Rethinking Historical Injustice And Reconciliation In Northeast Asia

Despite witnessing phenomenal economic growth and the spread of democratization in recent decades, as well as impressive intra-regional exchanges and interactions in the economic and cultural spheres, the Northeast Asian region still experience wounds from past wrongs that were committed in times of colonialism, war and dictatorship. Overcoming these historical animosities has become one of the most pressing issues of the future for the region. Of all the countries in the Northeast Asia region coping with this historical injustice, the Republic of Korea stands out as both a victim and an aggressor. Being a nation that has addressed issues of both internal and external injustice, Korea becomes the focus of this volume. Using examples of injustice from the colonial and the Second World War period, the Korean civil War, the current stage of Korean transitional justice and broader regional and global perspectives, the book concludes with a section on forward-looking approaches for arriving at reconciliation in the Asian region. This is a significant book that will be of huge interest to anyone studying East Asian politics, history or society.

Korea is a nation that has addressed issues of both internal and external injustices from past wrongs that were committed in times of colonialism, war and dictatorship. Using examples of this injustice, this book focuses on Korea and looks towards reconciliation in the region.

Over the past fifteen years Northeast Asia has witnessed growing intraregional exchanges and interactions, especially in the realms of culture and economy. Still, the region cannot escape from the burden of history. This book examines the formation of historical memory in four Northeast Asian societies (China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan) and the United States focusing on the period from the beginning of the Sino-Japanese war in 1931 until the formal conclusion of the Pacific War with the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951. The contributors analyse the recent efforts of Korean, Japanese, and Chinese scholars to write a âe~common historyâe(tm) of Northeast Asia and question the underlying motivations for their efforts and subsequent achievements. In doing so, they contend that the greatest obstacle to reconciliation in Northeast Asia lies in the existence of divided, and often conflicting, historical memories. The book argues that a more fruitful approach lies in understanding how historical memory has evolved in each country and been incorporated into respective master narratives. Through uncovering the existence of different master narratives, it is hoped, citizens will develop a more self-critical, self-reflective approach to their own history and that such an introspective effort has the potential to lay the foundation for greater self- and mutual understanding and eventual historical reconciliation in the region. This book will be essential reading for students and scholars of Asian history, Asian education and international relations in East Asia.

The 2009 edition of the "Korea yearbook" contains concise overview articles covering domestic developments and the economy in both South and North Korea as well as inter-Korean relations and foreign relations of the two Koreas in 2008. A detailed chronology complements these articles. South Korea-related refereed articles in the 2009 edition deal with the internal politics of the Democratic Labour Party, the origins of the nuclear industry, industrial relations in the metals sector, Cheju island as a medical tourism hub, President Lee Myung-bak as seen through political cartoons, the comfort women movement's regionalisation process and perceptions of North Korean women. Additional refereed articles analyse the reliability of North Korean survey data, the migration experience of North Korean refugees, and sports-related cooperation between the two Koreas.

This edited volume examines the concept of overhangs or legacies or negative stereotypical images in international relations and their impact on bilateral relations between geographically proximate states in East Asia. The case studies chosen - Japan-Korea, Japan-China, Vietnam-China, Thailand-Myanmar and Thailand-Cambodia - demonstrate conclusively that bilateral overhangs or legacies have a significant impact on contemporary international relations. Such images are regularly replicated and stoked by a variety of constituencies including state agencies for their own selfish interests. The evidence also points to the fact that such bilateral relationships are relatively self-contained and often operate with their own dynamics. Powerful condensation symbols are appropriated to weave a story of the virtuous self and the stereotypical other. This negative image and its replication is important to an understanding of turbulent bilateral relations in East Asia and also helps to inform how such relations can be brought to an even keel.

Over the past fifteen years Northeast Asia has witnessed growing intraregional exchanges and interactions, especially in the realms of culture and economy. Still, the region cannot escape from the burden of history. This book examines the formation of historical memory in four Northeast Asian societies (China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan) and the United States focusing on the period from the beginning of the Sino-Japanese war in 1931 until the formal conclusion of the Pacific War with the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951. The contributors analyse the recent efforts of Korean, Japanese, and Chinese scholars to write a ‘common history’ of Northeast Asia and question the underlying motivations for their efforts and subsequent achievements. In doing so, they contend that the greatest obstacle to reconciliation in Northeast Asia lies in the existence of divided, and often conflicting, historical memories. The book argues that a more fruitful approach lies in understanding how historical memory has evolved in each country and been incorporated into respective master narratives. Through uncovering the existence of different master narratives, it is hoped, citizens will develop a more self-critical, self-reflective approach to their own history and that such an introspective effort has the potential to lay the foundation for greater self- and mutual understanding and eventual historical reconciliation in the region. This book will be essential reading for students and scholars of Asian history, Asian education and international relations in East Asia.

The mission UNESCO, as defined just after the end of World War II, is to build 'the defenses of peace in the minds of men'. In this book, historians trace the routes of selected UNESCO mental engineering initiatives from its headquarters in Paris to the member states, to assess UNESCO's global impact.

This book examines the challenges of historical reconciliation in East Asia, and, in doing so, calls for a reimagining of how we understand both historical identity and responsibility. With chapters that focus on select experiences from East Asia, while simultaneously situating them within a wider comparative perspective, the contributors to this volume focus on the close relationship between reconciliation and 'inherited responsibility' and reveal the contested nature of both concepts. Finally, this volume suggests that historical reconciliation is essential for strengthening mutual trust between the states and people of East Asia, and suggests ways in which such divisive legacies of conflict can be overcome.