📌 한국어로 읽고 싶어요? 👉 [한국어 블로그]
Welcome back! In Part 1 of our Korean Liberation Day (Gwangbokjeol) series, we talked about how Korea got its light back — the country and the language that were taken, the people who protected them, and the liberation of 1945.
But that light still has some shadow left. This is why the story of 광복절(Gwang-bok-jeol) does not end in 1945.
A story that is not finished yet
The Japanese occupation looks like a past that is completely over. But some of the wounds from that time still continue today.
The clearest examples are the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery “comfort women” victims and the forced mobilization victims. Some of the grandmothers who suffered are still alive today. They live in the same time as us.
In front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, there is a Statue of a Girl (소녀상) — a statue made to remember the “comfort women” victims. The long-running gatherings there quietly say that this problem is not over yet.
Legal fights also continue. One side wants to remember, the other side wants to erase. Even now, the two countries’ views have not come closer.
There is another situation to watch carefully — the Sado Mine (사도광산). This is a mine where about 1,500 Korean people were taken by force and made to work hard during the occupation. In 2024, Japan listed it as a UNESCO World Heritage site and promised to properly explain the “whole history,” including the forced labor. But in the actual exhibition, the word “forced” was missing, and both Koreans and Japanese were described as just “all workers.” So in 2026, UNESCO again asked Japan to tell the history properly.
Because things like this happen, in Korea, remembering itself is seen as an effort and a responsibility. If there is a force trying to erase, there must also be a force trying to keep.
Korea keeps this history in films
This is why so many films about painful history are made in Korea — to not forget, and to keep a record. If you are interested, you could start with these:
- “아이 캔 스피크 I Can Speak” (2017) — The story of a survivor of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery (known as the “Comfort Women”) who learns English to testify before the U.S. Congress. Its light, approachable tone makes it a good starting point for anyone new to this history.
- “귀향 Spirits’ Homecoming” (2016) — A film that faces the “Japanese Military comfort women” history directly. It was hard to get funding, so it was completed with support from many ordinary citizens.
- “군함도 The Battleship Island” (2017) — The story of Koreans forced to work in the Hashima Island coal mine. Good to watch together with the Sado Mine story above.
- “허스토리 Herstory” (2018) — Based on the true “Kanpu Trial,” where survivors in the 1990s stood up in a Japanese court themselves.
So, do Koreans still dislike Japan?
When you live in Korea, foreigners often ask this question. But the answer is not that simple.
Today, Korea and Japan are close neighbors. Many people travel between them and enjoy each other’s food, films, and music. Not many Koreans see each Japanese person living today as the same as the old Japanese empire.
But many Koreans also do not think the past is completely finished. So feelings toward Japan are often split into two hearts.
On one side is the feeling, “I want to get along well with Japanese people today.” On the other side is the feeling, “The wrongs of the past should be remembered clearly and resolved.” These two are not fighting each other — they are more like two feelings sitting side by side inside one person.
When history shows up in daily life — the Korea–Japan match
This subtle feeling sometimes jumps out at unexpected moments. A famous example is the Korea–Japan match (한일전), a sports game between Korea and Japan.
Whether it’s soccer or baseball, when the opponent is Japan, even people who usually don’t care about sports gather in front of the TV. In Korea, there is a half-joking saying: “We can lose to other countries, but we can’t lose to Japan.”
To a foreigner, this may look a little too much. But this heat is not really “hate” — it is closer to “pride that doesn’t want to lose.” After the game, most people go back to normal life, plan a trip to Japan, and eat Japanese ramen.
Speaking of travel — when Gwangbokjeol comes near, some people say, “Do I really have to travel to Japan on this exact day?” In reality, some Koreans do go to Japan even on this day. It just means that, on this one day, actions connected to Japan feel a little heavier than usual. If you are a foreigner, just knowing this feeling will help you understand Korean society much more deeply.
Remembering does not mean hating
When I talk about Gwangbokjeol, this is the part I most want to share.
The reason we remember history should not be to hate Japanese people today. But we should also be careful with the words, “For the future, let’s just forget the past.”
One country taking another by force. Taking people away to war and hard labor. Crushing the dignity of women. Trying to erase a people’s language. These things need to be remembered clearly. Remembering is not the same word as hating. It is closer to a promise: that such things must never happen again.
Today, I think about “Gwangbokjeol” once more
81 years ago, the people who met liberation came out to the streets and waved the Korean flag. It must have been the joy of getting their country back.
Some went to prison for shouting for independence. Some had their names taken away. Some were dragged to battlefields and factories. And some quietly studied Hangeul, made dictionaries, and passed the Korean language to the next generation.
Today, we speak and write Korean without a second thought, and people all over the world learn this language. If those people could see it, how would they feel? Maybe a little surprised — and maybe a little happy.
Gwangbokjeol is not a history only for Koreans. If you are learning Korean, then for just this one day, it would be nice to remember what kind of time this language passed through to reach you.
Gwangbokjeol. The day the light came back. And a day to quietly promise not to forget the time when that light was lost.
If your country has a similar day, please tell me in the comments~! I’d love to know, too.
See you in the next story. 안녕! 👋
📢 Want to learn more about Korean culture? 👉 [ Korean Culture ]
📖 Key words in this story
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Wianbu (위안부) | Japanese Military ‘Comfort Women’ — victims of Japanese Military Sexual Slavery during the colonial period; an issue that remains unresolved today. |
| Sonyeosang (소녀상) | The “Statue of a Girl,” made to remember the “comfort women” victims. |
| Hanil Cheonggugwon Hyeopjeong (한일청구권협정) | The 1965 agreement between Korea and Japan about compensation. |
| Sado Gwangsan (사도광산) | A Japanese mine where Koreans were forced to work. Controversial after its UNESCO listing. |
| Haniljeon (한일전) | A sports match between Korea and Japan. |
| Taegeukgi (태극기) | The national flag of South Korea. |
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