The Dokdo/Takeshima and comfort women issues are very sensitive topics in Korea. Korea claims that Japan refuses to formally apologize or has not done enough to apologize for its wartime atrocities, one of which is the use of comfort women, and both sides dispute each others’ claims to the Liancourt Rocks, known as “Dokdo” in Korea and “Takeshima” in Japan.
A song was spawned on the Korean side in regards to the islands, and a foreign professor who taught at a Korean university was fired for blogging about Dokdo/Takeshima and questioning Korea’s claim to the island. Some Koreans have protested the island issue by eating Japanese flags, slicing off their fingers, beating birds to death with hammers on top of Japanese flags, stabbing themselves in the gut, throwing cement at Japanese ambassadors, covering themselves with thousands of bees, and setting themselves on fire. For Chinese netizen reactions to such fits of passion, head over to our sister site chinaSMACK.
A Japanese right-wing politician named Nobuyuki Suzuki recently caused outrage in Korea when he erected a post next to the comfort women statue by the War & Women’s Human Rights Museum in Mapo-gu, Seoul. After putting up the post, he apparently tried to tie the post around the statue and took pictures and shot video of it, later uploading it to Youtube and his personal blog. (Police later removed the post.)
From YouTube:
He also referred to the comfort women as “prostitutes” and the statues and memorials dedicated them as “prostitute monuments”. Japan has protested the erection of similar monuments before – seemingly no matter where they are in the world.
In an effort to offend as many Koreans as possible, he also added the Dokdo issue into the mix by writing (in Korean) on the post “Takeshima is Japanese land”:
Dokdo, and its surrounding sea, is something koreaBANG has touched on before, so much so that a US-based communications company contacted us on behalf of the South Korean consulate asking us if we would post a follow up article about the East Sea/Sea of Japan naming dispute.
But what’s the real story? The name of the sea or the fact that the government is employing communications firms to pester the press about territorial naming conventions? This comes at a time when South Korea is working hard on an “East Sea” PR campaign, as the below advert, which is circulating in many major publications, shows:
An anchor on SBS‘ TV show “News At 8” recently took Japan and Suzuki to task on the Dokdo and comfort women issues.
From Nate:
Broadcaster Park Sun-young: “There Is No Takeshima Island In This World Or On The Map”
Park Sun-young , an anchorwoman on SBS’ “News At 8”, took a shot at Japanese right-wing groups in her closing segment.
On the 22nd, Park, on SBS’ “News At 8”, said, “While they are placing a big stake next to the Comfort Women Statue, Japan cannot find Takeshima Island on a map. There is, however, a Dokdo.”
She continued, “However, the Japanese did not make up [their claim to] Takeshima Island overnight or in a day. We cannot let our anger get the best of us, and we must prepare a logical and systematic approach to preserve history.”
Sometime earlier, a Japanese right-wing politician, Nobuyuki Suzuki, aroused controversy when he visited the Comfort Women Peace Museum and put a sign up saying Dokdo is Japanese land. He returned to Japan after committing such atrocities and boasted of his actions via the Internet, causing righteous indignation among netizens.
Park Sun-young (R)
Comments from Nate:
안현탁:
A newscaster speaking frankly to assert herself…she’s got my respect.
최정윤:
She spoke very emphatically. Well done.
배경열:
Park Sun-young is now the number one newscaster in Korea.
노경한:
We also need to properly and logically educate people about Dokdo using our history books. [Likely in reference to the Japanese textbook controversies]
오수민:
The map itself is evidence to us [that Dokdo is ours]!! [Japan] is robbing us…learning about how to deal with the Japanese would be the most important foundation. Don’t ignore continuous provocation!! We need to ban the sale of the iPhone 5 not just in Korea but other countries as well when it does not correctly mark Dokdo on its map!!
윤수민:
Oh ho…it is a good thing that we have this kind of broadcaster.
장현지:
I suddenly thought of Huh Jun-ho…there is a famous story that a Japanese reporter asked him what he thought of Dokdo and he suddenly took away the reporter’s pen…and asked how the reporter felt about it…ke ke ke
배경열:
There are SO MANY Japanese who even don’t know the location of Dokdo. In fact, most Japanese I meet think of Dokdo as simply disputed territory [between the two countries] and don’t even know where it is. These Japanese fools need to self-reflect -_- Go to Dokdo and see for yourself if there is even a bamboo plant there. They call Dokdo “bamboo island”…why don’t they pour a ton of cement onto an underwater rock and call it an “island”? Ke ke ke
박미애:
Really…why do they not think things through? I’m right, right ^^ There is no Takeshima Island, only Dokdo Island.
윤승규:
Japan is going to be in big trouble soon ke ke ke
류영석:
Even mainstream historians in Japan recognize Dokdo as Korean land. Japan’s claim to Dokdo has no basis in reality and their assertions to it are outside of history. They are musty people.
이승빈:
Why are our celebrities more interested in keeping the history of Korea than our Ministry of Foreign Affairs?
정예슬:
I’ve got goosebumps ㅜㅜ huh huh huh huh huh Very nice
류용현:
We can say “Dokdo is our land” all we want but those are just words; we also need to convince foreigners of this as well.
박주상:
[Quoting Park Sun-young] “However, the Japanese did not make up [their claim to] Takeshima Island overnight or in a day. We cannot let our anger get the best of us, and we must prepare a logical and systematic approach to preserve history.” Isn’t that the fucking truth. We shouldn’t just be angry…we should physically defend it as well.
정의빈:
99% of the comments on that Yahoo Japan article are praising the “Takeshima” name and saying the comfort women were prostitutes. There are hundreds, thousands of recommendations for these comments. And the people recommending these comments are not the Japanese right wing, which is the majority of Japanese netizens. The reality is that the Japanese right-wing is not a minority anymore. Because of the recession and earthquake crises the Japanese people today have fallen [morally]. We must not deal with this issue with great complacency.
조아라:
Where in the hell is Takeshima? I do not know ~~~
위대한:
Those monkeys want Dokdo because of its natural reserves. This is bullshit. I heard there is a wealth of coal reserves – 60 tons of it. Because [coal] is methane combustion, it will pollute the environment less; those monkeys, they want the economic value of Dokdo –!
하중근:
Japan is trying to undermine the truth…what a rubbish country.
문종민:
Monkeys! If Dokdo is your land, why can’t you just magnificently take it? Stop doing such despicable shit. It’s not your land, can’t you see that? Ke ke ke tsk tsk tsk
