I like Japan and Korea. That’s not a secret. I left part of my heart in Okinawa’s dazzling ocean, my stomach in Chicago yearning for deep dish diabeetus on a plate, and I fell in love with Korea whilst traveling last year. I find when I get excited and I compare how similar they are (including language) some people don’t find it so endearing.
The only reason I’ve been learning Korean quickly is because I have a Japanese base and many of the words are similar. For instance, I’ve been teaching a Halloween lesson to my kids and some have been responding monster names in Korean. I’ve found the words for easy, mummy, clown, nail cutter, and the counting systems are pretty similar. I appreciate both cultures so I get worked up when I make connections that help me learn.
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20th Century History Between Japan and Korea
The relations between Japan and Korea have always been tense. While I do agree Abe is not the best prime minister, I don’t think that’s grounds to hate Japan (and Japanese people in general). For those who don’t know the history, let me break it down. A long time ago, Japan decided they wanted to be the master race of the Asian empire and started colonizing a bunch of Asian countries. These included Taiwan, Korea, a part of Russia, and islands in the Western Pacific.
During World War II, Japan stole women and girls from Korea, China, the Philippines, and other Japanese colonies. These women were forced into sexual slavery. A number of prime ministers from Japan have personally apologized in the past, but according to Korea, the Japanese government has yet to officially do so.
Japan’s stance remains as Koreans were Japanese citizens during this time and they don’t need to extend reparations because as citizens, they were doing a duty to their country. Every year at the peace summits nothing gets done because neither side will budge.
In my experience, I noticed a lot of “Japan needs to apologize for its treachery during World War II” propaganda on the TV and in my community. What happened to these women was a horror beyond all belief and no one should ever suffer a such a fate. I didn’t really watch TV in Japan, but Japan is “quietly” sweeping this dirt under the rug. It’s kind of shocking to see hateful Japan propaganda on the TV. The only time I see negativity on TV in America is during presidential elections to shed terrible light on the candidates.
In addition, due to Abe’s instruction, the history of the comfort women has been erased from Japanese textbooks. It’s so extreme Abe sent a representative to a historian at McGraw-Hill in America to lecture them about the in-correctness of the comfort women and they never existed. In slight of recent events, Abe and his extreme left-wingers have tried to stir up patriotic education. They have pledged to step up international efforts to push his administration’s view of history.
In my opinion, good luck, Abe, you old bat. I think it’s hilarious he sent a representative to lecture an American book maker. ‘Murica doesn’t take crap from no one when it comes to freedom of the press. Thanks to the treaty between Japan and America (because of what happened at Pearl Harbor), Japan was not allowed a military. Recently, they were allowed to engage in combat. They may most likely never be the military power they once were, but now they’re allowed to fight. One of the things my country does well is the aforementioned freedom and no nation, including my own, can take that away. I also think if something is historically accurate and many eyewitness accounts can attest to it, it happened.
Why I Feel It’s a Crime
Now you know the history, and these are my observations. For people who haven’t lived in a country other than their own, they could never possibly fathom what it’s like to understand another culture. My blog, YouTube or personality is not a place of hate. It’s a place to discover the world and what makes it tick. I don’t know the personal history of some people, but the younger generation seems to be somewhat affected by this. I heard my middle school students talking about how they hated Japan. When I asked them if they ever met a Japanese person or had a Japanese friend they said no. I told them not to judge unless they knew the country or a Japanese personally. I also think it’s slowly changing as the kids are becoming more interested in what’s going on in the world.
When I first arrived, my kids told me they hated Japan because of Abe, the Liancourt Rocks (called Dokdo독도 in Korean and 竹島Takeshima in Japanese), and the Korean boys claimed Japanese boys “play” with Korean girls. You can’t base everything off what middle schoolers say, but nonetheless, I find it hilarious, because in reality, everyone around the world is playing with each other. Let’s be real. People act real brand new over matters of lust and love. Wars have started over the female flower. I rest my case.
When I talk about my time in Japan, I have to tread lightly. In fact, it’s worse than walking on eggshells. Some people get annoyed when I talk about Japan and I feel like I should erase that part of my life or say nothing at all. I chose to say nothing at all because I can happily think back on good memories myself. It keeps the mystery around me the less I say. 😉 I also noticed many Koreans and Japanese visit each other’s countries, but the shit talking is incredible. At least they can agree on one thing…
They both hate Chinese tourists.
That’s something, right? My main point is, why you gotta sip on Haterade, brah? It’s all love here. I’m neither Japanese or Korean. If anything, I’m most likely honorary Uchinanchu (because I play the sanshin and love Eisa just as much as the next Okinawan). I’m an Amer-itali-mexican chameleon, if you so please. No one did anything so awful to me that I hate either country as a whole. I like to think of myself as neutral. I am Switzerland.
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23 Comments on Is Liking Japan a Crime in Korea?
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Great article! It’s funny because my students hate Japan and are very vocal about it…I will ask why? They really don’t know…they usually jump to Dokdo. Also, after we went to Japan my students all asked me if I liked Japanese food…OF COURSE I DO! Then they would go on to ask me which food was better Korea or Japan… hahahaha
Hahaha. Of course they would. I would have to agree with my students that Korean food is better. Japanese cuisine has its merits, but I love spicy food. That is so my jam! Lol. I think the old generation needs to stop with the crap on hating Japan. A lot has changed in 70 years.
Good post. It’s true though, Korean’s LOVE to hate on Japan..and China..And Africa. You get my drift. Its so annoying and I have to constantly remind my Korean friends to take a chill pill. I’m glad my student’s mostly love Japan…although that could be due to the fact that they get to take a free trip to Japan when they are in the second grade of High School 🙂
It seems like they just like to hate… In general. Hahahaha. I think those who hate are close-minded and have never traveled in their lives. I’m glad your students get a free trip to Japan in high school. It’s a great way to promote cross-cultural understanding from a young age. I hope Koreans and Japanese can be friends one day.
“Out of the mouth of babes”, it’s unfortunate that the older generation pass on to the younger the negativity and racism. I too was informed about the comfort women that the Japanese “employed”. It makes matters worse when the government try to pretend it never happened. Let’s hope the younger generation open up their minds and seek known information, rather than regurgitate what their parents may or may not teach them.
Agreed. There’ no reason not to give a person a chance just because they come from a different country. I was also informed Japan did pay reparations but the South Korean government put it towards their economy at the expense of its citizens. It’s definitely a touchy subject and I have to tread lightly.
Ughhhh the Dokdo argument. England and Argentina have been arguing about the Falkland Islands for decades, except there are a few differences: people actually live there and nobody is hateful about it.
The students at my current school travel frequently/have gyopo parents, so luckily their have open minds regarding other cultures. However, students at my last school used to speak ill of the country on the reg and I found it so grating as they could never give me a definite reason why Japan “is bad.” While it’s unfortunate Abe continues to flip flop, I think Koreans just use his actions as a focus point or “reason” to dislike Japan. It’s a horrific part of the nation’s history, but unfortunately sex trafficking is a major issue during any war period – even to the present day (Ahem, Iraq.)
I’ve found it’s generally best to just never bring up Japan unless you know the other person is open to other cultures. On a positive note, your post really made me crave a Lou Malnati’s or Pequod’s pizza! Yum…currently dreaming of a Chi pie…
Right? Sometimes people will never open their minds and you’re totally right! I can only have this conversation with people who are open-minded. I think it’s really shocking to hear young people saying how much they hate another country and people for no reason. I’m constantly dreaming of a Chicago style pizza.
Young Koreans will say they hate Japan because their parents told them to or also because their history books have brainwashed them into that way of thinking. There’s no denying the history is brutal, but for Korean’s to continuously say that Japan never apologized is just unfounded and uneducated. Japan issued a landmark apology for comfort women in 1993, which was understandably not seen as 100 percent apologetic as some of Abe’s fellow conservatives referred to the women as “prostitutes.” In decades prior, the Japanese government paid Korea 800 million in 1965 as monetary compensation for its colonial brutality.
The fact of the matter is, both governments continue to knock one another down and until that stops, there will be no progression.
I heard about those too. Both governments were wrong and need to put those issues behind them. I’m learning more and more about this history. I lived in Japan, so I only heard Japan’s side and now knowing the other side is good too. Neither administration will stop until one side has budged and I don’t foresee that happening in awhile.
Hey Nice article!
I have to agree with what you are saying. I have never actually lived in Japan but I’ve been there 3 times and know some Japanese people. They definitely do tend to hate on Japan or their Prime Minister or the whole Dokdo issue. On the other hand they all love Japanese mangas, characters, food, etc… I definitely think liking Japan is not a crime in Korea but yeah sometimes you should be careful of what you say and who you say it to. I remember I was once reading a book about the fall of the Japanese Empire on the subway and the cover had the old Japanese Empire flag on it (of the rising sun) and the old guy in front of me saw it and wasn’t happy about it. He started asking me what it was before he got off the subway and I could tell he was a bit angry at seeing it.
While Germany has apologized for what happened in the past and seems to have dealt with it’s past atrocities, in some ways it seems like Japan hasn’t which is causing problems today with many countries like Korea and China.
I just hope it doesn’t keep getting worse and worse.
Anyway thanks for sharing!
Abe definitely needs to lighten up. I still don’t understand it why Koreans say that. Oftentimes, Korean tourists will go eat and drink in Japanese parks and leave their trash everywhere. I also noticed Koreans love to go to Tokyo Disney and the beach resorts in Okinawa. I don’t hear them complaining about Japan then. 😛 Some Japanese hate Korea too (although the number is much less than Korea) but the Japanese love coming over to Korea for Korean make-up, dramas, clothes and concerts. Part of the Japanese culture is to avoid conflict like the plague. Sometimes the thinking is “if we don’t deal with it, it will eventually go away” which makes matters worse. This part of their culture also translates into their politics as well. I hope these countries can definitely resolve their differences quickly because I think it should definitely be okay to talk about different parts of the world!
Well said. I always found it such a shame how much the Koreans hated the Japanese. Young kids would spout hatred that they learned form their parents and I would ask them how they know these things, why they felt this way. They never had an answer.
Whenever I hear young kids saying that I always know they don’t actually mean that but their parents are the ones spouting that hatred. The only thing I can do as an educator is just teach about both sides of the story.
My son goes to an international school and the kids are exposed to an international environment. There’s no issue against Japan or the Japanese. In fact, the Japanese international school is just right beside my son’s school. But I was surprised with my son’s classmate when one day he said he doesn’t like the Japanese. All biases come from the adults surrounding the boy.
That’s really sad to hear. I hate hearing that kind of talk from children. We can teach our children love and we can teach them hate. Hatred only breeds more hatred but love and understanding is a bit harder to teach. I’m sure since those kids are exposed to an international environment, they will grow up knowing the kids at the Japanese International school. One day, they’ll realize the adults in their lives are full of shit and make a decision for themselves. At least that’s what I hope.
I totally observed the same things. It’s not that bad when mentioning China but people definitely hate on Japan. Even my kindergarten kids here at my Hagwon already think negatively of Japan. It’s really frustrating.
I feel like many Asian countries hate on Japan because of the history, but come on Korea, get with the times. It’s the 21st century and we live in a modern era! The worst is hearing hatred from a child’s mouth since they are too young to comprehend the weight of their words.
Seriously, I never watch videos but yours have me hooked! I had no idea about the relationship between Korea and Japan, wow. It´s quite complicated, not even sure if that can be solved – maybe across generations…
Thanks so much for watching my videos! I’m so happy that you like them! The history makes it complicated and I don’t think it will ever be solved, it will just be made quiet.
Yes, Gina, I understand your concerns about Korea and Japan! But I want to know why you are so concerned about this issue because most Americans just think this issue cannot be solved anyway!! Anyway thank you once again for your kind-hearted concern about Korea and Japan which I have been concerned too but real solutions may be hard to find!! I am also a married man and my wife is Vietnamese and we have twin sons who are more than 1 year old now!!
Hi Michael. Thanks for commenting on my blog. It’s definitely an issue that can be solved if both sides take the time to learn about the other in a non hostile way. Just present the facts and not make racist propaganda. Btw, I really love Vietnam. It’s an incredibly beautiful country!