竹島問題の歴史

25.7.08

Ampontan on Korea's Reaction to the Current Takeshima Controversy

The following is a link to an interesting post by Ampontan, who writes about Japan and Japanese issues:

Seoul's choice: Busan or Takeshima

12 comments:

  1. Thanks Gerry for letting us know about Ampontan's site.

    Korea's reaction is unreasonable to the world. The island occupying country is complaining of some other country's education, while they have been teaching their children "Dokdo is ours" without any evidences.

    In the long run, such reactions will not be of some help to Korea in the future. The world began to notice such irrational deeds of Korean people - as Korean community in Mexico was condemned recently as irrational people in a popular newspaper in Mexico.

    When will they notice such reactions are childish?

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  2. Before the ampassador of Korea "temporary" summoned to come back to Korea and left Japan, he said Japan will lose something very important. But so far, Korean are losing much more than Japan, especially, the respects from the world.

    Usually, Japanese are not really interested in territorial issue, but this time, most Japanese think Korean reactions are ridiculous and unreasonable.

    By the way, Ampontan is Mr. Bill Sakovich who helped me translating some of our posts. He has excellent posts on Japan and some on Korea, too. I love his "Matsuri da!" series.

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  3. Hi,

    I thought this pic is very funny:

    http://image.chosun.com/sitedata/image/
    200807/25/2008072500030_1.jpg


    It's from today's Chosun Ilbo:

    http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/
    2008/07/25/2008072500030.html

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  4. The history of Korea is a long struggle to preserve independence and the integrity of the territory.

    Korean reactions are often extreme and that is exactly what Japan's extreme right activists want : it ridicules all Korean claims (ie comfort women et al).

    Japan is as at crossroads : either it keeps the peaceful stance that followed WWII or it dives back in the wrong direction.

    At a time when WWII survivors are about to disappear, education is key, and definitely shouldn't be edited in order to please a minority of warmongers.

    It is time for Japan to face its own history and teach his children the country's darkest moments.

    It is time for Japanese moderates to wake up and speak for the future of their beloved country.

    Saving Dokdo means saving Japan : http://seoulvillage.blogspot.com/2008/05/claiming-dokdo-as-takeshima-equals.html

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  5. Steve,

    The long struggling history of Korea has nothing to do with Takeshima/Dokdo. As I said, it was Korea who took Takeshima from Japan by force.

    "Japan is as at crossroads : either it keeps the peaceful stance that followed WWII or it dives back in the wrong direction."

    I'm not really interested in your stereotyped delusional "Japanese right winger" theory at all. If you suggest that this is the act of Japanese "right winger", please let me see the evidence.

    Do you know that it was only Japanese Communist Party who insisted to take Takeshma back by force when it was grabbed by Korea in 1952? They still officially consider Takeshima as Japanese territory.

    "It is time for Japan to face its own history and teach his children the country's darkest moments. "

    Can you show me the evidence that Japan doesn't teach kids about the aggression of Japanese Imperialism as you insist? Don't preach about the things you don't know at all.

    As long as Korea has no historical evidence of it's sovereignty over the island, she is the one who has to do right decision, Go to ICJ.

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  6. stephane mot,

    "It is time for Japanese moderates to wake up and speak for the future of their beloved country".

    I agree.

    Japan has been tried to educate their people from the neutral viewpoint after WWII because the teachers during the war were dismissed by GHQ, mostly USA. USA didn't want them teach pupils that Japan were not wrong.

    On the other hand, Japan's Teachers Union, called Nikkyoso, has a North Korea-favored view because most progressive people supported Republic of China and North Korea in the 50's and 60's. Backed up by the policy of GHQ, they taught their pupils how bad Japan did during the wartime. They were always against the government, they even made pupils avade paying respect to the nationa flag and national anthem during the school ceremonies. This kind of education may have been for North Korea and China, not for Japan.

    Nowadays there is a movement to correct the education into normal position. But some of the movement is claimed by Korea and China, as "imperialism". But these claims are unreasonable.

    The site below mentions the history textbook which was claimed by Korea and China. Please read yourself and think yourself whether this texbook relates lies or not.
    http://www.tsukurukai.com/05_rekisi_text/rekishi_English/English.pdf

    Well, this topic is not related with Takeshima/Dokdo issue directly. So please go back tot he Takeshima/Dokdo issue.

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  7. @ kaneganese

    If I follow you, claiming Takeshima has nothing to do with the resurgence of nationalism in Japan, that resurgence of nationalism doesn't even exist, and thus has no impact whatsoever on international relationships with Japan's neighbors. Korean darkest instincts were never stimulated by repeated visits to Yasukuni, repeated claims of Dokdo, repeated revisionist outbursts, or repeated denials of comfort women / war crimes. Nationalism is only for those Uyoku dantai crazies - LDP leaders or worse, high ranking members of the Government, would never encourage such behaviors.

    Sorry, I'm not following you.

    @ pacifist

    Controversies about textbooks have been recurrent (ie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_history_textbook_controversies),and this struggle is to me much more vital than the one for Dokdo.

    The struggle really began at the end of the Allied occupation (during which the toughest control was applied).

    PS : I cannot access the link you mentioned (403 forbidden).

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  8. Stephane MOT,

    I honestly hope you would read more various sources other than stereotyped Korean distorted media.

    "If I follow you, claiming Takeshima has nothing to do with the resurgence of nationalism in Japan, that resurgence of nationalism doesn't even exist, "

    Care to show me the evidence of so-called"the resurgence of nationalism in Japan"?

    "and thus has no impact whatsoever on international relationships with Japan's neighbors. "

    I myself beieve that Sino-Japan war was invasion and it was appropriate to apologize to Chinese. And the annexation of Korea was the worst decision of Japanese Meiji government did, though Korean cannot avoid her own respoisibility and shift and the blame all the Joseon dynasty's fault to Japan. But when it comes to anti-Japan sentiment recently, I think it is China and Korea are simply using anti-Japan sentiment for diplomacy to get more economic aid from Japan.

    In other places including many Asian countries, Japan is one of the most positively viewed countries, 2005-2007, three years in row. See the results of BBC poll.

    Japan remains one of the most positively viewed countries worldwide. - BBC Poll and World Public Opinion-

    Moreover, Nowadays, Korean are the most disliked by Chinese, ahead of Japanese. And Japanese were the third most favoured By Chinese. -Choson Ilbo-

    It looks like if Korean cannot get out of this distortion carma, they would be the most isolated country in Asia.

    "Korean darkest instincts were never stimulated by repeated visits to Yasukuni"

    Yasukuni and Takeshima/Dokdo has nothing to do with each other, since Takeshima was incorporated peacefully in 1905. Korean officials didn't even know where it was. They mistook Jukdo(竹島) with new Japanese Takeshima. In 1948, Korean historian 崔南善 used this misunderstanding and came up with this idea to suggest president Rhee to grab the island. The claim "Dokdo is a stepsone of Japanese Imperialism " has no hisorical basis.

    " repeated claims of Dokdo",

    As long as it is our territory and Korea doesn't agree with going to ICJ, it is our responsibility and lawful right to express our protest. It is valid under the international law. Korea has absolutely no single right to order Japanese to shut up, in the first place.

    "repeated revisionist outbursts, or repeated denials of comfort women / war crimes. "

    What are you talking about? What those have to do with Takeshima/Dokdo issue? Are you Okay?

    "Nationalism is only for those Uyoku dantai crazies."

    You do know almost 30% of Uyoku members in Japan are Korean, right? The ratio of Yakuza members is the similar. They are not nationalist, they are just pressure groups. In that sense, I think "healthy nationalism" is required in Japan. There are too many socialists and communists in my country and they are consistantly sending crooked messaged to the world in order to tear down the government and coopetate Korean and Chinese to brainwash westerners like yourself.

    "LDP leaders or worse, high ranking members of the Government, would never encourage such behaviors"

    Who? What did he/she do to "encourage" such behaviours? When? Does it anything to do with Takeshima/Dokdo?

    Look, Takeshima was grabbed by Korea by force in 1952. In those years, there were no such absurd claims like comfort women who were "abducted by Japanese government officials by force", or Yasukunis by Korean. In fact, Korean goernment were even providing Korean "comfort women" to U.N army during the Korean war.

    I think it is Korean who are self-stimulating by those anti-Japanese sentiment and try to muster national interest.

    As long as Takeshima is our sovereign territory and Korean never agree to go to ICJ or admit that they don't even have any proof to support their claim, it will go on forever. It's Korean's decision now to repeat this craziness and lose renown from all over the worid, or grow up.

    I think it is very important for us, as a neighbour of Korea, to say what is true is true and advice Korea to follow the international rule and law. Ranting "Japan is immoral" doesn't work anymore.

    I believe we should discuss things based on Evidence, not hearsay nor belief.

    By the way, what do you think of Korean claims of historical so-called evidences of Dokdo? Do you think they are valid? If so, why? On what basis?

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  9. stephan mot,

    I tried to cut and paste some parts of the text here but failed.
    Sorry, but please try to read it with a different computer if you have a chance.

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  10. stephane MOT,

    Apart from the textbook issue, as Kaneganese pointed out, there is no resurgence of nationalism in Japan.

    Only China and Korea are saying so because they need Japanese nationalism or imperialism to make their people look at outer world, not inner problems. But there is no such movement in Japan.

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  11. OK. So according to you, Korea was guilty for the Japanese occupation and nationalism doesn't exist in Japan (even better : all nationalists and mobsters in Japan are actually Korean !)...

    You are definitely setting new standards for denial.

    PS : "Takeshima was incorporated peacefully in 1905" ? Thank you for confirming that it wasn't part of Japan before 1905, the very year of the official "incorporation" of Korea in the Japanese Empire (Eulsa Treaty). Dokdo was discretely and unilateraly anschlussed by the grace of a pen in Shimane-ken ahead of the invasion, which one may consider a "peaceful" gesture compared to the assassination of the Korean Empress (1895) and the occupation that followed soon afterwards.

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  12. Stepahne MOT,

    You should learn the true history of Korea.

    You wrote;
    "Takeshima was incorporated peacefully in 1905" ? Thank you for confirming that it wasn't part of Japan before 1905, the very year of the official "incorporation" of Korea in the Japanese Empire (Eulsa Treaty)."

    Korea was not incorporated into Japan. It was annexed, and the annexation was not only Japan's intention but also the Korean people's intention as you can see the fact that the largest political party in Korea 一進会 pleaded emperors of Korea and Japan. And some of Japanese statesmen were against the annexation including Itoh Hirobumi.
    Haven't you ever seen a photo of the celebration of Korean people around the gate the 一進会 built?

    As to the history of Takeshima/Dokdo (Liancourt Rocks), please read eleswhere in this blog. It was incorporated definitely peacefully.

    You also wrote;
    "Dokdo was discretely and unilateraly anschlussed by the grace of a pen in Shimane-ken ahead of the invasion, which one may consider a "peaceful" gesture compared to the assassination of the Korean Empress (1895) and the occupation that followed soon afterwards".

    There was no invasion, you should learn the true history of Korea. You look like you were educated in Korean school - but they are not telling their people truth about the situation of Yi Dynasty in the 19th century. (Please read Isabella Bird's book.) Do you know Yi Dynasty was on the verge of collapse with money shortage due to lack of economical viewpoint and Japan paid lots of money for her? And do you know that it was from the Japanese citizens' tax?
    Do you know if Japan didn't rescue Joseon by defeating Qing in 1894 Korea would be in the same position as Tibet today?

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