Will South Korea listen to Mr. Harris and Mr. Walk's advice, stay on the Japan-US team, or move to the China-North Korea team?
Ultimately, it is up to the Korean people themselves to decide.
February 4, 2020
The following is from a serial column by Tatsuya Kato, "Harry and Walk's Love for Korea," published in today's Sankei Shimbun.
Oh my goodness, even living your life in that country is a life-risking one.
Recently, I have been feeling this even more strongly.
Last month, I interviewed a young YouTuber who became popular on YouTube's video-sharing website.
His name is written as WWUK but pronounced Walk.
He was born in Seoul but graduated from high school and vocational school in Japan.
He is currently applying for naturalization as a Japanese citizen.
He studied abroad in Australia from the second year of junior high school, where he made Japanese friends and began to admire Japanese life by watching drama DVDs.
Please see the Sankei Shimbun YouTube channel for details of his remarks.
Still, this young man casually utters a proverb rarely heard among Japanese people these days: "I like the fact that Japan is considerate, that even among friends there is courtesy."
He is now known as a "pro-Japan YouTuber" who covers current affairs. Still, the reason for this was the incident in December 2017 when a South Korean warship directed its radar at a Maritime Self-Defense Force patrol plane.
The South Korean government's "complete and utter lies" were so egregious.
Since then, he has been careful to make programs based on historical facts rather than on the commonly accepted view in South Korea.
However, under the Moon Jae-in administration, there is a risk that a bill called the "Act on the Prohibition of Distortion of History" will be passed, making it illegal to interpret history in a way the government does not officially recognize.
In fact, he has even consulted the police about the death threats he has received, but out of love for his homeland, Mr. Walk is also concerned about the future of Korea.
Even so, from the author's experience, the space for speech in Korea is narrower than in Japan.
Recently, some media and commentators have claimed that Japan suppresses free speech, but I can assure you that this is an exaggeration.
In all fairness, it's on a different level than Russia, Saudi Arabia, and China.
North Korea is out of the question, and the author's impression is that Japan's media space cannot even be compared to South Korea, where journalists are being prosecuted left and right over their reporting.
By the way, in the case of Japan and the United States, even diplomats, who are called "word wrestlers," risk their lives in South Korea.
The ambassadors of both countries have been in danger of losing their lives due to stone-throwing and knife attacks within the past 10 years.
The current US ambassador to South Korea, Harry Harris, whose mother is Japanese, has been criticized by politicians, the Internet, and the media for his mustache, which resembles that of the "Governor General of Korea" during the Japanese colonial period.
You should be very careful about your personal security.
Mr. Harris himself complains of racism, saying that the local media criticize him because of his ethnic background as a Japanese-American. Still, while he is harsh on South Korea, he also sympathizes with them, and in fact, he has many supporters.
Recently, the embassy tweeted in Korean, "Our embassy is closely monitoring the situation and is in close contact with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and our colleagues in China. Please take care of your health."
It has led to a flood of positive replies.
Some people, perhaps because they feel their governments are unreliable, have even made fervent love calls, saying, "While a negligible number of Juche supporters dislike the United States and the Ambassador, the rest of the people trust the United States and the Ambassador. Please protect us all to the end. Respected Ambassador, take care, Ambassador."
One of the most important roles of a diplomat is to win the hearts of the people in the country where they are stationed. This is not just a professional duty, but a way to build bridges and foster understanding between nations.
While it may be partly due to his professional awareness, there is a kind of affection behind Mr. Harris' words and actions.
Despite the discrimination he faces, Mr. Harris' words and actions are not devoid of affection. He calls out to the Korean people, hoping that they will become decent people. This is a testament to his love for Korea and his sincere desire for its well-being.
Will Korea listen to the advice of Harris and Walk, who are both full of love for Korea, and remain on the Japan-US team, or move to the China-North Korea team?
Ultimately, it is up to the Korean people themselves to decide.
Ultimately, it is up to the Korean people themselves to decide.
February 4, 2020
The following is from a serial column by Tatsuya Kato, "Harry and Walk's Love for Korea," published in today's Sankei Shimbun.
Oh my goodness, even living your life in that country is a life-risking one.
Recently, I have been feeling this even more strongly.
Last month, I interviewed a young YouTuber who became popular on YouTube's video-sharing website.
His name is written as WWUK but pronounced Walk.
He was born in Seoul but graduated from high school and vocational school in Japan.
He is currently applying for naturalization as a Japanese citizen.
He studied abroad in Australia from the second year of junior high school, where he made Japanese friends and began to admire Japanese life by watching drama DVDs.
Please see the Sankei Shimbun YouTube channel for details of his remarks.
Still, this young man casually utters a proverb rarely heard among Japanese people these days: "I like the fact that Japan is considerate, that even among friends there is courtesy."
He is now known as a "pro-Japan YouTuber" who covers current affairs. Still, the reason for this was the incident in December 2017 when a South Korean warship directed its radar at a Maritime Self-Defense Force patrol plane.
The South Korean government's "complete and utter lies" were so egregious.
Since then, he has been careful to make programs based on historical facts rather than on the commonly accepted view in South Korea.
However, under the Moon Jae-in administration, there is a risk that a bill called the "Act on the Prohibition of Distortion of History" will be passed, making it illegal to interpret history in a way the government does not officially recognize.
In fact, he has even consulted the police about the death threats he has received, but out of love for his homeland, Mr. Walk is also concerned about the future of Korea.
Even so, from the author's experience, the space for speech in Korea is narrower than in Japan.
Recently, some media and commentators have claimed that Japan suppresses free speech, but I can assure you that this is an exaggeration.
In all fairness, it's on a different level than Russia, Saudi Arabia, and China.
North Korea is out of the question, and the author's impression is that Japan's media space cannot even be compared to South Korea, where journalists are being prosecuted left and right over their reporting.
By the way, in the case of Japan and the United States, even diplomats, who are called "word wrestlers," risk their lives in South Korea.
The ambassadors of both countries have been in danger of losing their lives due to stone-throwing and knife attacks within the past 10 years.
The current US ambassador to South Korea, Harry Harris, whose mother is Japanese, has been criticized by politicians, the Internet, and the media for his mustache, which resembles that of the "Governor General of Korea" during the Japanese colonial period.
You should be very careful about your personal security.
Mr. Harris himself complains of racism, saying that the local media criticize him because of his ethnic background as a Japanese-American. Still, while he is harsh on South Korea, he also sympathizes with them, and in fact, he has many supporters.
Recently, the embassy tweeted in Korean, "Our embassy is closely monitoring the situation and is in close contact with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and our colleagues in China. Please take care of your health."
It has led to a flood of positive replies.
Some people, perhaps because they feel their governments are unreliable, have even made fervent love calls, saying, "While a negligible number of Juche supporters dislike the United States and the Ambassador, the rest of the people trust the United States and the Ambassador. Please protect us all to the end. Respected Ambassador, take care, Ambassador."
One of the most important roles of a diplomat is to win the hearts of the people in the country where they are stationed. This is not just a professional duty, but a way to build bridges and foster understanding between nations.
While it may be partly due to his professional awareness, there is a kind of affection behind Mr. Harris' words and actions.
Despite the discrimination he faces, Mr. Harris' words and actions are not devoid of affection. He calls out to the Korean people, hoping that they will become decent people. This is a testament to his love for Korea and his sincere desire for its well-being.
Will Korea listen to the advice of Harris and Walk, who are both full of love for Korea, and remain on the Japan-US team, or move to the China-North Korea team?
Ultimately, it is up to the Korean people themselves to decide.
