- CHIC 님의 요청으로 게잡에서 가져왔습니다 -
South Koreans seek new relationship with Japan
By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press Writer
AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Oh Yeh-sol loves watching Japanese cartoons, eating sushi and drinking sake. She believes that Tokyo's 1910-1945 colonial rule of Korea should be a thing of the past.
"I think it's better to get along with them and pursue exchanges," said Oh, 26, who recently started offering a language exchange program for Korean and Japanese speakers in her Seoul cafe.
With Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso arriving in Seoul on Sunday, many South Koreans, including President Lee Myung-bak, say it's time to look beyond the troubled past and build closer ties with Japan.
People "say Korea and Japan are 'close yet distant countries' but we should be 'close and close' countries," the Japan-born Lee told Aso during a private meeting on the sidelines of a first-ever three-way meeting with China's leader last month. "And Korea is ready to become so."
Lee has pledged not to seek a new apology from Japan for the use of forced labor and sex slaves during colonial rule. He also resumed top-level visits, which had been suspended since 2005 to protest former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to a Tokyo war shrine.
(Lee has pledged not to seek a new apology from Japan for the use of forced labor and sex slaves during colonial rule. 이명박은 식민지 시대의 강제징용이나 위안부 문제에 대해 일본으로 부터 새롭게 사과받지 않을 것을 약속했다. 나름 허접실력으로 해석해본 것입니다)
The past, however, has a way of bubbling up.
Lee's overtures took a serious hit in July when Tokyo announced it would recommend that a government teaching manual include Japan's claim to uninhabited islets claimed by both countries.
South Korea recalled its ambassador in Tokyo for three weeks and heightened security near the islets. Activists staged near-daily protests in front of the Japanese Embassy. Many scholars and newspaper editorials demanded Lee toughen policy on Japan.
"Koreans view Japan's claim to (the islets) as its historic aggression," said Jin Chang-soo, a Japan expert at South Korea's Sejong Institute, a policy think tank.
On Tuesday, the dispute threatened to flare up again.
Japan's Yomiuri newspaper reported that Tokyo planned to conduct a maritime research survey in waters between the two countries. The Japanese government denied the report, but South Korea still warned Tokyo against the plan amid media speculation that such a survey could include waters near the islets.
Despite such hiccups, growing economic ties are bringing the two countries closer.
The countries are major commercial partners, with two-way trade reaching $82.6 billion in 2007. About 2.6 million South Koreans traveled to Japan in 2007, while 2.2 million Japanese visited South Korea.
The global financial crisis has bolstered cooperation, with the two countries increasing a bilateral currency swap facility to about $20 billion.
Lee meets Aso on Monday, his sixth meeting with a Japanese leader since taking office 11 months ago. South Korean officials say the meeting will focus on economic cooperation and efforts to stop North Korea's nuclear program. The islets are not on the agenda.
Among Koreans who still harbor strong resentment against Japan are those who were sex slaves for Japanese troops during World War II. Many feel that earlier apologies by Japanese leaders have been insincere and are demanding a fresh one.
"They punched, kicked and beat me when I cried and refused to take off my clothes though I was only a 13-year-old girl at the time," said 82-year-old Gil Won-ok. "We don't have many years to live. If we all die, to whom will Japan apologize?"
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한일 정상회담에서
이명박이 일본에게 강제징용과 위안부에 대한 사과요구를 하지 않겠다고 서약했다는 내용이랍니다!!
이게 사실이어도 큰일이고
잘못된 오보여도 큰일입니다..;;
YuriOtani at 06:56 AM JST - 11th January
I am tired of these articles, my family and myself have no reason to apologize. Why don't they go to a home for the aged on the mainland and demand an apology? If the old apologies were not sincere, what reason does the government or any sane person believe the new ones would not be received any differently? Won-ok san if you did not accept the apology then why would you believe one from an innocent person? The guilty ones are all long retired and out of government service. The Koreans will not forgive Japan now or in the future. They will rub salt into this wound forever. Being from Okinawa I see no "sin" from my ancestors and think the mainlanders should not personally be held accountable for crimes committed by their aged/dead ancestors.
이런 댓글도 달린 상태라고 하는데요
