Facing history ... through Yon-sama?

Tomoko Hirao

Tomoko Hirao may not have made it to Korea were it not for TV soap star Bae Yong-joon.
“Even if I speak Korean, it’s useless in Japan,” Hirao said. “So my father asked me, ‘Why are you going to Korea?’” said the 28-year-old Japanese who is nonetheless here studying the Korean language.
“But my mother loves Yon-sama [Bae Yong-joon’s honorific moniker in Japan], so she helped me.”
Hirao made the initial jump to Korea with her star-struck mother.
“Before she found Yon-sama, my mother had never been abroad, but when she saw him, she wanted to breathe the same air as him,” Hirao said. “Lots of Japanese ajummaslove him. I was surprised when my Korean friends said Yon-sama isn’t popular anymore.”
Nonetheless, the ultra-cheesy celebrity may be a bridge builder between the two cultures.
“A long time ago, Japanese people didn’t have a good impression of Korea, but because of Yon-sama, everything changed,” Hirao said. “Koreans should thank Yon-sama.
“We didn’t learn much about the history between Korea and Japan. I just know a long time ago, Japanese people made Koreans speak Japanese and change their names and maybe killed some for no reason.”
Those memories, however, remain vivid in Korea.
“One of my Korean friends said, ‘Please apologize to me’ on Aug. 15 [Korean Liberation Day]. She said she was joking, but I wasn’t sure.”
Hirao is on a mission here.
“I came to Korea because if I’m a good Japanese and make new friends with Koreans, they’ll love me, and then they’ll love Japan through me,” she said.

By Richard Scott-Ashe Contributing Writer [richard@joongang.co.kr]