Dokdo is safely ours even without Lee

Columns

Dokdo is safely ours even without Lee

Published: 29 Aug. 2024, 20:13

Kim Hyun-ki
The author is an editorial writer of the JoongAng Ilbo.

The first-ever trophy won by the underdog Kyoto International High School with Korean roots at the most prestigious high school baseball championship in Japan, known as Koshien, was truly a tear-jerker. The exaltation for the Korean community in Japan can be imaginable. Many were tearfully reminded of the discrimination they had experienced as Koreans living in Japan.

The school’s alumni emotionally sang the school anthem in Korean as the tune played at the Hanshin Koshien Stadium to celebrate the victory. The lyrics go, “The land of Yamato across the East Sea is the dream place of our holy ancestors.” Kyoto Chosen Junior High School, the international school’s predecessor, was founded in 1947 to serve the children of Koreans who came to Japan during the colonial period. Amid thinning classrooms from low births, it began to accept Japanese students and changed its name. To appeal to the Japanese, it created a baseball team and offered classes in Korean, Japanese and English. I’ll skip the details on the school since it had been extensively covered in the news after its triumph. But one interview of the team’s manager and players threw cold water on the excitement of ethnic Koreans and fans in Korea.

Manager Noritsu Komaki said that the school anthem was inherited from the school before it became international. “The school has refused to change the school song written in Korean, citing a lack of money. Can this make sense?” he retorted. “Many have suggested the song be mixed in Korean, Japanese and English to become true to its international identity, but the school foundation refuses to do so. I hate the foundation, and you can quote me on this one,” he said. “I know little about the school’s Korean roots. I believe this school is Japanese.”

The players were equally insouciant. The sole ethnic Korean player on the 15-member team roster said he can sing the lyrics but doesn’t know what they mean. He said he doesn’t have any special feeling about having Korean roots, as he came to the school to play baseball. His teammate said that the players worried about a negative response to singing the song in Korean in Japan.

A coin has two sides. Koreans celebrated the feat as if one of their teams had won the championship. But the players and the manager thought differently. We just assumed that they would be proud of the Korean identity due to its Korean roots. But they are free to feel what they feel and should not be criticized for thinking differently. The thought and judgment started with a different perspective. In fact, they could be right. They are Japanese baseball players who trained hard and fought for themselves and their school. They should not be categorized as Korea-friendly or unfriendly. Presumption and arbitrary judgment — and forcing others to think like us — constitute intentional arrogance.

Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung bedridden with the Covid-19 symptom has ordered his party to investigate and campaign against the government’s attempt to “erase Dokdo.” He is misleading the public by denouncing the government’s decision to remove old Dokdo sculptures in subway stations to remodel them in time for the Dokdo Day on Oct. 25. He also branded the removal of a Dokdo sculpture at the War Memorial in time for its 30th anniversary as an attempt to “erase Dokdo.” This went too far. A year ago, DP Chair Lee claimed that releasing the treated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific is just like pumping toxic materials into the well.

Lee’s accusation is wicked because it is intentional and baseless. He seems to be convinced that the people will buy his claim. I don’t want to criticize Lee for using Japanese shampoo. I just think we need to widen our views and thoughts. Politicians must stop riding the anti-Japanese sentiment. Dokdo is safely ours even without Lee.