan is central in U.S. policy in Asia, and its relations with Japan are a key part of Washington\u2019s efforts to contain China. The U.S. thus seeks to improve trilateral cooperation with Japan and South Korea to deter China. But opposition from the South Korean left has made this difficult and contributes to a lack of interest in Korea in Washington.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lee Jae-myung\u2019s recent comments thus confirm that progressives\u2019 attitudes toward the US haven\u2019t improved much. In order to maintain the ROK-U.S. alliance, good relations with Japan are vital, but this is something the South Korean left fails to understand.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Edited by Arius Derr<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Culture & Society<\/span><\/a>Defense & Security<\/span><\/a>Domestic Politics<\/span><\/a>Inter-Korean & Foreign Relations<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As inter-Korean tensions rose this week, another familiar trope of South Korean politics reared its head: paranoia and angst about a former colonizer. Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, described joint U.S.-ROK-Japan naval exercises as an \u201cextreme pro-Japanese act\u201d \u2014 a major insult in Korean political vocabulary. The DP leader then approached […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10207,"featured_media":2199157,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[25,26,27,28],"yoast_head":"\nHow anti-Japanism stunts South Korea\u2019s ambition to enhance US alliance - KOREA PRO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How anti-Japanism stunts South Korea\u2019s ambition to enhance US alliance - KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As inter-Korean tensions rose this week, another familiar trope of South Korean politics reared its head: paranoia and angst about a former colonizer. Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, described joint U.S.-ROK-Japan naval exercises as an \u201cextreme pro-Japanese act\u201d \u2014 a major insult in Korean political vocabulary. The DP leader then approached […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nknewsorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-10-14T11:33:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-05T07:11:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/10\/JPN-ground-force.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1870\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"999\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"yejichung\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@southkoreapro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@southkoreapro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Justin Yeo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"yejichung\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/person\/de760b2ae1bd5e402ea2e311b28ee31a\"},\"headline\":\"How anti-Japanism stunts South Korea\u2019s ambition to enhance US alliance\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-10-14T11:33:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-05T07:11:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/\"},\"wordCount\":844,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Culture & Society\",\"Defense & Security\",\"Domestic Politics\",\"Inter-Korean & Foreign Relations\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/\",\"name\":\"How anti-Japanism stunts South Korea\u2019s ambition to enhance US alliance - KOREA PRO\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-10-14T11:33:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-05T07:11:09+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How anti-Japanism stunts South Korea\u2019s ambition to enhance US alliance\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/\",\"name\":\"KOREA PRO\",\"description\":\"Be smart about South Korea. Up-to-date analysis on foreign relations, politics, society and economy. Made by the producers of NK PRO and NK News.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"KOREA PRO\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/11\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/11\/logo.png\",\"width\":360,\"height\":50,\"caption\":\"KOREA PRO\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nknewsorg\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/southkoreapro\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How anti-Japanism stunts South Korea\u2019s ambition to enhance US alliance - KOREA PRO","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How anti-Japanism stunts South Korea\u2019s ambition to enhance US alliance - KOREA PRO","og_description":"As inter-Korean tensions rose this week, another familiar trope of South Korean politics reared its head: paranoia and angst about a former colonizer. Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, described joint U.S.-ROK-Japan naval exercises as an \u201cextreme pro-Japanese act\u201d \u2014 a major insult in Korean political vocabulary. The DP leader then approached […]","og_url":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/","og_site_name":"KOREA PRO","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nknewsorg\/","article_published_time":"2022-10-14T11:33:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-04-05T07:11:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1870,"height":999,"url":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/10\/JPN-ground-force.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"yejichung","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@southkoreapro","twitter_site":"@southkoreapro","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Justin Yeo","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/"},"author":{"name":"yejichung","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/person\/de760b2ae1bd5e402ea2e311b28ee31a"},"headline":"How anti-Japanism stunts South Korea\u2019s ambition to enhance US alliance","datePublished":"2022-10-14T11:33:23+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-05T07:11:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/"},"wordCount":844,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization"},"keywords":["Culture & Society","Defense & Security","Domestic Politics","Inter-Korean & Foreign Relations"],"articleSection":["Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/","url":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/","name":"How anti-Japanism stunts South Korea\u2019s ambition to enhance US alliance - KOREA PRO","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-10-14T11:33:23+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-05T07:11:09+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/how-anti-japanism-stunts-south-koreas-ambitions-to-be-democratic-pivot-state\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How anti-Japanism stunts South Korea\u2019s ambition to enhance US alliance"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/","name":"KOREA PRO","description":"Be smart about South Korea. Up-to-date analysis on foreign relations, politics, society and economy. Made by the producers of NK PRO and NK News.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization","name":"KOREA PRO","url":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/11\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/11\/logo.png","width":360,"height":50,"caption":"KOREA PRO"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nknewsorg\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/southkoreapro"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2199154"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2199154"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2199154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2199163,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2199154\/revisions\/2199163"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2199157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2199154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2199154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2199154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}