Dr. Moon J. Pak points out that an agreement of S Korea & Japan(12-28-2015) is not reasonable, so that it is nullification because the agreement on Japanese military sexual slaves for Japanes military forces in the Japanes colonial period is totally wrong. He finally concludes that  it is unconscionable even to think of the possibilities of a military alliance between the two countries against the third country, China, and especially the North Korea, which in the minds of every Koreans, a part of themselves.

Korea-Japan Alliance ?

By Moon J. Pak

(January, 2016)

The December 28, 2015 announcement of an agreement by the foreign ministries of both countries, Japan and Republic of Korea (ROK) had created a deeply disappointing response among all layers of South Korean society, and strong calls for its nullification, and denouncement against this action by the Park Geun-hye regime. The issue deals with the so called “Comfort Women” or the forced military sexual slave involving large number of Korean women committed by the Japan during the WWII, for which the Japanese had never formally as a nation, apologized nor permanently memorialized the despicable history. The agreement indicates that the Japanese prime minister, Mr. Shinzo Abe accepts the historical fact of its occurrence, will pay a relatively small amount of money to the Korean government for its use for whatever means to settle the issue among its society, and most importantly, regard the “Agreement” as a final and irreversible settlement and the end of the matter between the two countries. It contains no admittance of their crime, or the apologies at national level, nor the permanent historical memorials to remember their future generations; as the country of Germany did with the holocaust monument.

It goes without saying that this hasty agreement definitely favoring Abe and Japan, on this particular issue that touches so profoundly the hearts of every Koreans both in South, North and overseas was the result of the incessant pressure from the U.S. on the Park Geun-hye in its effort to realize the tri-party military alliance between the Japan, ROK and itself, against China, a part of so called “Asia Pivot Policy” of Obama. Naturally the agreement was hailed immediately by John Kerry of the State Department and Susan Rice of the White House.

Actually this shows the sad and almost ridiculous ignorance of the U.S. foreign policy people of the Obama administration on the understanding of the true and in-depth nature of the relationships between the people of Korea and Japan based on profound differences existing between the two countries in the areas of ethnic, cultural, religious, and historical perspectives of the past three thousand years! As a matter of fact, this agreement forced on the ROK, will make the gap existing in the relationship between the Japan and Korea, deeper and wider, thus negatively affect the future of the “Alliance” between the two countries.

At one point Korea and Japan are geographically only 60 miles apart, and ethnically and culturally appear superficially similar to outsiders, especially to casual western observers, and actually there had been significant migration of people from ancient Korea to Japan mostly intellectuals carrying with them advanced continental cultures, arts, religion, civilization, science, legal system, etc. There are some evidences that the ancestor of Japan’s current emperor actually is from among migrating Korean nobilities. 

This flow of continental civilization to Japan was largely through Korean peninsula, as a matter of fact, up until roughly 200 years ago, Korean dynasty sent annually and regularly a large official contingency of delegation to Japan to convey various advanced knowledge to Japan. 

This one way flow of civilization over thousands of year has implanted a sense of superiority complex in generations of Korean minds when they look upon the people and country of Japan. This of course changed and the role became reversed beginning the 19^th century, when Japan became so rapidly westernized, while at the end of Korea’s last dynasty, Lee dynasty, it lagged behind Japan so much and finally it became colonized by Japan in 1910, to the great dismay and surprise of the Korean people in general. It was an awakening experience and in a way it contributed greatly to the subsequent rise and metamorphosis of Korea after the WWII and Korean War, and to this date, there is a silent pledge among them the Koreans in both North and South that says, “Never a Japanese boot on our soil again!”

On the other hand, the image of Korea in Japanese mind, in spite of the one way flow of advanced culture and civilization from across the strait, over thousands of years, was never the one that commands respect and awe.  Korea was the neighbor to invade, to steal and a stepping stone to take to invade the China and its civilization. The Japanese perception of Korea of course became even worse when at the end of the Lee Dynasty of Korea, when it was so helplessly lagging behind the Japan in the process of westernization.

In the last 500 years, there had been almost an incessant small scale attacks by the Japanese roamers on the Korean villages located in its eastern seashore. It was not a large scale organized attacks but that required constant vigilance by the Korean authority to protect its people from these Japanese “roaming pirates”. However, there were two major Japanese invasions of the Korean peninsula during this period (1592-1598), that no Koreans will ever neither forget nor forgive.

The first attack was their effort to invade Chinese mainland by way of the peninsula; a massive flotilla of the Japanese military, well planned and organized attacked and landed on Korea and moved up the north toward its Chinese border, while in its march, completely and utterly devastated the whole country of Korea and its people, who in its best unprepared way fought against the merciless invaders. Fortunately however, Korea had a strong navy led by a genius admiral who effectively blocked the Japanese supply-route, that eventually led to their defeat and withdrawal. A few years later, while the Korea was not yet fully recovered from this shocking national disaster, another Japanese invading flotilla, equally massive and well equipped and better planned in its naval force this time appeared, landed and moved up the peninsula, this time however broadly and gradually to exploit the country of Korea rather than passing through to its destination towards China. Their passage left devastation, indiscriminate civilian killing, raping of all age women, burning of cultural landmarks, arts, temples. Artisans, skilled people, useful intellectuals were forcibly drafted and shipped to Japan. Japanese soldiers were rewarded for their killing of Korean civilians and to document their success they collected and preserved the ears cut off from their killed Korean victims to be sent to Japan for the reward. To this date there are graves in Japan containing these Korean ears, they call “mimi tsuka=ear tomb” So many women were violated, who according to Korean custom are not allowed to enter the family life, thus after the war, the king chose to issue a special edict that those cleanse their body in certain rivers would be cleared of the discrimination.

Finally again, the remnants of the Korean navy again led by the same genius admiral defeated the Japanese navy choking off their supply-line thus forcing the retreat of the invaders. In the process, the Admiral Lee Soon-shin, gave his life.

In 1910, after a series of military episodes, political maneuvers, murdering of a popular Korean queen, etc., Japanese formally annexed Korea beginning 36 years of colonial rule, whose harshness in dealing of the Korean people had no precedence; in their own land, Koreans were discriminated in almost every aspects of their lives, they were forced to change their name into Japanese style, forced to learn and use only the Japanese language, forced to worship the Japanese god, the Shintoism, a large numbers were drafted into forced war time labor and taken to Japan, and finally, the forced military sex slaves, “Comfort Women”, whose number is estimated to be 200,000!

Finally, their colonial rule came to an end on August 15, 1945, when the WWII ended with the unconditional surrender of Japan to Allied Forces, which of course includes Russia and America, who both came over to the peninsula to disarm the Japanese and ship them to their archipelago, and it was followed by, alas! the division of the Korea, Russian North and American South; Koreans of course blame Japanese for the division of their land, and rest of the sad history, the Korean War and enmity between brothers and sisters for the past 70 years.

In spite of the superficial and ostensive similarities, there are a few fundamental and significant differences between the two races. The one area is their religion; the Korea has had Buddhism as its national religion for over a thousand years. It of course came by way of China but directly influenced by its origin in India, in terms of the principle, practice of worship, writings, even the architecture of the temples.  In the last three hundred years, however, Confucius teaching came from China, and although it is not a religion, become superimposed on the Korean culture, tradition and custom.  Therefore, the Koreans have reverence for life, respect and eagerness to follow the social order based on scholastic and academic achievement and respect for age and family tradition.   Japanese also have had Buddhism but a strong attachment to their Shintoism on which their emperor system is rooted.  It is more or less based on its ancient imaginative story on their ethnic origin. It places honor before the reverence for life, strict cast system, and respect for power and strength over literary achievement and also lastly, their sense of ethnic purity and superiority.  This is where their Samurai spirit and cast and the tradition of Hara-kiri originates, which in turn in modern days, exhibited by their militarism, emphasis on power of aggression. This ethnic and national trait went very well with the western colonialism and hegemony based expansion of European powers in the last two centuries. There were times, among in Japanese elites even an idea to ideologically removing themselves from the Asian frame of mind and consider being part of European culture.

This to a large extent explains the existence of a mutual disdain existing between Koreans and Japanese although in many aspects they also respect each other. This also explains, such an overt Japanese discrimination against over a million and half Korean residents in Japan most of them forcibly moved to there during the WWII, as forced labors, and finally the Japanese indifference on their  responsibilities  on the issues over Comfort Women.  

In conclusion, therefore, it is unconscionable even to think of the possibilities of a military alliance between the two countries against the third country, China, and especially the North Korea, which in the minds of every Koreans, a part of themselves.

=The End=

Moon J. Pak, M.D., Ph.D.

Senior VP, Korean American National Coordinating Council (KANCC)

mjpak1000@yahoo.com

Cell: 248-894-3064