The Beat February 2003

This month in Pusanweb Discussions: America‘s “betrayal”, international apologies, and the Japanese occupation of Korea

IconsFanatic: My personal opinion is that Korea feels betrayed by the U.S. They had perceived the U.S. as an ally, a friend, and dare I say it, as a brother. They needed some moral support after having been colonized by Japan for so long. But suddenly, this outside country stationed in Korea that was supposedly a friend is now perceived as an aggressive force that will do whatever it pleases on Korean soil. It will try American soldiers in American military courts, rather than handing them over to Korean courts. It will fan the flames of antagonism with North Korea, which South Koreans perceive as hurting their long-term goal of Korean reunification. Koreans feel the U.S. is running roughshod on Korean soil. See the parallels between Japanese imperialism and how the U.S. is currently perceived in Korea? Koreans feel a sense of betrayal. That's what hurts the most. I certainly think that everything is being blown out of proportion, but I believe the U.S. has displayed a great deal of arrogance for not bothering to deal with this issue. What was once an ally is now seen as an imperialist power.

Ben Eller: Koreans don't care about apologies. Did the Korean government apologize to the parents of those soldiers killed in the barracks by drunken seniors? Is the public upset that Kim Jong-il did not apologize directly to South Korea for the murder of five sailors on the eve of the world cup semi-final? When was the last time Koreans demanded an apology from China for beating up its consulate staff, and ordering DJ not to give the Dalai Lama a visa? Just because Korea is massively insecure, doesn't mean that we have to humiliate ourselves.

Gonesurfing: I think that in regards to Koreans they have felt for a long time, and are feeling more strongly now, a lack of autonomy in their countries affairs. One of the most basic human emotions and needs is a sense of control over ones lives. Koreans and Korea have been greatly stripped of that ability and of self-determination as a nation. History and geography have worked against them. The inability and ineffectiveness of the Bush administration at crisis management is to be blamed for the current crisis. You're absolutely right that a simple public statement of remorse to the Korean people would have made all the difference. Bush lacks the diplomatic skills to articulate that and ultimately I think even in hindsight he still doesn't realize how to handle international diplomacy.

Named User: Koreans don't hate Americans or America. What they hate is being cursed by geography into a position of needing powerful friends and not being able to go it alone. Korea has been, is now, and will continue to be a "shrimp among whales," and so will need powerful friends. America has been, all things considered, the best friend they've ever had, judging solely from the period of peace and unprecedented prosperity they have been enjoying for the past fifty years under so-called American "occupation". If they didn't already understand that on some level, there would be a lot more people throwing rocks at the US embassy, and Uncle Sam would have packed up a long time ago. Mr. Roh exploited this anti-BigBro sentiment all the way to the presidency, and now seems to be once more holding his bread with the buttered side up.

Moose: Japan occupied Korea for over 30 years and tried to erase the local culture and replace it with the Japanese one. The occupation was brutal. Furthermore, the Japanese government has yet to apologize for their acts of atrocity during WWII. The Japanese history books are systematically erasing the ugly side of Japan's participation in WWII. Of course, Korea has done its part by deciding to view things in their own way concerning Japan. America and Japan forgave each other. I'm sure the Japanese still remember quite vividly Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But, the American occupation of Japan after WWII was not of the same nature as the Japanese occupation (colonization) of Korea. There is a lot less to forgive there. What did America have to forgive Japan for? Pearl Harbor and starting the pacific war. That‘s no small thing but easier to forgive than 30 years of brutal occupation don't you think? Its a simple matter of not comparing two very different situations that in fact are not comparable.

Shakuhachi: In fact Japan has apologized repeatedly but Korea always rejects their sincere apologies. The textbooks you are complaining about are used in less than 1% of Japanese schools and are not trying to erase history. The things described as problems are so minor that they do not deserve international dispute. The problem in Japanese-Korean relations is the anti-Japanese education hate sessions conducted in all Korean schools. It has no respect for scholarship or truth. That the Japanese did not pay compensation or apologize are the most frequent lies.

Silas: The plain truth of the matter is that Korea developed, and developed rather rapidly, under Japanese tutelage. True, it was a brutal occupation in many ways, especially in the early years, but Japanese imperialism eliminated certain forms of Korean brutalities, like slavery, and modernized the society as a whole. No serious resistance remained after the last guerrilla fighters fled to Manchuria in the early years, and Koreans were eventually co-opted as junior partners in the enterprise. Many of those who served in the Japanese Imperial Army went on to become Korea's future leaders; some of the Korean businesses which grew wealthy during the latter colonial period went on to become jaebols; and many of the police agents/collaborators were absorbed into Rhee's and later Park's security apparatus. Would Korea have been able to so develop on its own at the beginning of the 20thC? Who knows for sure? But given the mess that was Korea then in terms of the ossified class structure, the parasitic yangban and the age-old tradition of destructive elite infighting, it would seem unlikely.