편집자 주     본지에서는 전세계 외국인 독자들을 대상으로 한국의 역사와 문화를 정확하게 소개하기 위해 김정기 변호사의 칼럼을 영문판으로 연재를 시작합니다.

한국의 역사와 문화에 관심있는 전 세계인들에게 도움이 되길 바랍니다.

한국어 독자들은 한국어로 번역된 화면이 보이므로 반드시 사이트 상단에서 원문보기로 설정하셔야 영문판으로 보실수 있습니다.

  

 

☆김정기 총장 주요 약력☆
 
● 학력
- 뉴욕주립대학교(StonyBrook) 정치학과 수석졸업
- 마케트대학교(Marquette) 로스쿨 법학박사
- 하버드대학교(Harvard) 케네디스쿨 최고위과정
- 베이징대학교(Peking) 북한학 연구학자

 

● 경력
- 제8대 주상하이 대한민국 총영사(13등급 대사)
- 2010 상하이엑스포 대한민국관 정부대표
- 아시아태평양지방정부네트워크(CityNet) 사무국 대표
- 세계스마트시티기구(WeGO) 사무국 사무총장
- 밀워키지방법원 재판연구원 
- 법무법인 대륙아주 중국 총괄 미국변호사
- 난징대학교 국제경제연구소 객좌교수
- 베이징대학교 동방학연구원 연구교수
- 국민대학교 정치대학원 특임교수
- 동국대학교 경영전문대학원 석좌교수
- 숭실사이버대학교 초대 총장

 

● 저서
- 대학생을 위한 거로영어연구[전10권](거로출판사)
- 나는 1%의 가능성에 도전한다(조선일보사)
- 한국형 협상의 법칙(청년정신사)
- 대한민국과 세계 이야기(도서출판 책미듬)

(Newskorea=Seoul) Digital News Team =Korea Story 15 - <Foreign Affairs and NationalRestoratio 7 by Atty Jeong-kee Kim>

● Restoration of Korea-Japan relations is a request of the times.

President Yoon Seok-yeol restoted Korea-Japan relations, which had broken down during the five-year presidency of Moon Jae-in. Solomon's prescription was presented, which simultaneously satisfies the 1965 Korea-Japan diplomatic normalization agreement and the 2018 Korean Supreme Court ruling. In particular, the suggestion of a third-party payment method as compensation for forced mobilization during Japanese colonial rule is truly a godsend. In addition, the normalization of GSOMIA, the military information security agreement between Korea and Japan, was declared. Prime Minister Kishida of Japan decided to lift export restrictions on Korea and fully restore Korea, about four years after excluding it from the ‘white list’ (preferential export review countries). The decision to pursue a future-oriented Korea-Japan relationship by establishing a cooperative partnership in the fields of security, economy, science and technology with Japan, which shares the universal values ​​of freedom, human rights, and the rule of law, is a remarkable achievement. 

In the meantime, leftist activists have been under the illusion of being chased during the right-wing military regime and identifying themselves with the independence fighters of the Japanese colonial era. These self-proclaimed anti-Japanese independence fighters were hypnotized and wanted to remain in the past century instead of advancing to the cutting-edge Fourth Industrial Revolution era. The liberation of our people in 1945 was not the result of the anti-Japanese struggle, so I do not understand what they find so proud and admirable. Despite being forcibly mobilized by Japan, Koreans were ultimately compelled to fight against the primary Allied force, namely the U.S. While the Korean Liberation Army under the Provisional Government of Korea, led by Kim Gu, existed, its impact on the war was minimal.

In 1910, there was Ahn Jung-geun, and in 1919, there was Ryu Gwan-sun. As colonial rule continued, the desire for independence gradually waned. After the establishment of the puppet government of Manchukuo under the control of the Japanese Kwantung Army headquarters in 1932, the seeds of the independence movement dried up on the Korean Peninsula, and from then on, living in colonial Joseon was destined to be branded as pro-Japanese, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, directly or indirectly. Fortunately, the leftist forces in the border area between Joseon and Manchuria were carrying out a small-scale guerrilla war and were barely able to survive.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, Korean units were organized within the Chinese Communist Party’s Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army and engaged in anti-Japanese warfare. However, these units were later nearly annihilated, and when the Pacific War began in 1941, small units led by Kim Il-sung sought safety and were organized into Soviet Far East Korean units, but did not fight directly against Japanese troops.

Koreans are the only ethnic group in the world that derogatorily refers to Japanese people as "Jap." What is the cause? On a distant level, it is the Imjin War, and on a closer level, it is the Japan-Korea annexation. Both are irremovable national disgraces in Korean history. If our ancestors suffered because of their own failings, who can we blame?

Who are the Japanese? In 1592, during the Imjin War, Japan invaded Korea as a forward base for continental expansion and fought against the Ming Dynasty, which was the world’s strongest power at the time, resulting in the devastation of Korea. After the Edo Shogunate ruled Japan for over 200 years, Japan opened its ports under the pressure of the American black ships and, through a quiet revolution, ushered in a new era with the Meiji Restoration led by the Choshu and Satsuma domains. By winning the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, Japan emerged in East Asia, and by winning the Russo-Japanese War, Japan thwarted Russia’s southern advance. Japan then allied with the world’s superpower, Britain, and became recognized as one of the top 5 powers on the international stage. Rising as Asia’s strongest nation, Japan pursued changes in the world order centered around the Anglo-French alliance and, as a principal Axis power in World War II, initiated the war in the Pacific theater. However, the war ended with unconditional surrender after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As a defeated nation, Japan underwent MacArthur’s occupation for seven years but then made a spectacular comeback, and maintained its status as the world’s second-largest economy.

Korea has now become a proud nation on the world stage. Has there ever been such a prosperous era in the history of Korea?  Korea has become robust, with global competitiveness in various industrial sectors such as semiconductors, steel, automotive, shipbuilding, and petrochemicals, and is not even afraid of financial crises occurring every decade. 
In terms of economic territoryisLorea is also on the edge of being a large country. But how long will we live under the ghost of Japanese colonial rule?   If Korea wants to become the number one country in the future, the country it must face and overcome is Japan, but if it remains a mental slave as a colonial Korean, it will never be able to 'win'.

It is time to recognize Japan. Let us praise Japan. While we should demand apologies for Japan’s wrongdoings, we should also express gratitude for Japan’s positive contributions (even if not intentional). Japan should show genuine repentance as an aggressor for historically tragic events such as the comfort women and forced labor issues. South Korea must acknowledge that Japan’s assistance was significant in achieving the economic miracle. Although the Korean War left Korea in ruins, the industrial infrastructure established in colonial Korea before World War II and Park Chung-hee’s economic development plans, modeled after Japan’s Meiji Restoration, received crucial support from Japan, which had successfully achieved a second industrialization after its post-war defeat.

In fact, Korea, a newly independent country after the war, barely survived on the aid economy from the United States in the 1950s, and as U.S. aid decreased, it did not have the seed money necessary to achieve Park Chung-hee's dream of becoming a manufacturing powerhouse. Thus, as a desperate measure, South Korea normalized diplomatic relations with Japan in 1965, and ndcured a total of $600 million in industrialization 'combat funds,' including $300 million in grant aid and $300 million in loan aid. At that time, the $600 million in grants and loans was about 20% of South Korea’s 1965 GDP of $3.1 billion, and the $300 million in grants exceeded 95% of the South Korean government’s budget and was 3% of the Japanese government’s budget. Additionally, technology transfers were smoothly carried out, with POSCO in steel, Hyundai Motor in automotive, and Hyundai Shipbuilding in shipbuilding receiving substantial support from their Japanese counterparts like Nippon Steel, Mitsubishi Motors, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. 

Koreans!  Please don’t be caught up in the past and let’s head towards the future. Only then can our people also dream of Pax Koreana?

☆ Author:  Atty Jeong-kee Kim ☆

● Education
- Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Summa Cum Laude, State University of New York at Stony Brook
-  Doctor of Jurisprudence, Marquette University Law School
- Senior Executive Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
- Research Scholar in North Korean Studies, Peking University

● Experience
- Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai
- Commissioner General for the Korean Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo
- CEO, Asia-Pacific Local Government Network for Economic and Social Development (CityNet)
- Secretary General, World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization(WeGO)
- Law Clerk, Milwaukee Circuit Court, USA
- Senior Attorney-at-Law, Dr & Aju LLC
- Distinguished Visiting Professor, World Economy Research Institute, Nanjing University
- Research Professor, Institute of Oriental Studies, Peking University
- Distinguished Professor, Graduate School of Political Science, Kookmin University
- Chair Professor, Graduate School of Business, Dongguk University
- First President of Soongsil Cyber University

● Publications
- Georo English Studies Series for College Students [10 volumes] (Georo Publishing)
- I Challenge the Possibility of One Percent (Chosun Ilbo)
- The Art of Negotiation (Cheongnyonneongsin Publishing)
- Korea and the World (Chekmidum Publishing)