The relationship between Japan and Korea reflects deep-seated and long-standing prejudice. Historically, Korea had closer ties to China than did Japan, and both Korea and China tended to view Japan as...

The relationship between Japan and Korea reflects deep-seated and long-standing prejudice. Historically, Korea had closer ties to China than did Japan, and both Korea and China tended to view Japan as a “troublemaking” state. This view was reinforced time and again by Japanese incursions into Korean territory and 35 years of Japan’s colonial rule. It has only been in recent years that the South Korean and Japanese governments have signed mutual friendship treaties, established normal diplomatic relations, and entered into joint economic development agreements. In an act of historic symbolism, South Korea and Japan cohosted the 2002 World Cup soccer games. Despite economic ties, there remains a sense of han, or bitter resentment, that many Koreans feel toward the Japanese.