On creating infrastructure for Korean-Japan reconciliation

By Bernhard J. Seliger

These days, the outlook for a serious and positive new start of Korea-Japan relations is better than ever, once one considers the last two decades. The restart of shuttle diplomacy, the ― albeit imperfect ― addressing of the most difficult issue of forced laborers and a number of meaningful gestures, like the heartfelt apology of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the joint remembering of the tens of thousands of Korean victims of the nuclear bomb in Hiroshima, all are good signs for a better outlook. But what is next?

Maybe, a glimpse back into European history may help. The reconciliation in Europe after the end of World War II was completely unexpected, but it was fostered by three ingredients: first, there was the strong external pressure of the rising Cold War, which suddenly made friends from enemies in Europe. It was helped by a benevolent grandfather, the United States, and arguably in the beginning also the British Empire, in particular in the figure of Winston Churchill, the much-respected war-time leader of the United Kingdom, who gave a seminal speech on European integration at the University of Zurich in 1946 which today is sometimes forgotten.

In Northeast Asia, a similar situation is given today: a rising threat of a new Cold War ― hopefully something to be averted, but definitely something to be aware of ― between China and the U.S. and its allies, with the U.S. also pushing South Korea and Japan in the direction of reconciliation.

Second, there was a supply of able and brave leaders overcoming opposition and skepticism at home. In France, Charles de Gaulle, a nationalist officer, grew to become a later close friend of the then-German chancellor, Konrad Adenauer. Originally, it helped that then Foreign Minister Robert Schuman had quasi a double life, which started as a young man in German Elsass-Lothringen, and later as a politician in French Alsace-Lorraine, symbolizing like no other person the mixed European identity.

For the West Germans, though they were grateful to be re-admitted into the circle of civilized nations, the decision was also not easy, since it meant a perpetuation of German division, while Stalin still dangled the carrot of neutrality in front of them. But leaders like Adenauer, de Gaulle, de Gasperi in Italy and others overcame old hostility against the opposition of their people.

The Northeast Asian story is still open, but as well for President Yoon Seok Yeol as for Prime Minister Kishida reconciliation is not easy to sell at home. The Japanese were lukewarm at best and many Koreans were openly hostile. The two leaders might have a number of reasons for embarking on the difficult process of reconciliation, and not all might be completely altruistic ― but that does not matter, as long as the policies they promote are brave enough to overcome the headwinds of national opposition.

Finally, European reconciliation and integration could also be so successful, since it was founded on an understanding that any reconciliation needed to start to involve young people ― not because young people were particularly peaceful, or particularly wise, but because they were particularly easy to manipulate. The wars of the 19th and 20th centuries saw the young elites of countries going singing to their deaths, unaware that their deaths would not add to their respective countries' glory, but was just a senseless slaughter.

The seductive quality of national stereotypes could only be countered by one remedy: direct meetings with young people from other countries, to grow mutual understanding and mutual respect. This could not come out of the blue: between Germany and France, the Franco-German Youth Office since 1963 brought together millions of young people. Similar initiatives are very important for Northeast Asia, and they should target the youth, but also young professionals, students etc.

A few weeks ago, Dr. Christoph Hollenders, honorary consul of Korea in Saxony (Germany), and Dr. Caroline Hollenders, his wife, a noted former science journalist, heading a foundation in their namesake, toured South Korea and Japan to find young politicians and journalists, who will later this year tour major European countries to experience first-hand the European way of reconciliation, but also learn more about themselves as neighbors in Northeast Asia. Multilateral dialogue programs, e.g. from the German Robert Bosch Foundation, work according to a similar principle.

But clearly, the bulk of projects and funding has to come from Northeast Asian countries themselves. The cooperation of Japanese and Korean business leaders is a great start for such a project, but renewed vigor should also go into Korean-Japanese university partnerships, Korean-Japanese exchanges of civil society and all kinds of young leaders programs.

The governments of both sides should provide the funding, but not meddle in the actual organization of activities ― it could happen like a fund for civil society actions, or a full-scale youth exchange program in the form of an independent foundation, like in the case of the Franco-German and now also German-Polish model, or simply an offer for tax credits for civilians or companies engaged in such activities.

This would allow the growth of a dense network of relations between both sides, which could carry the idea of reconciliation through difficult times. And such difficult times will come, as in any relationship. Differences of opinion, a fall-out between leaders, a resurfacing of national interest, all these things happened in Europe, on frequent occasions, but they were ultimately not strong enough to dismantle the infrastructure of reconciliation.

One of the most promising signs for the success of the new reconciliation attempts is that the largest opposition to it in Korea is not among the young, but rather among middle-aged people. A policy of reconciliation targeting the young people of today can help them grow into responsible leaders of Northeast Asian democracies, defending values not alone, but together with their neighbors. Ultimately, and this is the essence of the European experience, this shared leadership does not make countries weaker, but much stronger.

Dr. Bernhard J. Seliger is a resident representative of the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) in Korea, based in Seoul. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, he traveled frequently to North Korea, where he implemented projects on forestry, environment and renewable energy as well as medical cooperation. He is an honorary citizen of Seoul and Gangwon Province.