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My Opinion about Korea

TATENO, Suzu (Fukushima National College of Technology)

Hello, everyone.

What do you think about the relationship between Japan and Korea?

Whenever I say I love KPOP very much, my friends stare at me and say “We are Japanese, why do you like KPOP?” I think this often happens in the Japanese society. When KPOP and Korean drama became popular on TV, Japanese people held demonstrations at the TV station to stop broadcasting them. In addition to Korean pop-cultures, smart phones and cars made in Korea are also unwelcome in Japan. A famous Korean car company had advanced in the Japanese motor market, but it couldn’t be successful and eventually gave up on the Japanese market. Today, I’m going to give you my opinion about why the Korean products are not welcomed in Japan and how Japanese people can get along with Korean people in the future.

Japanese people and Korean people have a complicated relationship because of historical problem. Japan and Korea repeated battles many times and finally Japan colonized Korea. So they have negative feeling toward each other. In Japan, Korean products, KPOP and Korean drama are not accepted because of this historical problem. Yes, the historical problem is a big issue. But are there any reasons? One day I asked why Korean products were not accepted in Japan to a senior student. He said “I think Japanese people may be afraid of the Korean rapid development of industry and pop-culture so Japanese people cannot accept their products.”

Korean technologies, car systems and semiconductors used in smart phones have been developing quickly. Hyundai Motor Company in Korea has being increasing their sale. The sale of cars rose from 2.2 million in 2000, to 6.6 million in 2011. This was the fifth largest in the world. Samsung Electronics Company is popular as well as Apple in America. Not only industrial products, but KPOP and Korean drama also became very popular all over the world. European KPOP supporters requested more KPOP concerts be held in Europe. Japanese people may be impatient about the Korean rapid development and therefore they may not be able to welcome Korean products.

So how do Japanese people get along with Korean people in the future? I know the feeling of Japanese people. Let me talk about my story. I had been the top student in the class until recently. But last year, I couldn’t get good scores and lost the top position. I was really shocked at this result and thought “Perhaps, I can never get back to the top position. Other classmates will go and move ahead of me.” It was a really scary idea. After the exams, I did not want to meet and talk with the girl who became the top student. My response to her was similar to the Japanese response, in that Japanese people　cannot accept Korean products.

Fortunately I changed my attitude towards her because my teacher gave me a good advice. He said “You got a good rival. She will make you study harder.” I started to view her as a good rival. Then I was able to accept her again. Now we help each other when there is something we cannot understand. We also say “good luck” to each other to encourage ourselves before exam. I became keen to study, more than before. Having a good rival is wonderful. If you have a good rival, you will make an effort to compete with them.

Korean industrial products, KPOP and Korean drama are not welcomed. I thought the reason was not only just historical problem. But I realized there was another reason. Japanese people are afraid of the Korean rapid development and its expansion in the global market. It will take a long time to resolve the historical problem but, we, the next generation, have to move a step forward. What we need is changing the view towards Korea. Please consider Korea as a good rival. Being a good rival will help Japan and Korea develop together.