EAI Special Report: Co-evolution of Korea and Japan for a New Era

EAI Special Report: Co-evolution of Korea and Japan for a New Era

In 2015, marking the 70th anniversary of liberation and the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan, the East Asia Institute (EAI) published the special report, "Co-evolution of Korea and Japan for a New Era." This report aims to contribute to a new beginning for Korea-Japan relations by examining the bilateral relationship, which faces challenges within the transforming East Asian order of the 21st century, and by readjusting the goals, values, and roles of the relationship with a macroscopic and long-term perspective.

Authors

Ha Young-sun Chairman of EAI, Professor Emeritus at Seoul National University. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Washington and has served as a professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Seoul National University, Director of the Institute of International Affairs, Director of the Center for American Studies, and President of the Korean Peace Studies Association. He is currently a member of the Presidential National Security Advisory Board and a civilian member of the National Unification Advisory Council. His publications include "Ha Young-sun's International Politics Columns 1991-2011," "Theory of Complex World Politics: Strategy, Principles, and a New Order," "Korea-Japan New Era and Symbiotic Complex Networks," and "World Politics of Transformation."

Son Yeol Director of EAI's Japan Center, Dean of the Graduate School of International Studies at Yonsei University. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago. He has served as a consultant for the Northeast Asian History Foundation, the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and as Vice President of the Korean Political Science Association. He has also held visiting professorships at the University of Tokyo, Waseda University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His main research areas include Japanese politics and foreign policy, international political economy, East Asian regionalism, and public diplomacy. Recent publications include "Sino-Japanese Détente and Japan: The International Politics of the 1972 Normalization Negotiations," South Korea in 2013 Meeting New Challenges with the Old Guard (co-authored), and "The Abe Administration and the Direction of Japan-US Relations, Korea-Japan Cooperation."

Lee Sook-jong President of EAI, Professor at the Graduate School of Governance at Sungkyunkwan University. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Harvard University. She is currently a member of the Presidential National Security Advisory Board, and serves on committees for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Unification, and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). She is also a member of The Trilateral Commission and the Council of Councils (CoC), actively working to build international networks for policy research. She has held positions as a research fellow at the Sejong Institute, a visiting fellow at the Northeast Asia Program of the Brookings Institution, a lecturer at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and a visiting professor at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies. Recent publications include "South Korea as New Middle Power Seeking Complex Diplomacy," Public Diplomacy and Soft Power in East Asia (co-edited), "Global Development Cooperation Governance and Korea" (edited), and "The Demise of ‘Korea Inc.’: Paradigm Shift in Korea’s Developmental State."

Lee Won-deok Professor in the Division of International Studies and Director of the Institute of Japanese Studies at Kookmin University. He earned his Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Tokyo and has served as a research fellow at the Sejong Institute, a visiting fellow at the East Asian Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh, and a visiting professor in the Graduate Program of International Social Sciences at the University of Tokyo. His primary research interests are Japanese politics and foreign policy, and Korea-Japan relations. His major works include "Dokdo Through Korea-Japan Official Documents" (co-authored) and "Korea-Japan New Era and Symbiotic Complex Networks 3" (co-authored).

Jeon Jae-sung Director of EAI's Asian Security Program, Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Seoul National University. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Northwestern University and has served as an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Sookmyung Women's University. His main research areas include international political theory and the history of international relations. Recent publications include "Is Politics Moral?", "East Asian International Politics: From History to Theory," "A Critical Review of Postmodernism and Realism on Constructivist International Relations Theory," "A Theoretical Study on the Emergence of International Political Modernity in Europe," and "The Rise of Great Powers and Response Mechanisms: Theoretical Analysis and European Cases."

Jeong Jae-jeong Professor in the Department of Korean History at the University of Seoul. He holds a Ph.D. in Korean History from Seoul National University, specializing in modern and contemporary Korean history and Korea-Japan relations history. He has served as the second President of the Northeast Asian History Foundation, a visiting professor at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, a member and secretary of the Korea-Japan History Joint Research Committee, a specially appointed professor at Hokkaido University, a specially appointed professor at the University of Tokyo, a visiting professor at the Center for Northeast Asian Studies at Tohoku University, and President of the Society for Korea-Japan Relations History. His main research areas are modern Korean history and Korea-Japan relations history. His major works include "A History of Korea-Japan Relations in the 20th Century: Themes and Issues," "The Colonial Rule of Imperial Japan and Korean Railways: 1892-1945," and "A Comprehensive History of Korea-Japan Relations Viewed from Kyoto."

I. Introduction

Korea and Japan are facing the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations and the 70th anniversaries of liberation and the end of World War II, respectively, at a time when their bilateral relations are at their worst since normalization. Despite the passage of considerable time, the relationship has further deteriorated, failing to keep pace with the rapidly turning wheels of history. This is occurring even though 21st-century East Asia, undergoing civilizational transformation, is no longer an environment where pursuing national strength and prosperity based on the old paradigm of individual states is viable. Both Korea and Japan are destined to encounter each other anew amidst these transformative challenges. Amidst the numerous conferences and reports being produced in 2015, the East Asia Institute (EAI) has prepared this new report not merely as a set of measures to restore Korea-Japan relations, but with the aim of contributing to a new beginning for bilateral relations by accurately assessing the overall landscape of 21st-century transforming East Asia from a macroscopic and long-term perspective, and by readjusting the goals, values, and roles of Korea-Japan relations within that context.

The civilizational transformation of the 21st century signifies that the principles of power competition and balance of power for the maximization of individual state interests in existing international relations are undergoing revolutionary changes in terms of actors, stage, and performance. The influence of non-state actors, both internal and external, is growing; beyond the stage of wealth and power, new stages such as climate change, environment, culture, and technology are emerging; and an era has arrived where complex performances of competition, cooperation, and coexistence are required, considering not only national interests but also regional and global interests. In East Asia, while China's rapid rise is causing a power transition, leading to the development of traditional balance-of-power diplomacy centered on the U.S. and China, a governance-based order is also emerging where various actors, including local governments, civil society organizations, and multinational corporations, participate in diverse issue areas such as trade, finance, development, climate change, environmental pollution, and energy, resolving issues through more horizontal and flexible networks. Major powers, sensing the changes in this era where power competition, balance of power, and network governance are intertwined, are engaging in fierce competition by actively undertaking the construction of regional order to maximize their national interests. The United States, under the banner of 'rebalance,' is deeply intervening in regional order through various means, while China is making diplomatic efforts to take the lead in regional order construction by employing dazzling languages and concepts such as 'amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness,' 'community of common destiny,' and 'One Belt, One Road.' Neighboring Japan, under the banner of 'proactive pacifism based on international cooperation,' is pursuing the path of becoming a normal state while simultaneously seeking to resolve regional and global challenges through the integration of the Japan-U.S. alliance.

It is crucial to strive to ensure that this competition in order construction leads to the coexistence of the entire region, rather than the individual survival of each state. The goals, values, and roles of Korea-Japan relations must also be re-examined and redefined from this perspective. To construct a complex East Asian order that embodies the value of coexistence, the status of Korea-Japan relations must be reset, and its content must be enriched. It is time to earnestly reflect on and discuss the future of Korea-Japan relations together, and in doing so, to resolve past issues and formulate a vision that can serve as a new standard for future history.

In 1965, within the Cold War order, both Korea and Japan, recognizing their mutual need for national prosperity and strength, set aside the heavy burden of past history and decided to normalize diplomatic relations. Through economic cooperation with Japan, Korea achieved modernization, and Japan expanded the benefits of economic cooperation by becoming Korea's largest trading partner. Furthermore, as allies of the United States within the Cold War system, both countries steadily built security cooperation while playing a bridgehead role in anti-communism. Amidst this sharing of interests, Korea and Japan also consistently made efforts to converge historical perceptions, achieving certain results such as the Kono Statement in 1992, the Murayama Statement in 1995, the Kim Dae-jung-Obuchi Korea-Japan Partnership Declaration in 1998, and the Kan Statement in 2010.

However, as the 21st century began, East Asia entered a period of dynamic transformation. The strategic environment in East Asia has changed due to China's rise, coupled with Japan's prolonged economic stagnation, Korea's slowdown in economic growth, the resurgence of nationalism, and the emergence of new issues. In response to these significant changes, both Korea and Japan can no longer develop their bilateral relations based on past calculations of national interest. Nevertheless, the strategic goals and methods set by both governments bear considerable outdated characteristics. Japan's Abe administration is actively pursuing 'becoming a normal state' through a nationalistic logic of prosperity known as 'Abenomics,' military buildup, and strengthening the alliance with the United States, while domestically pursuing identity politics based on right-wing nationalism. The Park Geun-hye administration, by maintaining a hardline stance on historical issues based on simple anti-Japanese nationalism, has resulted in weakened policy flexibility and limited strategic options. In this context, Korea-Japan relations have struggled to even manage conflicts based on situational necessity, let alone open a new era of cooperation.

If Korea and Japan face the future of East Asia without a paradigm shift, they will encounter structural risks beyond mere tensions and conflicts in bilateral relations. Reflecting on the coming future history, we can identify three potential international political risks. First is security conflict between states. As the 21st-century landscape of East Asia is shaped by the rise of China challenging the established great powers of the U.S. and Japan, the U.S. and China are cautiously developing their relationship, based on the principle of constructing a 'new type of great power relations' characterized by peace, trust, and cooperation, unlike the unfortunate historical precedents between past great powers. However, within a framework of deep-seated mutual distrust, the Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation network and relations with China carry the risk of a security dilemma leading to an arms race. Second is conflict of interests. While economic interdependence in the Asia-Pacific region has rapidly increased since the end of the Cold War, national economic cooperation tends to exhibit aspects of 'zero-sum' competition rather than 'win-win' competition, as seen in potential conflicts among the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Simultaneously, cooperation in emerging arenas such as climate change and the environment, and advanced technology and knowledge, where cooperation for coexistence is more urgently needed, is not progressing rapidly. In particular, if international issues are viewed excessively through a security lens, as is customary in great power politics, it will be difficult to create a framework for interest-based cooperation. Third is emotional conflict. If Korea-Japan and China-Japan relations remain trapped in emotional conflict due to the clash of memories and identities formed during the encounters of the modern transition and Cold War periods, the 'Asian exceptionalism' that hinders progress in mutual cooperation and trust will persist. In this case, it will not only negatively impact trilateral relations among Korea, China, and Japan, as well as regional cooperation throughout Asia, but also open the possibility of security conflicts, and even armed clashes.

Korea and Japan must establish their bilateral relations in a direction that prevents the U.S.-Korea-Japan and China relations from forming a confrontational structure and escalating into conflicts of security, interest, and emotion, and instead promotes a cooperative structure. This requires maximizing cooperation in terms of interests and constructing a complex new order that integrates regional identity with national identity to alleviate emotional confrontation. Such a goal cannot be achieved merely through the adjustment of individual policies between the two countries. Internally, it requires building a foundation for 'global nationalism' that moves beyond exclusive nationalism towards coexistence, and externally, it requires both countries to 'co-evolve' while adopting a complex diplomatic paradigm. A new era of Korea-Japan relations is only possible through the co-evolution of Korea and Japan for the construction of a complex new order in East Asia.

Seeking the co-evolution of Korea and Japan for the construction of a complex new order in East Asia through reflection on future history begins with a meticulous diagnosis of the 21st-century East Asian landscape. First, Chapter II will forecast the future landscape. Amidst the competition between the U.S. 'rebalancing strategy' and China's 'new type of international relations theory' surrounding the construction of the East Asian regional order, we will conduct a three-dimensional analysis of the dynamics of U.S.-China relations, unique systemic factors in East Asia, and domestic political factors, and then present the three major risk factors that future East Asia may face and the corresponding challenges. Chapter III will diagnose the current state of Korea-Japan relations from a historical perspective, analyze the background and causes of the deterioration of bilateral relations, provide short-term remedies, and review forward-looking and comprehensive public diplomacy measures. Chapter IV will present measures for convergence of historical perceptions, mitigation of historical conflicts, realization of historical reconciliation, and the construction of collective identity as multifaceted approaches to overcome the past in Korea-Japan relations. Finally, the conclusion will propose a 'three-track' approach, going beyond the current government's 'two-track' approach, as a method to overcome future risks. First, cooperation to expand common interests between the two countries in security, prosperity, and emerging arenas; second, proposals for avoiding mutual avoidance, healing internal factors, and historical reconciliation as remedies to overcome modern conflict factors; and third, long-term efforts to foster a complex identity for the nation and the region, thereby contributing to Korea-Japan relations and the construction of a new East Asian order...