MUST READ” Anti-Jpn sentiment has always been a political weapon”

september 2019

The Perils of Populist Nationalism
Gi-Wook Shin

Disputes over historical issues are another candidate. Japan’s colonial rule and its insufficient apologies or compensation for the same are a frequent target of criticism. A careful examination of history, however, reveals that China invaded the Korean Peninsula far more often than Japan. Moreover, the Korean Peninsula may have been unified if China had not intervened in the Korean War. The catastrophic human cost of 3 million casualties could also have been avoided. It is puzzling
that South Koreans—who denounce Japan’s past history—do not apply the same standard to China.
This arises from the unique psychological attitude among Koreans toward China and Japan. Simply put, the origins of this attitude can be found in Korean nationalist sentiment, which was formed amidst the rise of modern Japan and Japanese colonial rule over Korea. Korea had recognized
Chinese hegemony over Northeast Asia, even adopting an attitude of sadae (submission to greater powers) in bilateral relations. By contrast, there was resistance toward recognizing Japan in the same way when it became a regional power in the modern era. This only intensified after Japan, which Koreans had regarded as a lesser power, annexed and colonized Korea. The gap between this perception and reality developed into a psychological complex. It is this factor that underlies the intense reaction toward Japan’s economic retaliation and the lack of a similar response in the face of similar actions by China

Opposing Japan has been a powerful political weapon for both North and South Korea, which also explains the excesses of nationalism during the era of division on the peninsula.
Nationalism has historically been an ideology of the right. The left criticized nationalism as an invention of the bourgeoisie. On the Korean Peninsula, however, nationalism is deeply ingrained in both Koreas and both the political left and right. One need not look any further than the current wave of anti-Japanese sentiment in South Korea, which is being led by the left. The right, anxious about being branded as traitors or collaborators, is reluctantly joining in the anti-Japanese struggle.China was accepted as a great power,but the Japanese were belittled with epithets like waegu or waenom.


The concept of ressentiment provides valuable insight into the current conflict between South Korea and Japan. Koreans possessed a conscious and subconscious sense of superiority toward Japan, just as Germany did toward the United Kingdom and France.


Consider, for example, the dispute over historical issues. Japan’s attitude is clearly problematic. ,,,,, no amount of apology by Japan will be truly regarded as sincere by Koreans. Most Koreans believe that Japan has not apologized for its past actions. Deep down, Koreans wish to deny the fact that Japan has ever apologized because its attitude was never sincere. This will not change until the day that South Korea
becomes more powerful than Japan


Nationalism can be the basis for anti-imperialist, anti-colonial movements,and it can also provide the psychological impetus for modernization among developing countries. In Korea, nationalism was the ideological foundation of both the struggle against Japanese colonial rule and economic modernization under Park Chung-hee.On the other hand, nationalism can also underlie imperialist or fascist ideology in autocratic regimes. Both North and South Korea aggressively used nationalism to build and consolidate authoritarian rule.


Two factors created an environment in which nationalism fused with chauvinism and populism: worsening economic inequality due to neoliberal globalization, and efforts to advance the rights and interests of minorities and immigrants. The former fueled chauvinism on the left, while the latter did so on the right. In South America, where left-wing populism is widespread, governments are stoking public sentiment by blaming the neoliberal economic order for economic collapse. In Europe and the United States, where right-wing chauvinism is on the rise, minorities and immigrants have become the political scapegoat



Inciting anti-Japanese sentiment with references to “Admiral Yi Sun-shin’s twelve ships” and the National Debt Repayment Movement of 1907, and by calling for a boycott of Japanese products is the very archetype of nationalistic or chauvinistic populism. By bringing this misguided patriotism to the fore, the Moon administration has avoided taking responsibility for ongoing economic difficulties and its neglect of bilateral relations with Japan.

By asserting the binary distinction of “pro- or anti-Japanese” and “patriots or traitors” and thus maximizing anti-Japanese sentiment, the Moon administration avoided taking the blame for its diplomatic misstep. There is no political weapon more effective than anti-Japanese sentiment.

As expected, approval ratings for President Moon and the ruling party skyrocketed.


The history of colonial rule and division has led to an excess of nationalism and a dearth of liberalism on the Korean Peninsula. Both North and South Korea, as well as the political left and the right, have unduly relied on nationalism instead of looking to liberalism



What would Popper make of South Korean society today?
He might have to revise his typology of the enemies of an open society. In South Korea, the enemy of open society is left-wing chauvinism, not right-wing fascism or left-wingMarxism

ナショナリズム論としても優れている。

ただ、小規模とはいえ、移民の受け入れを推進している安倍を欧州の極右と比べれるのは無理があろう。

結局、日本叩きの裡には華夷秩序に基づく日本に対する根深い民族差別意識があるわけで、韓国朝鮮のこの人種差別意識を今後はもっと訴えていくべき。