Japanese Far-Right Figure Says "Gwangbokhoe's 'Stubbornness' in Skipping Ceremony... Kim Hyung-seok Speaks Historical Facts"

Amid ongoing controversy over the ‘New Right’ following the appointment of Kim Hyung-seok as director of the Independence Hall, Japanese media have come to his defense. They also mocked the Liberation Day ceremony, which has been split between the government and independence movement groups, calling it a “day of internal conflict.”

On the 18th, Murotani Katsumi, a prominent Japanese right-wing figure, contributed a column to the Sankei Shimbun’s sister publication, Weekly Fuji, titled “Korea’s Liberation Day is a Day of Internal Conflict. Young People Are Enjoying Trips to Japan During the Bridge Holiday.”

Kim Hyung-seok, Director of the Independence Hall, is answering reporters' questions on the afternoon of the 14th at the Gyereneuri Hall of the Independence Hall in Cheonan, Chungnam.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

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Earlier, Lee Jong-chan, president of the Liberation Association, and opposition parties decided to boycott the Liberation Day ceremony, citing Kim’s ‘New Right perception’ and the government’s push to establish a Founding Day. In response, Murotani sharply criticized the Liberation Association’s stance as ‘petulant.’ He said, “The Liberation Association threw a tantrum, saying they would not participate in the ceremony unless the director was dismissed beforehand,” and “the left-wing opposition parties also sided with them.”

He pointed out, “In the past, Korea’s Liberation Day was a ‘day of cursing Japan.’ The media repeatedly highlighted previously unknown atrocities committed by Japan,” adding, “However, this year, when the Olympics were held, articles about unknown Japanese atrocities were noticeably absent, while articles attacking pro-Japanese regimes by left-wing nationalists were abundant.” He further explained, “This is due to backlash against the appointment of New Right historians, who evaluate the modernization of the Korean Peninsula under Japanese rule, to leadership positions in institutions like the National Institute of Korean History and the Academy of Korean Studies.”

Regarding the Seodaemun Independence Festival, which Seodaemun-gu in Seoul had promoted to commemorate Liberation Day, he said, “It is outrageous that a local government is hosting such a barbaric event,” and “I fear what kind of adults will grow up participating in such events.” This festival, held on the 14th and 15th as part of the Seodaemun Independence Festival, included an ‘Independence Army Combat Experience’ event where participants could shoot water guns at Japanese police officers. However, as the event drew both praise as a novel idea and criticism for promoting anti-Japanese sentiment, the controversy grew and it was ultimately canceled.

The Sankei Shimbun had also published a column defending Kim the day before. Former Seoul bureau chief Kuroda Katsuhiro argued, “Kim is being criticized for answering ‘Japan’ when asked about the nationality of Koreans during the Japanese colonial period,” and claimed, “He was merely stating historical facts but has been labeled a traitor who condones Japanese rule.”

He continued, “Korea claims the Japan-Korea annexation treaty was illegal and invalid, and regards the exile government of anti-Japanese activists in Shanghai, China, as the root of its founding,” sarcastically adding, “The media creates an atmosphere as if Korea fought and won an ‘independence war’ against Japan whenever the independence movement is mentioned.” He concluded, “(In Korea) a peculiar historical perception has spread, making it impossible to grasp the truth of history, including the nationality during the Japanese colonial period.”

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