The article traces how Cold War pressure, secret diplomacy and Park Chung Hee’s resolve led Korea to normalize ties with Japan despite fierce opposition.
A replica of the signed 1965 Treaty on Basic Relations between the Republic of Korea and Japan is displayed at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History in Seoul. The treaty, signed on June 22, 1965, normalized diplomatic relations between the two countries after World War II and remains one of the most consequential and debated agreements in modern Korean history.WIKIPEDIA
Roh Jeong-tae
The author is a writer and senior fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.
The Treaty on Basic Relations between Korea and Japan emerged from the postwar Northeast Asian order envisioned by the United States. Washington sought to rebuild Japan’s economy as a strategic base while incorporating the Republic of Korea — the official name for South Korea — into its broader effort to contain communism. That objective required the two neighbors to establish a cooperative relationship. For that reason, preliminary talks began on Oct. 21, 1951, under the mediation of William J. Sebald, diplomatic chief of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers.
Although the United States encouraged the negotiations and Japan actively participated, the road to an agreement proved difficult. The greatest obstacle was the deep anti-Japanese sentiment of President Syngman Rhee, widely regarded as the leading figure behind Korea’s independence and the nation’s first president.
Negotiations repeatedly stalled over claims to property and compensation, fishing rights, Japan’s opposition to Rhee’s Jan. 18, 1952 declaration of the "Peace Line," which placed Dokdo under Korean jurisdiction, the status of ethnic Koreans living in Japan and issues involving deportation and repatriation to North Korea. Until the collapse of the First Republic in 1960, little meaningful progress was achieved.
The military coup of May 16, 1961 established the Third Republic and dramatically changed the course of negotiations. On Nov. 12, 1962, Kim Jong-pil, then director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, and Japanese Foreign Minister Masayoshi Ohira held a secret meeting in Tokyo. They reached compromises on the most contentious issues, including Korean claims against Japan, the Peace Line and the legal status of ethnic Koreans in Japan, allowing negotiations to accelerate.
Despite protests led by university students and opposition parties, President Park Chung Hee remained determined to complete the agreement. On June 22, 1965, Korean Foreign Minister Lee Dong-won and Japanese Foreign Minister Shiina Etsusaburo signed and exchanged the treaty documents at the Japanese prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo, formally concluding the Treaty on Basic Relations between Korea and Japan.
"The first thing we must abandon completely is the inferiority complex that tells us we will always be overwhelmed when facing the Japanese," Park declared in a special national address the following day.
For Park, the agreement represented more than securing funds for economic development. It also marked Korea’s determination to move beyond an identity defined solely by colonial victimhood and to assume an independent role within the free world. That choice, the author argues, carries with it a continuing historical responsibility to pursue a more hopeful future with confidence.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
