Memory, Institutions, and the Domestic Politics of South Korean–Japanese Relations

Abstract

How does collective memory shape politics in the domestic and international spheres? I argue that collective memory—an intersubjective understanding of the past—has no inherent meaning and its salience is entirely contextual. What it means politically depends on the historical trajectory through which it came to form and the political exigency for which it is mobilized in the present. I propose three strategies by which social actors mobilize collective memory: framing—negotiating how the past can be interpreted; accrediting—redefining which narrators are authorized to speak; and binding—enforcing the narrative bounds to which narrators must conform. Using this framework, I reassess the failure of South Korea–Japan reconciliation and find that it has as much to do with the mobilization of collective colonial memory in South Korea over the course of its democratization as with Japanese impenitence. Anti-Japanese memory reflects continued domestic political contestation about how South Korea remembers and identifies itself.

What Made South Korea–Japan Security Cooperation Retreat During the Moon Jae-in Administration?

“…(Sîntionean, 2020, p. 57). As called ‘memory politics’, South Korea’s recent responses to Japan were ‘intensely political’, and ‘anti-Japanism became an increasingly expedient tool for partisan politics’ (Jo, 2022, p. 791). As a result, diplomatic hiatus between South Korea and Japan often occurred even at the summit level, ‘particularly under South Korea’s ‘progressive’ political parties’ rule (Koga, 2023, p. 65).…”

Perpetual ontological crisis: national division, enduring anxieties and South Korea’s discursive relationship with Japan

“…Such mainstream perspectives have struggled to offer answers, with their theoretical assumptions suggesting that ‘rational’ actors would engage in significantly more cooperation in such circumstances. Many scholars have, therefore, turned to constructivist themes of identity and memory to provide better insights (Bukh, 2015; Deacon, 2022; Jo, 2022; Kim, 2015; Tamaki, 2010). On the South Korean side of the relationship especially, it has become well established that anti-Japanese sentiment is an overwhelmingly significant component of national identity and that this persistently takes the form of acute Othering, especially in relation to the past (Cha, 1999, 2000; Deacon, 2022; Glosserman and Snyder, 2015).…”

Sharing Collective Memories on Campus While Sharing History Gets Tricky

“…East Asians share similar collective memories regarding resistance against corrupt and incompetent regimes, exploitative colonial powers, and unjust policies implemented by states. Although they essentially relate to how the public remembers (or does not remember) the past, collective memories have powerful implications for politics today because they often function as an instrument for understanding the politics of the present (Jackson 2021; Jo 2022; Verovšek 2016).…”