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| Subject | After Overcoming Its Past, Korea Can Now Stand Tall   | Count | 1698 |
| Author/Position | Hosaka Yuji | ||
| Photographer | Ahn Hong-beom | ||
While attending high school, I learned through various media and books that many of Japan’s leading sports figures and show business celebrities were ethnic Koreans residing in Japan. After realizing that most of my favorite athletes, singers, and movie stars were Korean-Japanese, I began to wonder if Koreans were more talented than Japanese, in regard to sports and entertainment.
Childhood Memories Rikidozan, the legendary professional wrestler and Japanese hero in his time, whose real name was Kim Sin-rak, along with the master of Kyokushin Karate, Masutatsu Oyama (Choi Bae-dal), the professional baseball player who was known as the “batting machine” Isao Harimoto (Jang Hun), and the legendary pitcher with 400 wins Masaichi Kaneda (Kim Kyung-Hong), were among the super heroes of my childhood. Jang Hun’s 3,085 hits was the record for the most hits in Japan’s professional baseball league for 28 years, until Ichiro, who now plays for the Seattle Mariners of major league baseball in the United States, finally surpassed it in 2009. Jang was also a power hitter with 504 career home runs. Kim Kyung-Hong’s record of 400 wins is still a record in Japanese baseball that might never be equaled, since the pitcher in second place lags far behind with only 313 wins. Another baseball player who ranks alongside the top-tier Korean-Japanese performers is Sadaharu Oh, a Taiwanese-Japanese (Wang Chen-chu). His record of 868 home runs might also be unreachable by today’s players in the Japanese league. Korean-Japanese and Taiwanese-Japanese players possess much greater skill and power than Japanese players. The most popular Japanese baseball hero is Nagashima Shigeo, who has been named lifetime honorary coach of the Yomiuri Giants; however, his achievements are no match when compared to those of Jang Hun and Sadaharu Oh. Not only in baseball, but in soccer, volleyball and many other sports as well, Korean-Japanese are oftentimes the frontline players. With few exceptions, this is also true in Japan’s entertainment sectors, which during my early years had been dominated by talented and beautiful Korean-Japanese singers and actors, who invariably enjoyed lengthy and distinguished professional careers. Therefore, as I grew older, I was shocked and infuriated to see that Korean-Japanese and Taiwanese-Japanese were often subjected to ill-treatment in Japan. I remember attending a baseball game in which there was a scuffle among the players after a batter was hit by a pitch. Some of the spectators shouted at Jang Hun repeatedly: “Get away you Josenji!” [Josenji is a derogatory Japanese term for Koreans.] Seeing this in person, I became very upset. Not only because I have many Korean-Japanese friends but I also do not like to see people curse or treat someone with disrespect for no good reason. Fortunately, other spectators nearby admonished the ill-mannered fans, and demanded that they stop yelling such things. I was relieved that some people expressed a sense of decency. But I have since encountered many such unconscionable incidents in the newspapers. For example, I once read that a player for the Yomiuri Giants referred to Sadaharu Oh, who was the team’s coach, as a wangkou, the Japanese expression for “son of a bitch.” The newspaper article reported that this player had blamed the team’s poor performance on Coach Oh: “Our poor showing is because of that cocky wangkou,” and “Everything’s the fault of that wangkou.” I was utterly dumfounded. I simply could not believe that a player would curse his own coach that way. And that player is now a baseball commentator! I fail to understand why the Yomiuri Giants or Japanese society did not discipline him for such disrespectful behavior. This was an incident when the hidden animosity of the Japanese toward people such as Oh came to the surface. I later came to criticize Japanese society for its unfair and discriminatory attacks on people of great talent and personality merely because they are from the ethnic groups of countries formerly colonized by Japan. The Korean Wave My childhood perception about Koreans being more talented than Japanese, in sports and entertainment, now appears to be well founded, based on my observation of numerous occasions when Korea and Japan have competed against each other. Moreover, this is even more evident today when Japanese discrimination against people of foreign ethnicity is on the decline. Hallyu, or the Korean Wave, and sports matches between Korea and Japan serve to confirm this as well. The Korean Wave started with Japan’s entertainment scene, in terms of film, drama, and pop music. Since 2000, BoA and other Korean singers, as well as Bae Yong Joon and other actors and actresses, have been acclaimed as star performers in Japan. After an explosive burst of popularity, the Korean Wave now seems to be subsiding somewhat, and some have proclaimed it over. But, the Korean Wave has won over legions of faithful fans who maintain a keen interest in things Korean. In recent years, Dong Bang Shin Gi, also known as TVXQ (Tong Vfang Xien Qi), a Korean five-member boy band, and then earlier this year, Girls’ Generation, a nine-member girl group, have created quite a stir while capturing the fascination of Japan’s younger generations. Although TVXQ recently disbanded, their songs continue to enjoy widespread popularity, maintaining a high ranking on the Oricon Chart, Japan’s most reliable index for pop music. Girls’ Generation, which debuted in Japan this year, has been a huge hit as well, especially among teenage girls. Traditionally, Japan’s young music fans have preferred female singers and actresses over male entertainers. As such, their attention is now focused on Girls’ Generation, a phenomenon similar to the previous sensation created by Korean actress Jeon Ji-hyun. Girls’ Generation has captivated the hearts of young Japanese girls, who greatly adore female celebrities. Whereas fans of the initial Korean Wave were mainly middle-aged housewives, TVXQ and Girls’ Generation have attracted a younger generation of followers. Sports Powerhouse This year, Korea’s emergence was also seen in the world of sports. Since reaching the semifinals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Korean soccer teams have continued to maintain their elevated status in global competition. The men’s team reached the round of 16 at this year’s South Africa World Cup, while the women’s team placed third in this year’s U-20 women’s competition and then went on to capture the championship of the recent U-17 women’s competition. In comparison, the Japanese teams failed repeatedly in the final rounds due to their own mistakes, and I believe that there is a reason for this shortcoming. As compared to only 60 high schools in Korea with a women’s soccer team, there are at least 1,400 in Japan. In the process of being selected for the national team, Japanese players might over exert themselves to a point of physical exhaustion. The situation is similar for high school baseball. In Korea, about 60 high school teams vie every year in various baseball competitions, but in Japan, more than 4,500 high school teams participate in twice-a-year national contests. Such a broad infrastructure is a positive factor, in general, but the players can get worn out playing so many games. Pitchers, in particular, are known to ruin their careers in such intense high school competitions. As for the World Baseball Classic (WBC), there is no appreciable difference in the individual capability of the Korean or Japanese players. In certain aspects, Korea has a rather disadvantageous environment, but it is still more advantageously positioned to win. Korea’s national baseball team captured the gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympics and came in second at the 2009 WBC. Lim Chang-Yong, a star pitcher of the Japanese baseball league, has been one of the most effective pitchers in recent years. Moreover, the Japanese national baseball team includes several Korean-Japanese who are naturalized Japanese citizens. You could almost say that certain Korea-Japan matches are actually contests between Koreans and Korean-Japanese. In 2010, Korea also stood proudly on the world stage in a variety of sports. At this year’s Vancouver Winter Olympics, where Korea’s Kim Yuna was crowned the queen of figure skating, Korean skaters surprised audiences worldwide by winning several medals in the speed skating and short track competition. By contrast, Japan did not win a single gold medal in any winter Olympic event. Because of the impressive performances by Korean athletes at several world sports events, Korea is becoming known as a sports powerhouse. In golf, Koreans who play in the professional tours in Japan and the United States are invariably among the leaders in the final rounds. Both Koreans and Japanese golfers participate in the U.S. golf tour, but Korean golfers have made the deepest impression. I can recall spending a sleepless night viewing the golf tournament in which Pak Se Ri waded into the water in order to hit her ball out of a water hazard. She went on to win a major championship, thereby opening the door for the “Pak Se Ri Brigade,” who have followed in her footsteps. If I am asked which side I support when Korea and Japan compete against each other, I attempt to be neutral; but in truth, I end up cheering for the Korean side because of its more talented players. Korea and Taiwan, two former colonies of Japan, and the island of Okinawa, which was previously taken over by Japan and remains under Tokyo’s control, have produced a number of individuals with exceptional talent, which well exceed that of Japanese within Japan. The world of today, in which the American public elects a black man as its president, is showing signs of moving beyond the racial discrimination that rightly belongs in the past. Overcoming its past, Korea has also begun to ascend to a lofty position among the international community. | |||
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