Asahi Shimbun does not talk about the misdeeds of Roh Tae-woo, who demanded money from Japan
November 30, 2021
The following is from a regular column by Masayuki Takayama that appeared in the monthly magazine Themis, which specializes in subscriptions and arrived yesterday.
This article also proves that he is the one and only journalist in the world after the war.
It is a must-read not only for the Japanese but also for people worldwide.
Asahi Shimbun does not talk about the misdeeds of Roh Tae-woo, who demanded money from Japan
While relying on Japanese money, they refuse to accept Korean criminals living in Japan
The word "noteu" is only used between Japan and Korea
Roh Tae-woo is written in English as "Roh Tae Woo."
The correct pronunciation is "roteu" based on the spelling.
However, Koreans read it as "noteu".
It is because they find it difficult to pronounce the 'ra, ri, ru, re, ro, da, ji, du, de, do' that come at the beginning of words, so they pronounce them as 'na' row.
For example, they have been pronouncing the name of the Japanese word 'dokata' (adopted into Korean) as 'nogata', and Roh Tae Woo as 'noteu' on their own.
There is a theory that this is because they have short tongues, but I'm not sure.
In international society, they pronounce the English name 'Roh Tae Woo' as 'Roteu.'
The selfish Korean pronunciation of "R" as "N" is ignored.
However, for some reason, Japan seems to be trying to please the Koreans by following their pronunciation, and newspapers and TV shows still use "No Te U."
When Americans ask, "Who is that guy?"
They don't know that the Japanese newspapers are reading the question incorrectly, without any international perspective.
They would just shrug their shoulders.
The "Noteu" only understood by Japanese and Koreans died the other day.
He was 88 years old.
Although most Japanese people don't know or care about the South Korean president from half a century ago, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper ran a three-column headline obituary on the front page.
That wasn't enough, and it also had Seoul correspondent Takuya Suzuki write a critical biography with a four-column headline on the international page.
To summarize the biography, Roh Tae-woo "successfully hosted the Seoul Olympics, the second Olympics to be held in Asia after the Tokyo Olympics, against the backdrop of the rapid economic growth of the 1960s, the so-called Miracle on the Han River. He also established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and China and even achieved UN membership, making the world aware of the greatness of Korea."
However, after completing his term, he was arrested along with Chun Doo-hwan on charges of amassing ill-gotten wealth and involvement in the Gwangju massacre.
The "great president" was suddenly reduced to an unforgivable criminal.
For people from other countries, the bizarre nature of the country of Korea, which never tires of following the same old course, may leave an impression, but overall, it is a very local story.
The Seoul Olympics, where the judges were bribed
When I think of the Seoul Olympics, I remember the pigeons at the opening ceremony before Roh Tae-woo's name came up.
The pigeons that flew around the venue were perched on the torch stand, and then everyone became yakitori (grilled chicken) as soon as the torch was lit.
I also remember the boxing matches.
When the New Zealand referee announced a loss by foul to the Korean boxer who was deliberately hitting his opponent, the Korean coach jumped in and punched the referee, causing serious injury.
*Just as I was the first to learn of this fact, I'm sure most Japanese people were also the first to hear it*.
The Japanese media quickly erased this scene from their coverage, but if they had remembered it, the embarrassing 'Japan-Korea co-hosting' of the World Cup 10 years later would never have happened.
The Korean players at the World Cup were even worse than that boxer, kicking their opponents' heads and committing fouls at will.
What's more, the referees were bribed, and all the Korean players' fouls were overlooked.
The "Japan-Korea co-hosting" of the event was recorded as the biggest disgrace in the history of the World Cup.
However, Mr. Suzuki does not mention such facts.
On the contrary, he deliberately omits "Japan" from what is considered to be the achievements of Roh Tae-woo.
For example, there is the "Miracle on the Han River".
The starting point of the Miracle was Park Chung-hee's "I will send South Korean soldiers to the Vietnam War in place of the Japanese. In return, I want money and technology".
That is why Japanese technology and money made the shipbuilding, steel manufacturing, and automobile industries, which are known as the "Miracle on the Han River," possible.
One example of something they did on their own was the construction of the Seongsu Bridge over the Han River, but the bridge collapsed even though there was no wind, and 32 people died.
Japan left behind the infrastructure that made the Miracle possible, such as power generation, railways, and education, during its rule of Korea.
Japan's rule of Korea left other things behind.
The total value of assets left behind on the peninsula by the Japanese government and private citizens exceeds $5 billion.
The same is true of the Seoul Olympics, which are considered to be the outstanding achievement of Roh Tae-woo.
Japan gave South Korea $500 million under the Japan-South Korea Basic Treaty (1965), $4 billion in economic aid during the Nakasone era (1983), and another $10 billion in support for the Olympics.
Their reliance on handouts became the norm.
In the early 1990s, while they were pledging to become independent and stop relying on aid forever, they received $4 billion in support after the Asian currency crisis, which they couldn't even manage for a few years.
A symbol of South Korea that can't be dealt with
It's not just about money.
When Roh Tae-woo was running for president, there was a terrorist bombing of a Korean Airlines flight by a North Korean agent, Kim Hyon-hui.
She was apprehended by Japanese embassy staff in Bahrain.
The reason for the use of a Japanese passport was that there were suspicions that she had abducted Japanese citizens.
In fact, Kim Hyon-hui quite willingly revealed the existence of a Japanese teacher, Ri Eun-hye, but the Japanese government handed her over to South Korea immediately so as not to provoke anti-Japanese sentiment in South Korea.
Kim Hyon-hui confessed in detail to the crimes of North Korea, and this became a point in Roh Tae-woo's favor, and he was able to become president.
However, as a result, the resolution of the abduction issue of the Japanese was delayed to Roh Tae-woo's advantage, and we had to wait for another 14 years until North Korea admitted to the abductions.
Roh Tae-woo also harassed Japan in other ways.
The issue of the Zainichi.
They were not Japanese, but they received public assistance and caused many crimes.
They even committed murder, and after serving their sentences, they returned to Japanese society.
However, the special resident status stipulates that if a person is convicted of a crime that carries a sentence of seven years or more in prison, or if they are convicted of murder, they will be deported.
There were already dozens of such cases.
When Roh Tae-woo visited Japan to demand that they take back these people, the Japanese side, having lost the argument, gave up on repatriating them.
The South Korean government shares Roh Tae-woo's idea that the law is there to be trampled on.
When they abused the special treatment given to South Korea as a 'white country' (i.e., a country that was not subject to the same sanctions as the West), the Japanese government was to blame for removing South Korea from the list.
That was the attitude of the Japanese government.
For the Japanese, Roh Tae-woo has become a symbol of a South Korea that is impossible to deal with.
A biography is only meaningful if it is written in this way.
I hope that Suzuki will reflect on this.
November 30, 2021
The following is from a regular column by Masayuki Takayama that appeared in the monthly magazine Themis, which specializes in subscriptions and arrived yesterday.
This article also proves that he is the one and only journalist in the world after the war.
It is a must-read not only for the Japanese but also for people worldwide.
Asahi Shimbun does not talk about the misdeeds of Roh Tae-woo, who demanded money from Japan
While relying on Japanese money, they refuse to accept Korean criminals living in Japan
The word "noteu" is only used between Japan and Korea
Roh Tae-woo is written in English as "Roh Tae Woo."
The correct pronunciation is "roteu" based on the spelling.
However, Koreans read it as "noteu".
It is because they find it difficult to pronounce the 'ra, ri, ru, re, ro, da, ji, du, de, do' that come at the beginning of words, so they pronounce them as 'na' row.
For example, they have been pronouncing the name of the Japanese word 'dokata' (adopted into Korean) as 'nogata', and Roh Tae Woo as 'noteu' on their own.
There is a theory that this is because they have short tongues, but I'm not sure.
In international society, they pronounce the English name 'Roh Tae Woo' as 'Roteu.'
The selfish Korean pronunciation of "R" as "N" is ignored.
However, for some reason, Japan seems to be trying to please the Koreans by following their pronunciation, and newspapers and TV shows still use "No Te U."
When Americans ask, "Who is that guy?"
They don't know that the Japanese newspapers are reading the question incorrectly, without any international perspective.
They would just shrug their shoulders.
The "Noteu" only understood by Japanese and Koreans died the other day.
He was 88 years old.
Although most Japanese people don't know or care about the South Korean president from half a century ago, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper ran a three-column headline obituary on the front page.
That wasn't enough, and it also had Seoul correspondent Takuya Suzuki write a critical biography with a four-column headline on the international page.
To summarize the biography, Roh Tae-woo "successfully hosted the Seoul Olympics, the second Olympics to be held in Asia after the Tokyo Olympics, against the backdrop of the rapid economic growth of the 1960s, the so-called Miracle on the Han River. He also established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and China and even achieved UN membership, making the world aware of the greatness of Korea."
However, after completing his term, he was arrested along with Chun Doo-hwan on charges of amassing ill-gotten wealth and involvement in the Gwangju massacre.
The "great president" was suddenly reduced to an unforgivable criminal.
For people from other countries, the bizarre nature of the country of Korea, which never tires of following the same old course, may leave an impression, but overall, it is a very local story.
The Seoul Olympics, where the judges were bribed
When I think of the Seoul Olympics, I remember the pigeons at the opening ceremony before Roh Tae-woo's name came up.
The pigeons that flew around the venue were perched on the torch stand, and then everyone became yakitori (grilled chicken) as soon as the torch was lit.
I also remember the boxing matches.
When the New Zealand referee announced a loss by foul to the Korean boxer who was deliberately hitting his opponent, the Korean coach jumped in and punched the referee, causing serious injury.
*Just as I was the first to learn of this fact, I'm sure most Japanese people were also the first to hear it*.
The Japanese media quickly erased this scene from their coverage, but if they had remembered it, the embarrassing 'Japan-Korea co-hosting' of the World Cup 10 years later would never have happened.
The Korean players at the World Cup were even worse than that boxer, kicking their opponents' heads and committing fouls at will.
What's more, the referees were bribed, and all the Korean players' fouls were overlooked.
The "Japan-Korea co-hosting" of the event was recorded as the biggest disgrace in the history of the World Cup.
However, Mr. Suzuki does not mention such facts.
On the contrary, he deliberately omits "Japan" from what is considered to be the achievements of Roh Tae-woo.
For example, there is the "Miracle on the Han River".
The starting point of the Miracle was Park Chung-hee's "I will send South Korean soldiers to the Vietnam War in place of the Japanese. In return, I want money and technology".
That is why Japanese technology and money made the shipbuilding, steel manufacturing, and automobile industries, which are known as the "Miracle on the Han River," possible.
One example of something they did on their own was the construction of the Seongsu Bridge over the Han River, but the bridge collapsed even though there was no wind, and 32 people died.
Japan left behind the infrastructure that made the Miracle possible, such as power generation, railways, and education, during its rule of Korea.
Japan's rule of Korea left other things behind.
The total value of assets left behind on the peninsula by the Japanese government and private citizens exceeds $5 billion.
The same is true of the Seoul Olympics, which are considered to be the outstanding achievement of Roh Tae-woo.
Japan gave South Korea $500 million under the Japan-South Korea Basic Treaty (1965), $4 billion in economic aid during the Nakasone era (1983), and another $10 billion in support for the Olympics.
Their reliance on handouts became the norm.
In the early 1990s, while they were pledging to become independent and stop relying on aid forever, they received $4 billion in support after the Asian currency crisis, which they couldn't even manage for a few years.
A symbol of South Korea that can't be dealt with
It's not just about money.
When Roh Tae-woo was running for president, there was a terrorist bombing of a Korean Airlines flight by a North Korean agent, Kim Hyon-hui.
She was apprehended by Japanese embassy staff in Bahrain.
The reason for the use of a Japanese passport was that there were suspicions that she had abducted Japanese citizens.
In fact, Kim Hyon-hui quite willingly revealed the existence of a Japanese teacher, Ri Eun-hye, but the Japanese government handed her over to South Korea immediately so as not to provoke anti-Japanese sentiment in South Korea.
Kim Hyon-hui confessed in detail to the crimes of North Korea, and this became a point in Roh Tae-woo's favor, and he was able to become president.
However, as a result, the resolution of the abduction issue of the Japanese was delayed to Roh Tae-woo's advantage, and we had to wait for another 14 years until North Korea admitted to the abductions.
Roh Tae-woo also harassed Japan in other ways.
The issue of the Zainichi.
They were not Japanese, but they received public assistance and caused many crimes.
They even committed murder, and after serving their sentences, they returned to Japanese society.
However, the special resident status stipulates that if a person is convicted of a crime that carries a sentence of seven years or more in prison, or if they are convicted of murder, they will be deported.
There were already dozens of such cases.
When Roh Tae-woo visited Japan to demand that they take back these people, the Japanese side, having lost the argument, gave up on repatriating them.
The South Korean government shares Roh Tae-woo's idea that the law is there to be trampled on.
When they abused the special treatment given to South Korea as a 'white country' (i.e., a country that was not subject to the same sanctions as the West), the Japanese government was to blame for removing South Korea from the list.
That was the attitude of the Japanese government.
For the Japanese, Roh Tae-woo has become a symbol of a South Korea that is impossible to deal with.
A biography is only meaningful if it is written in this way.
I hope that Suzuki will reflect on this.
