Different views between China, S. Korea of anti-Japanese struggles

Different views between China, S. Korea of anti-Japanese struggles. June. 26, 2015 08:00. sukim@donga.com.

I have recently visited Northeast China to cover the history of anti-Japanese independence struggles by Koreans in Manchuria during the colonial period. The vast expanse of Manchuria, where it takes four to five hours to drive from one major city to another, was permeated with the breath of the Korean people. As I drove by shops with Korean-language signboards and rice paddies, I felt a sense of familiarity. It was probably natural for Manchuria, which is close to the Korean Peninsula both in geographic and emotional terms, to play the role of an outpost for Koreans` overseas anti-Japanese struggles.

In fact, three of 15 anti-Japanese fighters buried at a revolutionary martyrs` cemetery in Meihekou, Jilin Province, were Koreans. A corner dedicated to Yi Hoe-young provided detailed information about the Sinheung Military School he founded. If felt as if I was at the Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan, South Korea.

This year, there are brisk activities both in China and South Korea to commemorate joint struggles by anti-Japanese fighters from the two countries to mark the 70th anniversary of South Korea`s liberation and China`s victory. The Independence Hall of Korea is holding an exhibition on the theme "Whampoa Military Academy and Anti-Japanese Struggles" from this month, while the Chinese city of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, plans to introduce two Korean air fighters at a special exhibition on anti-Japanese martyrs of non-Chinese nationality. At the South Korea-China summit in July 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed South Korean President Park Geun-hye to jointly celebrate the 70th anniversary of South Korea`s liberation and China`s war victory.

However, I observed a delicately different atmosphere in Northeast China. It is said that a recent ceremony commemorating the 95th anniversary of the Bongodong Battle in Tumen, Jilin Province was surrounded by a serious atmosphere. China`s public security officials entered the venue of the ceremony attended by around 40 South Koreans and ethnic Koreans in Yanbian, reporting the situation to the authorities by radio.

The Bongodong Battle was the first large-scale clash between the Korean independence forces and the Japanese Army. With an overwhelming victory in the battle, the independence forces more actively staged anti-Japanese struggles, leading to the victory of the Battle of Cheongsalli. Therefore, some observers interpreted the Chinese pubic security officials` surveillance of the victory ceremony as an indication of Beijing`s sensitivity toward nationalism among ethnic minorities in China.