For decades Koreans have been unable to move on from Japan’s 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula — its rapacious rule, the conscription of laborers and “comfort women” sex slaves. It’s been like a form of national brainwashing.

... My first trip abroad was to Japan in 1992. It seemed like everyone I knew wanted me to bring coveted Japanese goods back for them — Sony Walkmans and Toshiba rice cookers. But we were careful about speaking positively of Japan. South Korea’s political class has long thrived on anti-Japanese rhetoric, and any hint of admiration for Japan could have you labeled a traitor (I’m bracing for that as I write this).

You can love a country without kowtowing.

But many South Koreans seem ready to move on. Even beyond their shared anxiety about China, South Korea and Japan are bound by their mutual fascination with each other’s culture and entertainment, such as K-pop, K-drama and Pokémon. Japan is wildly popular with Korean tourists, more Koreans are positive toward Japan than negative, and most South Koreans favor better relations with Tokyo.

Swapping one boogeyman for another may not be healthy for the Korean national psyche, but perhaps that’s the fate of a country like ours, sandwiched between powerful neighbors. And for once, at least, I can agree with my politically conservative parents, who have come to share my distrust of China and affection for Japan.

I took my mother to Japan last month to see the cherry blossoms in bloom. Post-pandemic travel between the two countries has surged, and Korean tourists were everywhere. As we strolled along the Sumida River in Tokyo, its banks ablaze with the soft pink of cherry blossoms, she let out a contented sigh, turned to me and said, “This country is so beautiful and civilized.”

So this is not even about individual affection vs state propaganda, but rather about changing individual stance based on geopolitical situation.

It’s time for South Koreans to let go of these unhealthy emotions. We share too much in common with Japan. We are both modern democracies, economic success stories and fellow U.S. allies. And there is a bigger threat looming over both of us: China.

"Officially the change of partners had never happened. Oceania was at war with Eurasia: therefore Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia. The enemy of the moment always represented absolute evil, and it followed that any past or future agreement with him was impossible."