![[Wang Son-taek] Have been they not Koreans?](https://i0.wp.com/res.heraldm.com/content/image/2024/08/28/20240828050730_0.jpg?w=860&resize=860,0&ssl=1 "[Wang Son-taek] Have been they not Koreans?")
A nasty specter of historic revisionism has once more shaken the Republic of Korea. This time, a remark in query got here from Kim Moon-soo, the labor minister nominee.
Throughout his affirmation listening to in parliament, he denied the nationality of Koreans within the Japanese occupation interval from 1910 to 1945. He asserted, “Our nation was fully taken over and forcibly integrated in Japan. How might there be such a factor as (Korean) nationality?”
Shockingly, there exists a faction in Korea generally known as the “new proper,” who share the idea that the Republic of Korea didn’t exist in the course of the occupation interval. Though they have been considered a minor group, many members of the group have been appointed because the heads of the foremost nationwide establishments because the inauguration of President Yoon Suk-yeol. This rising development necessitates totally explaining why their argument is absurd and nonsensical.
At the start, it’s essential to emphasise that the 1910 treaty between Korea and Japan, which purportedly made Korea part of Japan, is invalid. The treaty was part of the coercive absorption course of by Imperial Japan because the Korea-Japan Protocol of February 1904 when Japan began a conflict in opposition to Russia.
The protocol allowed Japan to station troops in Korea and exert management over Korean home and overseas affairs, starting the colonial rule for six years and laying the groundwork for the eventual annexation of Korea in 1910. The treaties in the course of the colonial rule have been all basically null and void as they have been signed in a coercive ambiance. Regardless of the sovereignty being severely disfigured and the land being stolen, our individuals remained Korean. Although Japan insists on their validity, our authorities rightly maintains that the treaties have been invalid from the outset. On this scenario, it’s pure for Koreans to take the place that these treaties weren’t efficient in any respect.
Past the validity of the treaty, one other essential motive why Koreans shouldn’t have been thought-about Japanese in the course of the occupation interval is the existence of the Provisional Authorities of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai and different elements of China. This authorities functioned as a professional authorities, with formal establishments, budgetary operations, and lively diplomatic and army engagements.
The worldwide group handled the Provisional Authorities as a professional entity, particularly throughout World Struggle II, when it declared conflict on Japan and Germany and contributed troops to the Allied Forces in areas equivalent to Myanmar, Saipan and the Philippines. The primary president of Korea, Syngman Rhee, had finished lots of diplomatic actions within the US within the identify of a consultant of the Republic of Korea in the course of the occupation interval.
When the leaders of the nice powers met in Cairo, Egypt, in 1943, they declared that “conscious of the enslavement of the individuals of Korea,” they have been “decided that sooner or later Korea shall turn out to be free and impartial.” This declaration is vivid proof that the worldwide group acknowledged Korea as a distinct nation from Japan. In 1945, the provisional authorities even collaborated with American intelligence items in joint operations to reclaim the homeland.
Even when the above arguments will not be absolutely accepted, it is necessary for Koreans to comply with that the Structure of the Republic of Korea declares that it inherits the authorized continuity of the Provisional Authorities. This declaration affirms that the Republic of Korea was not shaped as a result of give up of Japan however fairly as a continuation of the Korean state that existed earlier than and through that interval.
Though our ancestors might have held Japanese citizenship on paper in the course of the annexation interval, the papers have been of no power after the liberation by the Korean authorities‘s choice. The choice ought to apply retroactively to the occupation interval. Subsequently, there isn’t a motive for Koreans, particularly those that wish to get a authorities job, to treat our ancestors in the course of the bitter interval as Japanese.
Claiming that our ancestors have been Japanese is tantamount to endorsing the narrative of the aggressor, Japan — a betrayal to those that sacrificed their lives for Korea‘s independence. The persistence of this distorted view of historical past might be attributed to the profitable efforts of the tiny group of descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators, who’ve yearned to revise historical past books that describe their forefathers as traitors and collaborators.
Plainly they don’t know which nation they belong to. These people, together with Japan‘s right-wing forces, have labored to change the narrative of historical past to their benefit. They’ve exploited the ideas of liberal democracy, together with the liberty of expression.
When a society is full of individuals who possess widespread sense and motive, there’s little room for such revisionist narratives to take maintain. Nonetheless, the present scenario reveals a regarding lack of such people, highlighting our want to deal with this.
Historic revisionism poses essential threats to society. It displays a failure to study from the tragic occasions of the previous and may result in the damaging perception that violence and illegality are justified in the event that they end in victory. This mindset threatens to destabilize the present social order. To just accept such distorted views is to embrace barbarism; to reject them is the hallmark of a civilized society.
The Republic of Korea is a civilized nation, so we should reject any makes an attempt to distort our historical past. To realign to Japan‘s narrative is to disclaim our nationwide id and the struggles of our ancestors. It’s crucial that we acknowledge and affirm that our ancestors in the course of the Japanese occupation have been Koreans, not Japanese, each legally and traditionally.
In conclusion, the individuals of Korea maintained their id as Koreans all through the Japanese occupation interval. Any makes an attempt to counsel in any other case will not be solely traditionally inaccurate but additionally deeply insulting to the legacy of those that fought for Korea‘s independence. Our responsibility as a civilized individuals is to right these distortions and uphold the reality of our nationwide historical past.
Wang Son-taek
Wang Son-taek is an adjunct professor at Sogang College. He’s a former diplomatic correspondent at YTN and a former analysis affiliate at Yeosijae. The views expressed listed here are the author’s personal. — Ed.
