[The Fountain] Victimhood-based nationalism
Published: 15 Feb. 2023, 19:57
YOON SUNG-MIN
The author is a political news editor of the JoongAng Ilbo.
Were Koreans during the Japanese colonial period only victims? If you look at the Wanbao Mountain Incident, that’s not necessarily the case. In April 1931, a conflict arose between Joseon farmers and Chinese farmers over the waterway construction for the reclamation of wasteland near Wanbao Mountain in Manchuria.
The Joseon farmers tried to resolve the case in their favor by using Japanese armed forces, and that’s how it was done. However, fake news reported that the Joseon farmers were attacked by the Chinese on July 2.
The discord between the Koreans and the Chinese spread to the Korean Peninsula. From July 3 to July 30, Koreans slaughtered and looted resident Chinese in Seoul, Pyongyang and Kaesong. According to an investigation by the League of Nations, the predecessor of the United Nations, 127 Chinese were killed and 393 were injured during that time. The actual damage is estimated to be greater.
As a result, over 1,000 Koreans — the victims of the colonial rule — were sentenced to prison and fined after they were deemed to be “offenders of genocide.” Sometimes, damage and assault cannot simply be divided into two.
Yet, the memory of sacrifice overwhelms the memory of harm. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 is recorded as an important incident in Korea because resident Koreans in Japan during the colonial period were massacred by the Japanese after the fake news quickly spread that “the Joseon people poisoned the wells.”
However, descriptions about Koreans being harsh toward neighboring countries as watchers of POWs during World War II — and Koreans collaborating with the Japanese in the Wanbao Mountain Incident — are not included in Korean history textbooks.
Sogang University professor Lim Jie-hyun, a scholar on transnational history, calls it “victimhood-based nationalism.” The perception of absolutizing the sacrifices of their own people creates exclusive nationalism and fades the memories of their doing harm.
The victim mentality of Israel, notably represented by the Holocaust, works as a defense mechanism to pardon their attacks on Palestine. In the same vein, Japan’s experience of atomic bombs dilutes the memories of their cruelty during the colonial rule.
Korea was a victim but also an offender at times. On Feb. 7, a Korean court recognized the government’s responsibility for compensation for the massacre of 74 civilians during a military operation by Korean troops in the village of Phong Nhi during the Vietnam War. The court defined the slaughter as “a clearly illegal act.’’
The Korean government has not made an official apology yet to the Vietnamese victims. On related articles, comments were posted that “it was inevitable during the war.” While Korea experienced a history of many sacrifices, what can be called “collective innocence” is not recognized in all cases. “My sacrifice” is no more noble than “your sacrifice.”
The author is a political news editor of the JoongAng Ilbo.
Were Koreans during the Japanese colonial period only victims? If you look at the Wanbao Mountain Incident, that’s not necessarily the case. In April 1931, a conflict arose between Joseon farmers and Chinese farmers over the waterway construction for the reclamation of wasteland near Wanbao Mountain in Manchuria.
The Joseon farmers tried to resolve the case in their favor by using Japanese armed forces, and that’s how it was done. However, fake news reported that the Joseon farmers were attacked by the Chinese on July 2.
The discord between the Koreans and the Chinese spread to the Korean Peninsula. From July 3 to July 30, Koreans slaughtered and looted resident Chinese in Seoul, Pyongyang and Kaesong. According to an investigation by the League of Nations, the predecessor of the United Nations, 127 Chinese were killed and 393 were injured during that time. The actual damage is estimated to be greater.
As a result, over 1,000 Koreans — the victims of the colonial rule — were sentenced to prison and fined after they were deemed to be “offenders of genocide.” Sometimes, damage and assault cannot simply be divided into two.
Yet, the memory of sacrifice overwhelms the memory of harm. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 is recorded as an important incident in Korea because resident Koreans in Japan during the colonial period were massacred by the Japanese after the fake news quickly spread that “the Joseon people poisoned the wells.”
However, descriptions about Koreans being harsh toward neighboring countries as watchers of POWs during World War II — and Koreans collaborating with the Japanese in the Wanbao Mountain Incident — are not included in Korean history textbooks.
Sogang University professor Lim Jie-hyun, a scholar on transnational history, calls it “victimhood-based nationalism.” The perception of absolutizing the sacrifices of their own people creates exclusive nationalism and fades the memories of their doing harm.
The victim mentality of Israel, notably represented by the Holocaust, works as a defense mechanism to pardon their attacks on Palestine. In the same vein, Japan’s experience of atomic bombs dilutes the memories of their cruelty during the colonial rule.
Korea was a victim but also an offender at times. On Feb. 7, a Korean court recognized the government’s responsibility for compensation for the massacre of 74 civilians during a military operation by Korean troops in the village of Phong Nhi during the Vietnam War. The court defined the slaughter as “a clearly illegal act.’’
The Korean government has not made an official apology yet to the Vietnamese victims. On related articles, comments were posted that “it was inevitable during the war.” While Korea experienced a history of many sacrifices, what can be called “collective innocence” is not recognized in all cases. “My sacrifice” is no more noble than “your sacrifice.”
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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