THE PROBLEM OF THE COLONIAL PAST IN MODERN RELATIONS BETWEEN JAPAN AND THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Abstract

Japan and South Korea have a lot in common: from cultural values to interrelated economic interests and the desire to contain the increasingly growing threat of North Korea. However, despite many similarities, serious problems often hinder bilateral relations between Tokyo and Seoul. A key source of tension is the memories of the colonial occupation of Korea by Japan in the first half of the twentieth century. Despite the fact that more than 75 years have passed since the independence and the division of Korea into two parts, the wounds of this period are still fresh enough to create serious political obstacles. Today, South Korea and Japan are arguing about what is proper repentance and compensation for the colonial period, namely the damage caused by Japan. Despite being imprisoned in 1965. A treaty on the normalization of relations, which also included Japan's obligations to pay compensation for colonial rule, in a recent South Korean court decision from November 2018. it is said that the victims were not paid individual compensation for their "emotional pain and suffering". Thus, the Supreme Court of South Korea ruled against two of Japan's largest companies, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp., on additional payments to victims of colonial rule. Following this decision, the governments of the two countries began to alternately introduce restrictive measures affecting such areas as trade, politics and cultural and social mutual perception and interaction. Before our eyes, scenes of bilateral hatred began to unfold, including attempts on the leaders of the highest circles, the destruction of monuments, the destruction of property and the refusal to purchase goods produced in a neighboring country, the refusal to travel, various rallies and unilateral protest actions.