Online interview between Jeong Yeong-hwan & Pak Noja
The issue of the 'comfort women’ that needs to be viewed from a post-division perspective DAY 2

Pak Noja

A1.
Yes, as Dr. Jeong Yeong-hwan has brilliantly pointed out, in fact, there is not much more we can ‘ask’ the movement camp to do. Although it may not have been the case from the beginning, in this case, activists have already recognized the issue of the 'comfort women' as part of the universal wartime sexual violence issue, and are therefore engaged in conjoint activities. What appeared particularly valuable to me was that the sexual slavery victims of the 'comfort women’, like Kim Bok-dong, who died recently, joined hands with the victims of the sexual violence of the Korean military in Vietnam. At the same time, strengthening solidarity with the victims of wartime sexual violence in the Congo and other places - as Dr. Jeong Yeong-hwan pointed out above - is a very valuable achievement.

The problem is, as Dr. Jeong Yeong-hwan has mentioned, above all, the media, the educational system, and taking things further, the political circles. Do the media often tell Korean viewers that, for example, women from China, the Philippines, or Papua New Guinea were kidnapped, imprisoned, and sexually enslaved? Perhaps the majority of Koreans are unaware of the fact that some of the ‘comfort woman’ victims include women from the Netherlands, India, and Papua New Guinea. Even textbooks do not describe in detail the international nature or global scale of the war crime of the 'comfort women'. While it is fair and reasonable to hold Japan responsible as a state, at the same time, the political circles in Korea must also take full responsibility for the victims of the sexual violence of the Korean military during the Vietnam War. To be specific, at least the President or the National Assembly needs to offer a public apology, make compensation, and enforce the measures to prevent a recurrence, such as accurately describing the crimes committed by the Korean military during the Korean War in textbooks, thereby coming forward and highlighting the actions as to how to ‘reflect’ on ourselves in a concrete manner.

Jeong Yeong-hwan

A1.
This is a question that is difficult to answer for me as I carry out researches or activities in Japan. This is because the perception that the issue of the ‘comfort women’ is dealt with in a monolithic way and being politically exploited is similar to the view of the Japanese liberals on this issue. I disagree with the view that it is equivalent to the anti-Korean and anti-Japanese sentiments, and especially to the critical approach towards the issue of ‘comfort women’ in the Japanese military. It is true that the general public in Korean society has consistently exhibited their interest in the issue of the 'comfort women', and they have played a positive role in addressing this issue.

If I were to answer the question while reserving that point, I believe that the popular campaign in South Korea should not end in Korea only. As the victim Kim Hak-soon said in her testimony, this issue is fundamentally a Japanese issue. The victims come from diverse regions and so is the aspect of damage. However, one common feature is that all the victims were victims of sexual slavery for the war of aggression waged by the Japanese military, or the Emperor's army, to be exact. In that sense, the attempts made in South Korea, such as healing the victims and sharing their experiences, and forming various cultural recreations, are indeed valuable, but at the same time, how does the Japanese government take responsibility for this issue, what kind of education have they provided thereafter, and whether Japanese people face up to and remember their country's past atrocities, all of these become an essential issue to reach a 'solution'.

To elaborate further, the issue of the ‘comfort women’ in the Japanese military is still not seen a major task for the movement even among groups of Korean residents in Japan including Chongryon. The internal culture of Chongryon itself also has many problems in terms of gender equality and gender justice. It would be accurate to describe that activists - primarily female activists - who attempt to combat gender inequality within the movements of Korean residents in Japan are also voluntarily starting to practice the issue of the ‘comfort women’ based on a 'diverse and broad perspective'.

Recently, on April 23 each year, young Korean residents in Japan have staged various actions on the issue of the ‘comfort women’ in the Japanese military in commemoration of the testimony of the victim Bae Bong-gi, which is a leading example. This is the day when the testimony of the victim Bae Bong-gi was first reported by the official organ of Chongryon, <Choson Shinbo> in 1977. It would be an 'anniversary' not visible from the perspective of being confined to South Korea. During the period of such heated division and confrontation in the 1970s, it would have been inconceivable for South Korea to properly accept such a testimony and be able to share its meaning. Due to this division and anti-communist perspective, it is necessary to inquire again into the history of liberation that South Korean society has been turning a blind eye to.

Q Pak Noja asks Jeong Yeong-hwan

I would like to ask Dr. Jeong Yeong-hwan to expand further on what the public perception is in Japanese society now towards the war crimes. First of all, to what extent do the general public perceive the facts of colonialism and war? I have heard several times that many of the young Japanese generation have never even learned that Joseon and Taiwan were once colonies of Japan and I would like to inquire about the general form and features of the popular ‘awareness’ in this section. Thank you!

A. Jeong Yeong-hwan answers Pak Noja.  

Dr. Pak Noja, thank you for raising such an important issue. It is the topic that I am both most passionate and concerned about. As you mentioned, not many opportunities have occurred for the young Japanese generation to acquire a solid knowledge of Japanese colonialism and the war of aggression. Originally, in many cases, it was not taught in class in modern and contemporary history, which did not account for a high proportion in the exam. In addition, once the winds of change gathered up and called for the need to teach the facts of wrongdoings in textbooks in the 1980s and throughout the 1990s, but as a result of a series of counterattacks led by the far-right since 1997, the description of facts regarding the wrongdoings, including the issue of the ‘comfort women’ in the Japanese military, has been significantly reduced. Therefore, a substantial number of students leave school knowing almost nothing about modern and contemporary history.

I have many opportunities to meet mostly first- and second-year students at university and some of them do not know or have little knowledge of the facts of colonialism or the war of aggression. However, what concerns me even more is that bookstores and the Internet are full of "anti-Korean" and "anti-Chinese" books and articles, and even when young people become interested in modern and contemporary history, the first information they encounter will be those popular historical books written from the colonial perspective. Not all of the students have an 'anti-Korean’ perception from the beginning, and there are some students who wish to learn about the wrongdoings committed by Japan, but the problem remains in that the channels for those young people with such interests to access proper information are too narrow.

However, when considering the form of 'awareness' among the Japanese public, including these young people, although the facts they are aware of are indeed important, in addition to that, more attention should be paid to how and in which form the media provide the format or frame for perceiving the facts. Currently, mass media such as TV repeatedly provide basic messages interpreting external relations with the ‘pro-Japanese/anti-Japanese’ frame. How much Japanese culture or Japanese people are welcomed from abroad, how much foreign tourists (mainly from European and North American countries) love Japan, and so on, thus the so-called grand feast of ‘Sugoi (amazing)’ takes place.

On the other hand, criticisms that point to the facts of aggression or wrongdoings are represented as 'anti-Japanese sentiment' that 'abhors' Japan with political intent. As demonstrated in the response towards the Supreme Court decision on the issue of forced mobilization in October 2018, Japanese society's perception to the issue of war crimes is predominantly repellent to any critical voices rather than embracing introspection. Shortly after the Supreme Court decision, Prime Minister Abe left a comment stating that, ‘it is an unthinkable judgment under international laws’, and the mainstream media basically agreed with his claim. TV and newspapers repeatedly provided an analysis that the Korea-Japan treaty of 1965 had finally ‘settled’ the issue but Korea violated this agreement, and this judgment is causing the deterioration of Korea-Japan relations. They argue that diplomatic relations have inevitably deteriorated because of the 'anti-Japanese' sentiment.

This 'pro-Japanese/anti-Japanese' frame is indeed quite powerful. People who are critical of the perceptions provided by mainstream media also argue that 'unlike what some media outlets claim, Korea is not 'anti-Japanese'. In other words, they doubt the framework itself and cannot face the voice of criticism against Japan. I may seem to be merely highlighting the negative aspect, but from my point of view, it is the reality in Japan that arouses such concern.

Q Jeong Yeong-hwan asks Pak Noja.

In this talk, 'division/post-division' became the main topic, but I would like to ask Dr. Pak Noja a question from a different angle. In other words, it is a question about Korean capitalism and the issue of the ‘comfort women’ in the Japanese military. If a problem exists with the way South Korean mainstream society views the issue of the 'comfort women', we may be able to raise the issue of the absence of a class perspective. When reenacting the issue of the 'comfort women’ within the framework of the discussion on the 'ethnic group', there will be no choice but to be lacking in a class perspective as well as a gender perspective. A connection may arise between the structure of sexual exploitation including migrant workers under Korean capitalism, the 'culture of prostitution', and a manner of representation of the 'comfort women’ in the Japanese military. How would you analyze these issues? Also, what approach do you think is necessary to overcome such issues?

A. Park Noja answers Jeong Young-hwan

Dr. Jeong Yeong-hwan, yes, I have thought about these issues quite often. Although many Korean intellectuals claim that 'nationalism is the problem', in fact, the notion of 'nationalism' is highly polysemous, and thus it is important to specify exactly "which" nationalism and “how” nationalism pose such a problem. Having the trauma of colonization is also a part that may be intertwined with 'nationalism' in various ways, but it is meaningless to regard collective trauma toward colonization as a ‘problem’. As the sovereign country of the colony has never properly assumed responsibility for its past, and the ruling class of Korea has largely retained the colonial habits for a long period of time, it is only natural and inevitable for such severe trauma to remain intact. The real problem, the kind of nationalism that causes a large problem, is the ethnocentrism and nationalist stance, that is, the phenomena such as the so-called ‘principle of national interest first’ or the ‘Korea first principle’. Under the circumstances in Korea, these phenomena are also inextricably linked to the bad and supremacist attitude towards the regions where Korean capital is infiltrating, especially Southeast Asia.

In the food chain of the world system, Korean capitalist endeavors are already close to the core. While European and North American capital enterprises largely dominate Korea's financial sector, the Korean capital market is striving in the field of low-wage labor exploitation in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, and Korean media justify and take for granted the ruthless exploitation of workers in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Bangladesh for 'national interests'. Even the 'progressive press outlets' welcome the Korean capital of civil engineering to acquire interests in Myanmar and other places. Along with Korean capital, patriarchal and disgraceful conduct such as various sex tourism are exported in large quantities, the image of women from Southeast Asia who play the role of daughters-in-law for the Korean families and who satisfy the sexual desire of Korean men continue to appear in the Korean media. Banners such as "Marry a Vietnamese girl. She will never run away" could be found throughout Korea just 10 years ago. In this atmosphere of so-called sub-imperialism, the tragedy of sex slaves in places such as Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea naturally recede from the eyes and ears of the general public. To put it simply, as Korean capital is eagerly trailing European, North American, and Japanese capital, the sense of solidarity among Koreans with the “third world” continues to fade. It is a very important issue and one that domestic public opinions must continue to raise.

Continue to Online Interview between Jeong Yeong-hwan & Pak Noja The issue of the ‘comfort women’ that needs to be viewed from a post-division perspective DAY 2