Links of interest

[thomas]

Here are some interesting links related to the topic, representing the whole range of opinions:

http://www.jiyuu-shikan.org/e/

http://witness.peacenet.or.kr/kindex.htm

http://www5b.biglobe.ne.jp/~korea-su...%20ekorea.html

http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~soh/comfortwomen.html

[larry_s]

Also want to add a page I just found.
"Comfort women": http://www.hk.co.kr/event/jeonshin/e_homepage.htm

While I generally believe that Japan could actually do more to recompensate former military comfort women, I can't help noticing that many of the sites listed here, such as the one I posted could be categorized as 'hate pages'. Please don't forget that both Korea's followed (and in the case of North Korea, still follow) a strict policy of anti-Japanese propaganda. There is still a lot of institutionalized hatred against everything Japanese, despite the fact that contemporary Japanese culture is getting very popular in South Korea (it was already very popular before, but had to be smuggled into the country). However, things have brightened up since Obuchi's official apology in 1998, so let's hope that the last obstacles to reconciliation between Korea and Japan will soon fall.

[thomas]

Larry,

as you have stated, fifty years of anti-Japanese indoctrination won't be overcome too easily. Generally, I think that the younger people in both countries do not hold the same grudge towards each other as those who have actually experienced the war themselves. I see that issue quite pragmatic: anime and JPop are stronger than dogma and restrictive policies. ;)

[jirzji]

same thing goes for China.
On the other hand Japan made a capital mistake to wait too long time with its apologies, which are still conceived as not being complete by both China and Korea, thus still giving space to feeding anti-Japanese feelings.
If Japan would have settled this shortly after the war, in a similar way like Germany did, it could be all different now.