Unsettled Remains: Tensions over Unrepatriated Bodies from the Asia-Pacific War
The “remains issue” (ikotsu mondai) refers to controversies surrounding the bodily remains of Korean and Chinese nationals who died during the Asia-Pacific War in Japan and whose bodies have not yet been repatriated. Most were conscripts: soldiers, military personnel and forced labourers. After the War, the remains of Chinese forced labourers were largely repatriated to the bereaved families, but it is estimated that as many as two thousand Korean bodies may still be stored at temples and buried across the country.
Upcoming Canada-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement – Lessons Learned from Korea
Memo #192 – Canada and Japan are set to begin negotiations to develop an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) on November 26th, 2012. Canada hasn’t completed a preferential trade agreement with any of its Asia Pacific partners, and Japan has yet to finalize an EPA with a G8 country. As negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Korea have entered their seventh year and as regional competitors, like Australia, are forging new trade partnerships in Asia, Canada feels pressured to assert itself in the region. If Canada can learn from the stalled Korean negotiations, the Canada-Japan EPA can become the platform to accomplish such a task.
Tokdo/Takeshima Island Dispute: A Call for Educators to Act towards Mutual Understanding
Memo #184 – The tiny island that lies between Japan and Korea – Takeshima (竹島) in Japan and Tokdo (독도) in Korea – is at the centre of a territorial dispute and serious bilateral tension. This is nothing new. The island, along with other remnants of Japan’s colonial aggression in Korea, has sparked diplomatic issues throughout postwar history. Despite unprecedented levels of cultural, academic, and economic exchange between the two nations, the dispute continues to be defined by a persistent legacy of colonialism and growing nationalism. Japanese and Korean political leaders demand that educators legitimate territorial claims by including these in their national curricula. But if educators comply uncritically, we will undermine future generations’ development of mutual understanding and respect.
竹島・獨島(ドクト)領土問題で教育の果たす役割とは:日韓相互理解へ向けて
Memo #184 (English translation available) – 日本と韓国の間に浮かぶ小島 ―日本側呼称は竹島、韓国側呼称は獨島(トクト)― を巡る領有権争いが、二国間に緊張関係をもたらしている。もちろん、この手の問題は何も目新しいことではなく、今件のような日本の過去の植民地政策の残滓は両国間の外交問題として戦後たびたび浮上してきた。今回の緊張関係に目新しい点があるとすれば、近年日韓の距離がとりわけ文化面において急速に縮まった中で、これが生じている点であろう。交流増加の一方で、依然として二国関係が過去の暴力の記憶と内向きなナショナリズムによって規定されていることを、今回の出来事は物語っている。領土問題が外交問題化するや否や、両国の政治家たちは挙って自己の領有権を正当化することを教育現場に指示した。だが教師たちがこの方針に無批判に従うならば、二国間の相互理解と尊重を将来の世代に育むという理想は更に遠のいてしまう。
독도/다케시마 영토 분쟁을 교육적 계기로 활용하자
Memo #184 (English translation available) – 최근 한일 양국 사이에 위치한 작은 섬 – 한국명 독도, 일본명 다케시마-을 둘러싸고 외교적 긴장 관계가 조성되고 있다. 물론 이와 같은 긴장관계가 조성된 것이 이번이 처음은 아니다. 일제의 한반도 강점은 독도 문제를 포함한 많은 식민주의의 상흔들을 한국에 남겼는데, 이런 상흔들은 전후 동아시아에서 발생한 여러 차례의 외교적 갈등의 도화선으로 작용하곤 했다. 최근 양국 사이에는 일찍이 두 나라가 경험해 보지 못한 수준의 경제적, 문화적 교류가 활발하게 진행되고 있었다. 하지만, 독도를 둘러싸고 벌어진 양국의 배타적인 민족주의의 발흥은 그 동안 이룩한 협력의 성과를 무색하게 하고 있다. 이런 상황 속에서 양국의 위정자들은 교육자들에게 독도에 대한 각국의 영유권 주장을 정당화하는 민족주의적 국가교육과정을 학생들에게 가르치도록 요구하고 있다. 만약 교육자들이 맹목적으로 이 요구를 수용한다면, 우리는 양국에 대한 상호 이해와 존중이라는 교육적으로 유의미한 가치를 다음 세대들에게 교육할 매우 귀중한 기회를 잃게 될 것이다.
Japan and South Korea’s History Divide
Memo #165 – Despite the United States’ shift in strategic attention to the Asia Pacific, fiscal constraints and defence spending cuts highlight the need for greater military cooperation among Asian partner countries. There are myriad security issues in the region. Japan and South Korea, the two key US allies in Asia, are significant actors in this context. But enhanced defence cooperation continues to be hampered by controversies regarding Japan’s history of aggression on the Korean peninsula. In mid-May, Seoul cancelled the planned signing of two military accords with Tokyo, citing domestic criticism on any military pact amid unresolved bilateral history issues.
South Korea’s Immigrant Incorporation Strategy
Memo #127 – In July 2002, the mayor of Seoul conferred honourary residency status on Guus Hiddink, a Dutch soccer manager who advanced the Korean soccer team to the World Cup quarter finals. In contrast, in October 2009 the government deported Minu, a migrant worker and activist from Nepal, who had lived in Korea for 18 years and had been active in organizing migrant workers. These two vignettes demonstrate how the Korean government treats immigrants differentially.
한국정부의 이민자 정책
Memo #127 – 2002년 월드컵의 열기가 채가시기 전인 2002년 7월에, 서울시는 당시 대한민국 축구 국가대표팀 감독이었던 거스 히딩크 감독에게 명예 서울 시민증을 수여했다 반면 2009년 10월 한국에 18년 동안 있으면서 이주노동자 운동에 앞장섰던 네팔인 미누씨를 강제추방했다. 이 두 사건은 한국 정부의 차별적 이주자 정책을 단적으로 보여 준다.
Foreign Workers and the Wildfires of Democracy in East Asia
Memo #111 – As democratic movements spread to the Middle East and North Africa, hopeful observers and nervous authoritarian leaders wondered when they will reach Asia. In fact, they already arrived there in the late 1980s. But another East Asian democratic revolution has been taking place over the past decade, brought about by foreign workers.
Key Issues Facing East Asia – (Video Interview with Dr. Tun-jen Cheng)
Memo #67 – In this interview, Dr. Tun-jen Cheng discusses a range of key issues facing East Asia today, including religion, governance, economics, and politics. When speaking about a religious revival in China, Dr. Cheng notes that Christianity is accepted by many new middle class urbanites as a source of inspiration and a symbol of modernity and greatness. Dr. Cheng then gives an account of the challenges facing East Asian democracies. Most notably, he mentions the public’s complaints about the shortage of horizontal accountability – the checks and balances between various branches and units of government. Nonetheless, he concludes that East Asian democracies are quite robust when compared to systems in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.