Korea Japan relations
 

So I saw a TV programme on Japanese TV tonight that was very interesting.

It was about relations between Korea and Japan.

An interesting statistic was given too.

A survey was carried out where Japanese people were asked whether they liked Korea, hated Korea, or had no particular feelings towards Korea.

The Japanese scored...

62% liked Korea
25% hated Korea
The rest (13%) had no opinion or no feelings of like or dislike towards Korea.

The same was asked to Koreans about Japan.

28& liked Japan
71% hated Japan
Just 1% had no opinion or no particular feelings of like or dislike towards Japan.

Its an interesting statistic but it kinda confirms for me, the tendency for Koreans to be ultra-nationalistic.

Here is a website with brief summary. perhaps Korans have good reasons no to like JAPAN as far as its history is concerned. The Japanese did use some Koreans to work for them on the Burmese railway and some of those Koreans were excessively cruel to the prisoners.

Japan-Korea Relations :: Japan Visitor

Well I can kind of see why. The percentage of them liking Japan is probably higher now than ten to twenty years ago.
Its kind of some Japanese attitudes, too.
My boyfriend is Korean.
And one time we went to a party for international students. Our two Japanese friends joined us.
I met another Japanese guy, and was just chatting while my boyfriend was playing beer pong and talking to his senior Korean friends.
I told him I came along with my boyfriend and two friends. The guy pointed at my Japanese friends and asked if that was my boyfriend. I said no, pointed to who was, and explained he was Korean.

The Japanese dude called him "Josenjin"...Ack can't romanize it right, but that rude term it is for calling a Korean in Japanese nowadays rather than calling them "kankokujin"...and the guy said other insulting things. Kind of stupid really, seeing how he was only what, 170 cm and my boyfriend was more muscular, and 181cm...

My boyfriend wasn't happy, and when his father later found out the first thing he asked was, "did you kill him?"

I got a lot of Japanese friends who didn't mind me dating one of their own, or anybody else...but the moment I fell for the Korean one, I got a lot of shit from them.

(ironically enough, one of our Japanese friends introduced us.)

However, going back on subject
I don't normally blame Koreans for disliking them, but they are becoming openminded about the Japanese more. Its going to take awhile for those old wounds to heal, but I imagine the percentage will be even higher in the next 10 years, maybe.

What group of people did they ask these questions? Teenagers, elderly, women, men etc?

When the TV station made a similar program, it was an online vote.
There were many Japanese who disliked Korea by the online vote.
Because NHK was the left, NHK quitted an online vote.

I think that there were many a person and people liking Korea without interest before the Internet spreads.
Japanese knew the anti-Japan sentiment that the anti-Japan education and Korean in Korea had in information of the Internet, and the Japanese who had hostility have increased.

I do not understand till when a foolish argument repeats itself with the two countries.
It will be over before the sun becomes the white dwarf.

Japan invaded Korea and most of East Asia. Rational or not, there is still a sense of hatred there, and not just by Koreans: by Chinese, Filipinos, etc.. And it doesn't help that Japan also has it's share of hate for whatever reason.

My great grandmother, who is over 90 years-old, lost her husband in the Philippines, when Japanese soldiers accused him of being a rebel. The reason for hate may be obselete these days, but we can only imagine the kind of things people have been through -- why they remember, and why they feel what they feel.

In my mind, all will settle through time.

http://www.japanforum.com/forum/japa...than-jpop.html

i see you love to compare countries. you said that japan has bigger population than korea that makes j-pop more popular and implying it is better. you said that japan has bigger economy than korea and china that makes j-pop more popular and implying it is better. now you compare that japan is better sourced from a television survey that has a tendency of sensationalization. what is the point of this? you love japan so much that you should become a japanese.

i do not think you compare countries all day. no person would thinks every country is black and white unless you were a racist. maybe it is convenient to have black and white distinctions to all countries. that is if you were studying international relations and had personal biases.

:/
 

Sounds like between us [ polish ] and germans. I think some of us just got hatred in their blood :/ - born from lineage of dislike...

They didnt specify so I assume it was a cross section.

The people they had in the studio for the conversation after all the stats were presented were all between the ages of 20 and 60.

hmmm... I think this might go beyond resentment over the war and colonization but I agree that it contributes to it.

The show didnt touch on this... but I have a theory that intense nationalism in South Korea is to a large extent, the product of compulsory military service.

Its just my own theory though and I think its a good idea for a research grant if it hasnt been done (so anyone specializing in Korean or East Asian studies.... you are welcome :D )

I don't mean to sound too patronizing... but, what does "intense nationalism" imply from your judgement, exactly, and what experience do you have with the Korean culture or people?

By intense nationalism.. I simply mean that consciousness of the nation (which in Korea is generally defined by race) and national identity is high.

Though of course Im not saying that all Koreans are racist... just that the society in which they live predisposes them to racism moreso than say, Japanese society.

Experience with Korean people?... I dont think its relevant as Im talking in generalities about society rather than individuals.. but for what its worth, I dated a Korean once, and have friends of Korean heritage (though they arent Korean). I have some friends from South Korea too... but they arent close friends.

So, we're basically saying Koreans are racist -- or are prone to a form of racism which is more advanced than in Japan?

I just want to make sure I'm grasping your point clearly, sorry if it seems like I'm being redundant.

I dont know how you came to the conclusion of the former when I clearly went out of my way to explain that I WASNT saying that....

Anyway, the latter is closer to what Im saying... but its not exactly what Im saying.

Korea is a more nationalistic society. This nationalism is very much racialist (Though Japanese nationalism is the same). This makes Koreans more prone to being racist.

That 71% of Koreans surveyed said they hate Japan, not only does this statistic suggest that my viewpoint is pretty accurate, but it also makes me aware of the fact that it could be worse than I thought it was.

I came to the conclusion of the former by means of simplification of the latter, hence my use of the word 'basically'... but I digress... I don't agree. In terms of personal theories and observations, I'm more inclined to think that Japan is generally more prone to racism than Korea. And I'm being unbiased.

South Korea is on the brink of war, and has been for a long time. This may be the cause for its nationalism. It may be a very important factor in this issue. You agree that this nationalism is race-based, and I'm convinced that's it's natural and unavoidable; obviously, who else will suffer South Korea's home struggle other than the South Koreans (excluding soldiers from other countries). History has also displayed S. Korea's significant dependancy on and acceptance of foreign national bodies such as America. This indicates a certain level of tolerance of outside influences in comparison to that of Japan. Japan is not completely unlike Korea, which you and I agree on, but it can't share this position to the same extent as Korea, in my opinion, and almost has what seems like the complete opposite: in history, an initiative of invasion. Which is why I pointed it out originally.

Of course, I'm aware we're just trading opinions at this point. lol

The difference between your opinion and mine is that yours draws parallels between history and attitudes today that dont exist, therefore is as valid as the opinion that the Earth is the centre of the universe.

To the average Japanese person... Japan's period of isolation is a chapter in a history book. I assume that it is the same with most Koreans (though some of the more recent movements involving takeshima/dokdo as well as the dispute between a mountain near the Chinese border seem to invoke pre-20th century claims)

Furthermore... Japan after WW2 is an entirely different beast than Edo Japan.

It would be like assuming America is more racist than Japan because America had a history of the belief in white supremacy.

Not to mention that I can actually give you a statistic that backs up my opinion. :cool:

What's occurred to me is that your statistics seem to refer only to the Japanese-Korean relationship.

You are right. Though I dont think its hard to see how the stats give my position merit.

It shows that 71% have the ability or mindset to hate another country at the very least.

And as was said by one Japanese person on the show... "The question of hating another country is an old one which belongs to a different era"