Japan And Korean War

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1945 marked the end of World War II and the end of Japan’s reign in Korea. Korea had been under Japanese rule since the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty in 1910. During this time, Korea had been brutally treated by Japan. The Korean language was suppressed as well as traditional Korean culture. Japan forced Korean people to take Japanese surnames and took many “comfort women” otherwise known as sex slaves for the Japanese military. As a result, the diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan were strained. Japan was determined to forget the past and deny many of the things that happened while Korea was determined to not move past it. There have been disputes between the two countries about acknowledging comfort women and territories, many sprouting up from World War II and before. While there has been improvement, the relationship between Japan and Korea is strained, mainly due to Japan’s unwillingness to remember and apologize for the past and Korea’s stubbornness to not move on from the past.
When there was still Japanese imperialism and Korea was a Japanese colony, Japan forced many terrible things upon Korea. The annexation of Korea, which finished in 1910, was met with little response or resistance from the international world and Korea respectively. Their rule was suppressive. Korea became completely dependent on Japan for its economy. Things like ports were made for military use and while Japan built bridges, dams, and hallways in Korea, their original purpose was for the military and to make Japan look powerful. Throughout the period, 1910 to 1945, there were rebellions but they were quickly demolished by the Japanese. In 1919, there was a revolt with almost 2 million supporters and in the end, thousands to get killed ...

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...andela once said, “True reconciliation does not consist in merely forgetting the past.” For Japan to reconcile with South Korea, the Japanese government has to fully acknowledge and apologize for its war crimes. Japan currently suffers from “apology fatigue,” wondering why they are being continually told to repent and apologize for things that happened almost 70 years ago. This is Korea’s fault, constantly pressuring Japan to apologize. They aren’t willing to move on from the past or accept that Japan will not apologize. This is understandable since they do not want Japan to make this mistake again. They tried to cover up their mistakes rather than admitting them in the past. But the fact of the matter is, Japan still has not given a meaningful apology to Korea. Hence, Korean people will continue to view Japan in a negative light until the repentance happens.

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