Who's not to Blame in the South Korea-Japan Spat?

By

Sung-Yoon Lee

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A pair of South Korean stamps depicting the Liancourt Rocks, 1954.

Dokdo Stamps

A pair of South Korean stamps depicting the Liancourt Rocks, 1954.

A Wednesday demonstration in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, October 2012.

Wednesday Demonstration

A Wednesday demonstration in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, October 2012. The weekly demonstrations demand Japanese acknowledgment and redress of the large scale sexual slavery that occurred during Japanese imperial rule and World War II.

A demonstration by Zaitokukai against Koreans in Japan.

Zaitokukai Demonstration

A demonstration by Zaitokukai against Koreans in Japan. A man carries a placard written "Kick their asses out of Takeshima," Tokyo, 2013.

Panmunjom, Korea as it appeared in 1951.

Panmunjom

Panmunjom, Korea as it appeared in 1951. This was the site of military armistice negotiations between representatives of the Communist forces fighting in Korea, and United Nations forces representatives.

Moon Jae-in takes the presidential oath.

President Moon Jae-in

Moon Jae-in takes the presidential oath at the National Assembly, May 10, 2017.

Comfort women captured by the U.S. Army, August 14, 1944.

Comfort Women

Comfort women captured by the U.S. Army, August 14, 1944, in Myitkyina. The U.S. Army documented these women in their secret report, “Japanese Prisoner of War Interrogation Report No. 49.”

One of the dozens of statues dedicated to Comfort Women around the world.

Comfort Women Statue

One of the dozens of statues dedicated to Comfort Women around the world. The statues represent Korean's struggle to have their historical memory acknowledged by the Japanese.

A ballistic missile at North Korea Victory Day, 2013.

Ballistic Missile

A ballistic missile at North Korea Victory Day, 2013.

Three Koreans shot for pulling up rails as a protest.

Japanese Imperial Rule

Three Koreans shot for pulling up rails as a protest against seizure of land without payment by the Japanese. Images like these inform collective memory of oppressive Japanese rule in Korea.

South Korean general election on 10 May 1948.

General Election

South Korean general election on 10 May 1948. This election elevated Syngman Rhee to the presidency.

A copy of the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Treaty on Basic Relations

A copy of the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea exhibited at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History.

Signing of the Korean War armistice agreement.

Armistice Agreement

UN delegate Lieut. Gen. William K. Harrison, Jr. (seated left), and Korean People’s Army and Chinese People’s Volunteers delegate Gen. Nam Il (seated right) signing the Korean War armistice agreement at Panmunjom, Korea, July 27, 1953.

The Liancourt rocks.

The Liancourt Rocks

The Liancourt rocks, in Japan called Takeshima and in North and South Korea called Dokdo.

Sign stating that Dokdo belongs to South Korea, 2010.

Dokdo Is Our Land

Sign stating that Dokdo belongs to South Korea, 2010.

Meeting at the Freedom House.

Meeting at the Freedom House

U.S. President Donald J. Trump, Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea Kim Jong-un, and Republic of South Korea President Moon Jae-in talks together June 30, 2019, outside Freedom House at the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

Dokdo defense training with the Korean Navy Special Forces Battalion and the Navy Commando Forces.

Military Exercises

During the Dokdo defense training, members of the Korean Navy Special Forces Battalion (UDT/SEAL) and the Navy Commando Forces descend from the Navy's UH-60 helicopter, 2013.

The Korean flag flies over Liancourt Rock's East Islet.

Korean Flag at Dokdo

The Korean flag flies over Liancourt Rock's East Islet with the West Islet in the background, 2009.

Street sign in Seoul, 2012.

Do You Know Dokdo?

Street sign in Seoul, 2012.

A postcard—or possibly a poster—published during Japan’s naisen ittai campaign.

Champions of the World

A postcard—or possibly a poster—published during Japan’s naisen ittai campaign in occupied Korea translated as: "Japan-Korea. Teamwork and Unity. Champions of the World"

Korean conscripts into the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), 1943.

Koreans in Japanese Army

Korean conscripts into the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), 1943.

Representatives of the Empire of Japan stand aboard the USS Missouri.

Japanese Surrender

Representatives of the Empire of Japan stand aboard the USS Missouri prior to the signing of the Instrument of Surrender, which led to the U.S. Occupation of Japan.

Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.

Yasukuni Shrine

Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.

President Park Chung Hee signs the treaty to normalize relations between Korea and Japan.

Signing the Treaty on Basic Relations

President Park Chung Hee signs the treaty to normalize relations between Korea and Japan on December 17, 1965.

A 2005 rally demanding acknowledgment and compensation for comfort women.

Comfort Women Protest

A 2005 rally demanding acknowledgment and compensation for comfort women.

2020 Global Forum on Korea-Japan Relations.

The Truth of Japan’s Forced Labor

At the 2020 Global Forum on Korea-Japan Relations, UNESCO held a forum entitled "The Truth of Japan’s Forced Labor, Modern Industrial Facilities and History Distortion."

President Moon's Liberation Day speech on August 15, 2019.

Liberation Day Speech

President Moon's Liberation Day speech on August 15, 2019.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo holds a joint press availability with Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono.

Foreign Ministers

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo holds a joint press availability with Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, in Seoul, Republic of Korea, June 14, 2018.

President Moon's August 2, 2019 tweet.

President Moon's Tweet

President Moon's August 2, 2019 tweet.

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