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Japanese Apology to Korea [Political Cartoon]

A political cartoon about Japan’s most recent apology to Korea:

As Japan apologizes to Korea, a group of people from other colonized nations wonders when their colonizers will issue a similar apology. Most former colonial powers haven’t issued anything close to the apology statements Japan has made for imperialism and its conduct in WW2. I’m guessing that the guy sneaking around in the background is supposed to be European.

It was found via the Korea Times website. Judging from the signature on the cartoon, it looks like it was created by the same freelance cartoonist whose political cartoons about terrorism angered Russia and led the Korea Times to issue a statement saying that it had “fired” its editors.

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25 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - August 18, 2010 at 1:53 pm

Categories: Politics Tags:

Apophis

I couldn’t stop laughing at the british guy in the background, running away. The best.
Buster

It might have to do with the fact that Europeans were never stupid enough to colonialise their neighboring countries.

http://tepido.org/ LB

*Ahem*

Ireland? Scotland? Wales?

Norway (forcibly merged with Sweden in the early 19th Century)

Finland (colonised by Sweden, then taken over by Russia)

Poland (taken over by, well, everyone, basically)

The Baltic Republics? Large sections of Romania? Wholesale redistribution and annexation of land by the Russians over the last couple of hundred years? How about the Armenians – screwed royally by both Russia and Turkey?

Much of European (or US) history is nothing but conquering and colonizing neighbors. At least, until they figured out there was more profit to be made in conquering and colonizing… I mean “civilizing”… peoples on other continents.

Buster

No, not really.

There is a qualitative difference between what is commonly known as “colonization” nowadays, a model which unfortunately served as the basis for the Japanese Empires policies, and the more business as usual “conquering/domination” which was indeed common in Europe and of course also in Asia (see Chinese relations to Korea, Vietnam, etc.).

As always, we use different terms simply because there’s a distinction between the two forms of rule, even though they also share certain similarities.

http://tepido.org/ LB

“There is a qualitative difference…”

My Irish ancestors would beg to differ. Very strongly so, in fact. Kicked off their land, denied representation in government, legally prohibited from owning property, sold into slavery… but hey, at least Ireland was not a “colony”.

Horse hockey. Ireland was, and partially remains, an English colony.
Buster

There is a qualitative difference, if not everything would be the same, no?

Anyhow, I was stupid enough to use a term I assumed is well enough defined by itself, instead it invited people to engage in sophistry.

Therefore let me rephrase my sentence:

“It might have to do with the fact that Europeans were never stupid enough to impose the same style of domination they applied to their colonial subjects towards one of their own neighboring nations. A kind of domination that draws its justification from ideas of cultural/racial superiority and the promise to civilize the subject.”
Fat Tony

“There is a qualitative difference, if not everything would be the same, no?”

Well then we might as well not categorize “what is commonly known as “colonization” nowadays” either, because there are clear differences between Japan’s colonization of Korea and, say, Taiwan. At that point, however, everything descends into postmodern wankery.

In any case, even if we take for granted the assertion that colonization and complete assimilation are two different things and focus only on what you see as the disctinction, let’s not forget;

1.) Korea was annexed. It was considered part of sovereign territory of Japan, and not just by the Japanese. Only from 1905-1910 does it fit your description of what a colony is. Very little distinction from Ireland or Wales there, where there were, yes, policies that regulated the correct use of language, that is, culture.

2.) A kind of domination that draws its justification from ideas of cultural/racial superiority and the promise to civilize the subject was never a feature of the British Empire?

3.) If we are restricting ourselves to the “modern” period, when state borders in Europe are fairly well established, why don’t we consider North Africa to be Europe’s “neighbor”?
Stereo

Buster, so, your are saying Europeans never claimed cultural racial superiority to their neighbors, whereas they claimed cultural racial superiority over people far from them.

I believe Englishmen claimed cultural racial superiority to Celts.
Germans claimed cultural racial superiority to everyone in the world.

If they did not have the habit of looking down other people, why did it suddenly occur to them when they traveled across the sea?

And, if you think there has never been any “colony” in Europe, why do we see remains of Roman colonies in Great Britain?

http://whatjapanthinks.com Ken Y-N

Scotland wasn’t colonised, the Scottish parliament voted to join England and Wales after the union of the crowns.

Smithy

Not through lack of trying. Edward I of England (aka Hammer of the Scots) occupied parts of Scotland for a while until his son was thoroughly drubbed at Bannockburn.
ampicillin

The acts of union 1707 were more an act of a country betraying itself. The men in parliament had a lot to gain from it, so the union went ahead against the wishes of the people. In the end, Scotland wasn’t annexed, it was sold. This, however, was only after centuries of war and previous, albeit temporary, annexation (as smithy pointed out) which included cultural oppression and racism.

Matiasu

South Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Greece, Finland and Ireland are just a few amount of European countries that were “colonized” by neighbouring countries.

http://www.billowykimono.com Senor Science

Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and the Levant would dispute that.

Buster

If you are referring to the Osman Empires domination, you might have a point.

http://tepido.org/ LB

“Osman Empire”?

Did you mean “Osmond empire”?

Matiasu

You’re both talking about the Ottoman Empire.
http://tepido.org/ LB

@Matiasu – I knew that. The Osmond Empire is based in Utah anyway…

RMilner

I think it is nice that a Korean cartoon has actually recognised the Japanese apology. Perhaps this can be the start of some healing between the countries.

http://www.japanprobe.com James

It’s not a Korean cartoon. It’s a cartoon by a foreign freelancer [Stephane Peray] syndicated in an English language newspaper published in Korea.

RMilner

That’s a pity. Still, we can hope some Koreans may pick up on it.

Hamachiman

What??

You mean to tell me Japan has actually apologized to Korea?

Wow, I neeeeever knew….

(sarcasm in full mode)

znah

in another lifetime you will be reborn as a Japanese, like you always dreamed

Klauscore

So, for instance Germany – certainly the closest historically parallel to the Japanese behavior during that time- hasn’t apologized for it’s conduct in WW 2? I’d disagree. For instance, there is a huuuge monument in the center of Berlin commemorating the victims of Germany’s crimes during that area. I haven’t discovered anything comparable in Tokyo yet, really. There is the revisionist war museum instead.

nigelboy

You mean the a monument commemorating the victims of the Holocaust right? Well of course there aren’t any in Tokyo because the Holocaust in of itself is a whole different animal that only Nazi should get credited for. What we’re discussing is the issue of colonization in which Japan had made apology and compensation to.
Day-Bee-Toe

“Germany – certainly the closest historically parallel to the Japanese behavior during that time- hasn’t apologized for it’s conduct in WW 2?”

If you were talking about the Wehrmacht, not Nazi, I’d agree. It’s true what the Japanese Army did at that time was incredibly horrible but it can’t be compared with Nazi, which itself was aimed to realize their evil plan. Contrary to the Nazi SS, the Japanese Army were terribly organized, didn’t educated their soldiers enough and acted without mature plans.

To sum up, the Japanese army’s “closest historically parallel” is the Russian Red Army and the Chinese Communist and Nationalist Army, which killed even more Chinese civilians than the Japanese.

Japanese Apology to Korea [Political Cartoon]

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