Japan-Korea relations - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

**Korea-Japan relations**

Korea-Japan relations are the relations between Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. In a modern context, these relations pertain to three states: Japan

Japan

, North Korea

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

, and South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

. Japan and Korea have had cultural interactions for over a thousand years and direct political contact almost as long. In modern times Japan's relations with North Korea and South Korea have had a legacy of bitterness stemming from unresolved disputes which occurred during the Japanese Occupation of Korea

Korea under Japanese rule

Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....

from 1910 to 1945.

In the early 2000s, the Japanese-South Korean relationship soured when the Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi

Junichiro Koizumi

is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics when his term in parliament ended.Widely seen as a maverick leader of the Liberal Democratic Party , he became known as an economic reformer, focusing on Japan's government debt and the...

visited the Yasukuni shrine

Yasukuni Shrine

is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is dedicated to the soldiers and others who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan. Currently, its Symbolic Registry of Divinities lists the names of over 2,466,000 enshrined men and women whose lives were dedicated to the service of...

. Conflict continues over claims for the Liancourt Rocks

Liancourt Rocks

The Liancourt Rocks, also known as Dokdo or Tokto in Korean or in Japanese, are a group of small islets in the Sea of Japan . Sovereignty over the islets is disputed between Japan and South Korea...

, a small island half way between these 2 countries. Bilaterally and through the Six-Party Talks

Six-party talks

The six-party talks aim to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns as a result of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.There has been a series of meetings with six participating states:* The Democratic People's Republic of Korea ;...

, North Korea and Japan continue to discuss Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea during the 1970s and 1980s.

Historical background

Relations between Japan and Korea go back at least two millennia. Chinese culture, including writing

Chinese character

Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...

and religion, migrated from Korea to Japan in these early years. There are indications of cross border political influence, but with varying accounts as to which direction the political influence flowed.

By the time of the Three Kingdoms period in Korea

Three Kingdoms of Korea

The Three Kingdoms of Korea refer to the ancient Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium...

there were emissaries sent by Japan to the Korean kingdoms and vice versa. In addition, there have been some interactions between the Korean and Japanese royal families; the Japanese imperial family

Imperial House of Japan

The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the Yamato Dynasty, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the emperor is the symbol of the state and unity of the people...

is at least partly descended from the imperial family of Baekje

Baekje

Baekje or Paekche was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....

.

In the early 13th century to 15 century, there were a series of skirmishes by pockets of Japanese pirates

Wokou

Wokou , which literally translates as "Japanese pirates" in English, were pirates of varying origins who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century onwards...

into the Korean coast. During the Imjin war (1592-1598), many Korean cultural heritages, and technologies were destroyed and looted by the invading Japanese armies. Although Korean land forces lost most of their land battles, a decisive defeat of the Japanese fleet by Admiral Yi Sun-sin

Yi Sun-sin

Yi Sun-shin was a Korean naval commander, famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon Dynasty, and is well-respected for his exemplary conduct on and off the battlefield not only by Koreans, but by Japanese Admirals as well...

helped drive the invading forces out of Korea.

With the erosion of Qing China

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

influences in the 19th century, Korea began to show greater independence, partly to avoid western domination, but also to avoid Japanese control. Japan was rapidly modernizing in the second half of the 19th century and showing a keen interest in Korea. With the defeat of Qing forces inside Korea in 1895 and the murder of Empress Myeongseong

Empress Myeongseong

Empress Myeongseong , also known as Queen Min, was the first official wife of King Gojong, the twenty-sixth king of the Joseon dynasty of Korea...

by Japanese agent, and the subsequent defeat of Imperial Russia

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

by Imperial Japan in 1905, Korea came firmly under the control of Japan. In 1910, with the signing of the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty the last threads of independence were removed and Korean Empire

Korean Empire

The Greater Korean Empire was an empire of Korea that succeeded the Joseon Dynasty.In October 1897, Emperor Gojong proclaimed the new entity at Gyeongungung Palace and oversaw the partially successful modernization of the military, economy, land system, education system, and various industries...

was absorbed

Korea under Japanese rule

Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....

into the Empire of Japan

Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

.

From 1910 to 1945, the Japanese Empire enforced policies which aimed to erase Korean culture and language, in order to Japanize the Korean people. Attempts to resist this program, such as the peaceful March 1st Movement

March 1st Movement

The March 1st Movement, or Samil Movement, was one of the earliest public displays of Korean resistance during the occupation of the Korean Empire by Japan. The name refers to an event that occurred on March 1, 1919, hence the movement's name, literally meaning "Three-One Movement" or "March First...

, were brutally put down. More than a million Koreans would end up living in Japan, and many of their descendants live there to this day. Likewise, up to a million Japanese colonists moved to Korea.

At the end of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Korea gained its independence from 35-years of Japanese occupation. Per the Yalta Conference

Yalta Conference

The Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, held February 4–11, 1945, was the wartime meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, represented by President Franklin D...

agreements, Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

forces accepted surrender of Japanese forces

Surrender of Japan

The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...

in northern Korea, above the 38th parallel

38th parallel north

The 38th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 38 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean...

, and American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

forces south of that line. Korea was divided

Division of Korea

The division of Korea into North Korea and South Korea stems from the 1945 Allied victory in World War II, ending Japan's 35-year colonial rule of Korea. In a proposal opposed by nearly all Koreans, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to temporarily occupy the country as a trusteeship...

, into a Soviet sphere (North Korea) and an American sphere (South Korea).

The diplomatic relationship between Japan and South Korea was established in 1965. However, North Korea do not have diplomatic ties with Japan.

Japan–North Korea

Japan-North Korea relations turned more antagonistic in the late 1980s. The two governments did not maintain diplomatic relations and had no substantive contacts. The opposition Japan Socialist Party nonetheless had cordial relations with the North Korean regime. Japan allowed trade with North Korea only through unofficial channels, reportedly exceeding US$200 million annually in the 1980s.

Issues in Japan-North relations that produced tensions included North Korean media attacks on Japan, Japan's imposition of economic sanctions on North Korea for terrorist acts against South Korea in the 1980s, and unpaid North Korean debts to Japanese enterprises of about $50 million.

Until the late 1980s, North Korea's post-World War II policy toward Japan was mainly aimed at minimizing cooperation between South Korea and Japan, and at deterring Japan's rearmament while striving for closer diplomatic and commercial ties with Japan. Crucial to this policy was the fostering within Japan of support for North Korea, especially among the Japanese who supported the Japanese communist and socialist parties and the Korean residents of Japan.

Over the years, however, North Korea did much to discredit itself in the eyes of many potential supporters in Japan. Japanese who had accompanied their spouses to North Korea had endured severe hardships and were prevented from communicating with relatives and friends in Japan. Japan watched with disdain as North Korea gave safe haven to elements of the Japanese Red Army

Japanese Red Army

The was a Communist terrorist group founded by Fusako Shigenobu early in 1971 in Lebanon. It sometimes called itself Arab-JRA after the Lod airport massacre...

, which Japan designates as a terrorist group. North Korea's inability or refusal to pay its debts to Japanese traders also reinforced popular Japanese disdain for North Korea.

Normalization talks

In the early 1990s, Japan conducted lengthy negotiations with North Korea aimed at establishing diplomatic relations while maintaining its relations with Seoul. In January 1991, Japan began normalization talks with Pyongyang with a formal apology for its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. The negotiations were aided by Tokyo's support of a proposal for simultaneous entry into the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

by North Korea and South Korea; the issues of international inspection of North Korean nuclear facilities and the nature and amount of Japanese compensations, however, proved more difficult to negotiate.

Coincidental with the changing patterns in its relations with China and Russia, North Korea has moved to improve its strained relations with Japan. Pyongyang's primary motives appear to be a quest for relief from diplomatic and economic isolation, which has caused serious shortages of food, energy, and hard currency. Normalization of relations with Japan also raises the possibility of North Korea's gaining monetary compensation for the period of Japan's colonial rule (1910–45), a precedent set when Japan normalized relations with South Korea.

The first round of normalization talks was held January 30–31, 1991, but quickly broke down over the question of compensation. Pyongyang has demanded compensation for damages incurred during colonial rule as well as for "sufferings and losses" in the post-World War II period. Japan, however, insists that North Korea first resolve its differences with South Korea over the question of bilateral nuclear inspections. Other points of contention are North Korea's refusal both to provide information about Japanese citizens who had migrated to North Korea

Japanese people in North Korea

Japanese people in North Korea consist mainly of four groups: prisoners-of-war in the Soviet Union, Japanese accompanying repatriating Zainichi Korean spouses, defectors, and kidnapping victims...

with their Korean spouses in the 1960s, and the issue of Japanese soldiers taken prisoner by the Soviets during WWII and sent to North Korea.

Abductions

The abductions of Japanese citizens from Japan by agents of the North Korean government occurred during a period of six years from 1977 to 1983. For many years the North denied the abductions, but it admitted to 13 of them in 2002. In one instance, Yi Un Hee, a Korean resident of Japan, was kidnapped to North Korea

North Korean abductions of Japanese

The abductions of Japanese citizens from Japan by agents of the North Korean government happened during a period of six years from 1977 to 1983. Although only 17 Japanese are officially recognized by the Japanese government as having been abducted, there may have been as many as 70 to 80...

to teach Japanese in a school for espionage agents. In 2002 and 2004, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi

Junichiro Koizumi

made two high-profile visits to Pyongyang to press for their return. North Korea eventually returned five of the thirteen kidnapped, claiming the other eight had died. The positive effect on relations disintegrated when Japan claimed that a DNA test had proved that the returned remains of Megumi Yokota

Megumi Yokota

was one of at least 17 Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korea in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She was abducted on November 15, 1977 at the age of thirteen and apparently forced to help train North Korean spies to pass as Japanese citizens...

, kidnapped at 13 and said by the North to have committed suicide, were in fact not hers. Japan has pressed North Korea to come clean on the abduction, but Pyongyang insists that the issue has already been resolved.

Many North Korean citizens rely on money sent from relatives in Japan. Some in Japan believe that the government should threaten to cut off those remittances to force Pyongyang to make concessions. Others believe that the political right in Japan is exploiting that and other issues to advance its own nationalist agenda.

Other activity

There have also been several confrontations

Action of 22 December 2001

The Battle of Amami-Ōshima or the was a six-hour confrontation between the Japan Coast Guard and an armed North Korean vessel, taking place near the island of Amami-Ōshima, in the East China Sea...

between the two nations over North Korean clandestine activity within Japan besides the abductions including drug smuggling, marine poaching, as well as spying. North Korean missile tests are also a concern for Japan because the missiles sometimes travel through Japanese airspace and territory.

On March 14th, 2011, 3 Japanese citizens had visited Rasŏn and later 2 of them were incarcerated for drug and counterfeit currency possessions.

Six-party talks

On February 13, 2007, the six-party talks

Six-party talks

produced an agreement in which North Korea agreed to shut down the Yongbyon nuclear facility

Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center

The Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center is North Korea's major nuclear facility, operating its first nuclear reactors. It is located in the county of Nyŏngbyŏn in North Pyongan province, about 90 km north of Pyongyang...

in exchange for fuel aid and steps towards normalization of relations with both the United States and Japan.

Recent bilateral talks

The two states held bilateral talks in September 2007, which were resumed in June 2008.

Japan–South Korea

Article 9 of Japan's constitution

Constitution of Japan

The is the fundamental law of Japan. It was enacted on 3 May, 1947 as a new constitution for postwar Japan.-Outline:The constitution provides for a parliamentary system of government and guarantees certain fundamental rights...

is interpreted to bar Japan from entering into security relations with countries other than the United States. Consequently, Japan had no substantive defense relationship with South Korea, and military contacts were infrequent. However, Japan backed United States contingency plans to dispatch United States armed forces in Japan to South Korea in case of a North Korean attack on South Korea. It also supported the opening of relations between South Korea and China in the 1980s. Since the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea

Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea

The Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea was signed on June 22, 1965 to establish basic relationship between Japan and the Republic of Korea .-History:...

, Japan has recognized South Korea as the only legitimate government of the whole Korean peninsula.

Since normalizing relations at the urging of the United States in 1965, Seoul

Seoul

Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

and Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

have held annual foreign ministerial conferences. The usual issues discussed have been trade, the status of the Korean minority population in Japan

Zainichi Korean

Koreans in Japan are the ethnic Korean residents of Japan. They currently constitute the second largest ethnic minority group in Japan. The majority of Koreans in Japan are Zainichi Koreans, also often known as Zainichi for short, who are the permanent ethnic Korean residents of Japan...

, the content of textbooks dealing with the relationship

Japanese history textbook controversies

Japanese history textbook controversies refers to controversial content in government-approved history textbooks used in the secondary education of Japan...

, Tokyo's equidistant policy between Pyongyang and Seoul, and the occasional problems.

Roh Tae-woo

Roh Tae-woo

Roh Tae-woo , is a former ROK Army general and politician. He was the 13th president of South Korea .Roh befriended Chun Doo-hwan while in high school in Daegu. In his younger life, Roh was a keen rugby union player....

's Nordpolitik

Nordpolitik

Nordpolitik was the signature foreign policy of South Korean president Roh Tae-woo. Named in 1983 by then-Foreign Minister Lee Beom Suk but not formally announced until the run-up to the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the policy guided South Korean efforts to reach out to the traditional allies of North...

somewhat relaxed Seoul's vehement opposition to Tokyo's approach to Pyongyang. The Japan Socialist Party, in particular, has become active in improving relations not only between Pyongyang and Tokyo, but also between itself and Seoul. As the Japan Socialist Party abandoned its posture favoring Pyongyang, Seoul has welcomed the new equidistant policy, inviting a former secretary general of the Japan Socialist Party, Masashi Ishibashi

Masashi Ishibashi

Masashi Ishibashi is a former Japanese politician and chairman of the Japan Socialist Party.-References:...

, to Seoul in October 1988. Ishibashi's visit was unusually productive, not only in improving his party's image in Seoul, but also in his reported willingness to mediate between Seoul and Pyongyang. While Tokyo appeared willing to assist Seoul in improving relations not only with Pyongyang but also with Beijing, it did not seem to welcome the much-improved Seoul-Moscow relationship. Further, Seoul-Tokyo relations became somewhat strained when in 1989 Tokyo began steps to improve relations with Pyongyang.

Japan's trade with South Korea was US$29.1 billion in 1991, with a surplus of nearly US$5.8 billion on the Japanese side. Japanese direct private investment in South Korea totaled US$4.4 billion in 1990. Japanese and South Korean firms often had interdependent relations, which gave Japan advantages in South Korea's growing market. Many South Korean products were based on Japanese design and technology. A surge in imports of South Korean products into Japan in 1990 was partly the result of production by Japanese investors in South Korea.

In 1996 FIFA

FIFA

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

announced that the two countries would jointly host the 2002 FIFA World Cup

2002 FIFA World Cup

The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...

. The next few years would see leaders of both countries meet to warm relations in preparations for the games. Though citizens of both countries were initially unhappy about having to share the honors with the other, and the Liancourt Rocks

Liancourt Rocks

The Liancourt Rocks, also known as Dokdo or Tokto in Korean or in Japanese, are a group of small islets in the Sea of Japan . Sovereignty over the islets is disputed between Japan and South Korea...

controversy flared up again, it turned out to be very successful.

The year 2005 was designated as the "Japan-South Korea Friendship Year". However, the Liancourt Rocks

Liancourt Rocks

The Liancourt Rocks, also known as Dokdo or Tokto in Korean or in Japanese, are a group of small islets in the Sea of Japan . Sovereignty over the islets is disputed between Japan and South Korea...

controversy erupted again when Japan's Shimane prefecture

Shimane Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is Matsue. It is the second least populous prefecture in Japan, after its eastern neighbor Tottori. The prefecture has an area elongated from east to west facing the Chūgoku Mountain Range on the south side and to...

declared "Takeshima Day", inciting mass demonstrations in South Korea.

From South Korea to Japan

In recent years, South Korean pop culture experienced major popularity in Japan, a phenomenon dubbed the in Japan. The Korean Wave has sparked a fad for Korean movies, dramas and pop music in Japan.

A Korean television series entitled Winter Sonata
Winter Sonata
Winter Sonata is a South Korean television drama series broadcast by KBS in 2002. It is the second part of the Endless Love installment directed by Yoon Seok-Ho...

, which first appeared in Japan in April 2003, became a runaway hit in Japan, and has often been identified as a landmark in Korean-Japanese cultural exchange. The female K-pop artist BoA

BoA

Boa Kwon , commonly stylized and known by her stage name BoA, which is a backronym for Beat of Angel, is a Korean singer, active in South Korea, Japan, and the United States and sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Korean Pop Music"....

is one of the most popular singers in Japan with six consecutive albums topping the billboard charts.

In more recent years various K-pop artists, including Choshinsung

Choshinsung

Choshinsung is a South Korean boy band formed under Mnet Media. Its six members specialized in the areas of singing, dance, acting, rap and pop. Since debut, the group gained popularity in South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and other East Asian countries....

, Big Bang, Kara

Kara (band)

Kara is a popular South Korean girl group signed with DSP Media . The band name Kara comes from the Greek Word "chara" Kara (Hangul: 카라, Japanese: カラ, often stylized as KARA) is a popular South Korean girl group signed with DSP Media (DSP). The band name Kara comes from the Greek Word "chara" Kara...

, and Girls' Generation

Girls' Generation

Girls' Generation is a nine-member South Korean electropop girl group formed by S.M. Entertainment in 2007. The nine members are: Taeyeon , Jessica, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona and Seohyun...

have made their debuts in Japan, and these groups have contributed to the rebirth of the Korean wave in Japan. Kara and Girls' Generation in particular has been topping numerous charts and awards in Japan. Numerous other groups, such as F.T. Island

F.T. Island

F.T. Island , short for Five Treasured Island, is a five-member South Korean band. The members are consist of Choi Jong Hun , Lee Hongki Lee Jae Jin , Song Seung Hyun , and Choi Min Hwan . Their debut album, titled "Cheerful Sensibility", was the sixth best-selling album in 2007...

, SHINee

SHINee

Shinee is a contemporary R&B South Korean boy band. Formed by SM Entertainment in 2008, they made their debut on May 25, 2008 on SBS's Inkigayo with their promotional single, "Noona Neomu Yeppeo "...

and BEAST have also entered the Japanese market.

From Japan to South Korea

After the end of World War II

World War II

, South Korea banned "Japanese cultural imports" such as music

J-pop

, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...

, film

Cinema of Japan

The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...

, video games, literature

Japanese literature

Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...

(manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

). In South Korea, the ban was partially lifted under the Kim Dae-jung administration in 1998. In January 2004, the ban on imports of Japanese CDs and DVDs was finally lifted in South Korea. Despite this, there were some South Korean DVD imports of movies that were identical to Japanese DVDs sold from 1999 to 2003.

Korean drama production companies have sought to secure the rights to Japanese novels (manga). In the film industry, movies based on Japanese works have begun to appear. Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki

is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...

's anime film Howl's Moving Castle
Howl's Moving Castle (film)
is a 2004 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli and based on the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones...

drew 3,000,000 viewers in the South Korean market.

External links

South Korean embassy in Japan
Japanese embassy in South Korea
Relations entre la Corée du Nord et le Japon - French Wikipedia
French Wikipedia
The French Wikipedia is the French language edition of Wikipedia, spelt Wikipédia. This edition was started in March 2001, and has about articles as of , making it the third-largest Wikipedia overall, after the English-language and German-language editions...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Historical background

Japan–North Korea

Normalization talks

Abductions

Other activity

Six-party talks

Recent bilateral talks

Japan–South Korea

From South Korea to Japan

From Japan to South Korea

See also

Further reading

External links