SPEAKING FREELY South Korea, Japan: a reignited rivalry
By Jieh-Yung Lo
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their say. Please click hereif you are interested in contributing.
South Korea's ascent in the global cultural and entertainment industry will place it on a collision course with an old rival.
The Korean peninsula and Japan have a complicated history and relationship, stemming from thousands of years of cultural and political engagement. Further complications were created through Japanese military expansionism and colonial rule in the 20th
century, which resulted in sour relations during the Cold War. Today, Japan and South Korea are major trading partners with many students, business people, tourists and entertainers traveling between the two nations.
Since the Middle Ages, East Asian politics have been characterized with the balance of power and influences of China, Japan and the Korean peninsula. After the conclusion of World War II, the Japanese post-war economic miracle became a defining moment in the Asia Pacific. Relations and trade between Japan and South Korea expanded dramatically after bilateral diplomatic relations were normalized in 1965. Both nations lacked natural resources and competed in manufacturing industrial goods while complementing one another in more ways than one.
Relations between South Korea and Japan, which have almost identical economic and security interests, are still held hostage by bad-tempered rows about a range of issues, including what many claim are revisionist Japanese history textbooks, the territorial row over the disputed Tokto/Takeshima islets in the Sea of Japan and the previous visits by former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi to the Yasukuni War Shrine.
Japan-South Korea relations have entered a delicate and unpredictable stage with the election of a conservative government in South Korea and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Japan. Former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak earlier this year cancelled the scheduled signing of a military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan and scrapped a bilateral plan to finalize a military-related Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement. A few weeks later, Lee visited the contested Dokdo/Takeshima islets.
While there is a lot of focus on the assertiveness of Japanese and South Korean foreign policy on territorial disputes, there seems to be limited analysis on the impact of the potential pop culture influence of South Korea in replacement of Japan on the global stage.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Japanese culture and influence expanded beyond its borders with concepts such as J-Pop, anime, manga, horror movies and the success of Japanese electronic and automobile brands in overseas markets. In recent times, Japan's supremacy and dominance has been overtaken and surpassed by South Korea. While Korean entertainment has been growing steadily since the late 1990s, the global audience outside Asia this year witnessed the sudden impact of the Korean wave through K-Pop artists such as PSY.
This wave has brought a surge in the international visibility and interest of Korean culture. It is safe to assume that the Korean wave has developed much appeal and demand for Korean brands and products. In November, it was reported that Samsung, the world's biggest maker of TVs, phones and memory chips used in computers, achieved a record profit. Samsung is now Asia's largest consumer electronics company.
These results are vastly different with Sony, a company that has longed carried the Japanese name in the electronic goods market. The largest Japanese consumer exporter, unexpectedly posted its seventh straight quarterly loss on falling demand as consumers flock to Samsung. This trend is reflected in the currency comparison. The yen in November fell to its weakest level since April against the US dollar while the won rose to a 14-month high. The won has strengthened about 9% against the yen since the end of June.
While both Japan and South Korea share similar foreign policy objectives in maintaining a close relationship with the United States and building a cooperative one with China, a potential strategic competition between Japan and South Korea is brewing. Not only is the global community witnessing ongoing territorial disputes, they will shortly witness greater intense competition for economic markets and regional influence.
Up to a decade ago, it is fair to state that China and Japan are the only countries in East Asia which could be termed "global powers" as they were the largest economic and military powers in East Asia. Today, analysts must include South Korea in the mix.
The Korean wave has become South Korea's version of the Japanese economic miracle. South Korea's ascent in the global cultural and entertainment industry will bring it towards a collision course with its old rival. The Asia-Pacific community will need to pay more consistent attention to issues in Japan-South Korea relations in order to position themselves to respond to substantial opportunities and risks.
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their say. Please click here if you are interested in contributing. Articles submitted for this section allow our readers to express their opinions and do not necessarily meet the same editorial standards of Asia Times Online's regular contributors.
Jieh-Yung Lo is a writer based in Melbourne. Follow him on twitter @jiehyunglo
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
