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Manga Kenkanryu

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The cover of Manga Kenkanryu, in which some of the controversial issues the book covers are mentioned. Click to see a translation.
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The cover of Manga Kenkanryu, in which some of the controversial issues the book covers are mentioned. Click to see a translation.

Manga Kenkanryu (Japanese: マンガ 嫌韓流; Manga Kenkanryū, ISBN 488380478X, translated as "Manga - The Hate Korea Wave" among others, also referred to as Hating the Korean Wave in a [New York Times article], and Hate Korea: A Comic in an [Associated Press article]) is a controversial manga written by Sharin Yamano themed on Korean-Japanese disputes and anti-Korean sentiment in Japan. The manga started as a webcomic on the author's [website] entitled CHOSEN, and after being refused publication for two years, it was published by Shinyusha Co., Ltd. (Shin'yūsha [link]) and released in Japan on 2005-07-26, after which it triggered a movement centered in the Japanese internet. A sequel, Manga Kenkanryu 2 (ISBN 4883805166) was released 2006-02-22 (Shimane Prefecture's Takeshima Day).

The book was released in the context of the recent "Korean Wave" pop culture boom in Japan, started by imports of Korean drama shows (one of the most popular being Winter Sonata) and other pop culture imports, leading to increased positive awareness of Korea, but it has also triggered a phenomenon known as the "Hate Korea Wave" (after which the book is named), due to increased awareness of various Korean-Japanese disputes and previously existing anti-Korean sentiment in Japan. The book's tagline proclaims "There is one more Korean Wave that the media is hiding - the Hate Korea Wave!" (マスコミが隠しているもう一つの韓流、それが・・・・・・「嫌韓流」だ！！) The book, however, is controversial both in and outside of Japan as it is charged for distortion of major historical facts, alleged racism, and not being frank in dealing with ongoing issues between Korea and Japan.

Contents

Synopsis

[(translated from official website)]

Kaname Okiayu was an ordinary high school student that could be found anywhere. He found history difficult, and to put it clearly, he had no interest in it. Not to mention that neither would he have any reason to be interested in South Korea. He merely had the vague assumption that "Japan did bad things to Korea". He was taught that at school, and TV and newspapers also said that. But since the Korea-Japan co-hosted World Cup, he started to feel that "There's something fishy about South Korea"……

As Kaname becomes a college student, he joins the "Far East Asia Investigation Committee" (極東アジア調査会; Kyoku-tō Ajia Chōsa Kai, translated into English as such in book, referred to in the New York Times as the "Far East Asia Research Society") history circle in order to learn more about South Korea. Guided by the seniors he meets there who are utterly absorbed in studying (the synopsis on the reverse side of the book's cover adds "and criticism of") South Korea, he would go on to learn the surprising truth, and the "true" history of South Korea.

Table of contents

[(Translated from official website)]
Excerpt from Chapter 1. Click to see a translation.
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Excerpt from Chapter 1. Click to see a translation.

Excerpt from Chapter 2.
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Excerpt from Chapter 2.

Excerpt from Chapter 4.
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Excerpt from Chapter 4.

The History of World Cup Soccer Stained by Koreans The Money and Prostration That Will Forever Be Demanded The History Walked By Zainichi and the Myth of "Forced Abduction" The Theft of Japanese Culture and the Disregarding of Copyrights - The Truth of "Pakri" (Japanese slang for Korean plagiarism) The Propaganda of the Anti-Japanese Media Which Eats At Japan From the Inside The History and Secrets of Hangul, the Self-Styled "World's Superior Language" What it Means for Foreigners (=Zainichi Koreans) to Possess Suffrage The Good and Bad of the 36 Years under the Empire of Japan, Which Served to Modernize Korea The Claims of Japan and South Korea Who Fight For Territorial Ownership table of contents in book adds subtitle (マスコミ主導の不可解なブーム その裏側に潜むもの), which translates as "The Inscrutable Boom Led By the Media - What Lurks on its Other Side"

Characters

Expanded from descriptions given on [official website] and Japanese article

Criticisms

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Part of the final debate scene shown in the NYT article, where Tae says the oft-quoted "It's not an exaggeration to say that Japan built the South Korea of today!"
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Part of the final debate scene shown in the NYT article, where Tae says the oft-quoted "It's not an exaggeration to say that Japan built the South Korea of today!"

Due to the content of the series, there have been many criticisms of the manga, the main complaint being that the series portrays Koreans in a less favorable and negative light compared to Japanese. Critics cite examples of this both in character portrayals of people seemingly representing the respective groups and in the commentary actually made by various characters.

Regarding character portrayals, one complaint in the New York Times article is that "The Japanese characters in the book are drawn with big eyes, blond hair and Caucasian features (supposedly symbolising superiority); the Koreans are drawn with black hair, narrow eyes and very Asian features." Kenkanryu 2 objects, however, the author stating "This expression is cartooned expression of typical Japan." (Kenkanryu 2, P267) Another common critique is that the way in which the characters' personalities are presented is heavily one-sided and purposefully harmful to the image of Korea and its proponents in the manga: figures on the Japanese "side" have generally carefree, enjoyable attitudes and come from a diversity of backgrounds; figures on the Korean side, on the other hand, by consisting of only members from good educational backgrounds and having arrogant characters, presents a heavily distorted stereotype of Koreans.

Their main criticism, however, is drawn on the actual commentary and opinions espoused by some of the characters in the manga. One such example is a claim that was made by one of the characters in the series that South Korea owes its current success to Japan, overlooking the negative aspects of Japanese occupation (e.g. human rights violations and attempts at assimilation) in favor of the claim that Japan was the impetus for Korea's modernization. Another objectionable incident from the series is that China is described by another (the same?) character as the "world's pirating king"#redirect .

Another excerpt from a debate scene in Chapter 2, part of which is also shown in the NYT article
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Another excerpt from a debate scene in Chapter 2, part of which is also shown in the NYT article

The book covers a variety of Korean-Japanese disputes, particularly the Dokdo territorial dispute, Japan's annexation of Korea, the Japanese history textbook controversies, recognition of history, and foreign suffrage (namely that of Zainichi Koreans) in Japan, with a viewpoint mainly criticizing the Republic of Korea and its perceived anti-Japanese attitude. The contents come mainly from already-existing opinions claimed by critics of South Korea, through put in a manga format. Critics argue that by transferring opinions on these issues to this medium, it makes it easier for the author to convey his criticisms of Korea to people with no previous interest in Korea.

Reception in Japan

It was made with the aim of spreading widely what the author believed was the "detestable reality of South Korea", with the idea that by doing so would "make as much of a hit as Gōmanism Manifesto did" (said by the author himself, according to the Kenkanryu Official Guidebook). Readers with previous anti-Korean sentiments have taken the author's viewpoint ("correct understanding of South Korea") on board, so much so that its contents are seen as alleged "truth" rather than opinion to its supporters. The book has been widely promoted on websites, blogs and message boards such as 2channel where right-wing and anti-Korean opinions are dominant, and there are even cases of inserting content directly from the book by such websites criticizing South Korea (many reproducing photographs directly from where they are presented in the book) in the form of supplementing the book's contents, and also in the form of introducing information raised on the 2channel Hangul Board. As shown through the book's bibliography, a significant portion of the book's content (eg. the World Cup and Korean plagiarism) was also sourced from websites.

In contrast to the Japanese internet, the Japanese media does not have as much of a right-wing presence - the book had been refused publication for two years, and some Japanese newspapers refused to advertise the book. Well-known revisionist writers have contributed four written articles to the book, however: [Kanji Nishio] (honorary chairman of the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform) on the Korean people, [Kohyu Nishimura] (described as a "publicist") on the South Korean media, Takahiro Ōtsuki (a professor who was a member of the Society when it was formed) on the "Hate Korea Kitchens" (嫌韓厨; Kenkanchū), and [Masao Shimojō] on the Dokdo dispute. The book also shows marked influence from the ["liberal historical viewpoint"] held by the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform, and the book holds a historical viewpoint common to that of Yoshinori Kobayashi's Gōmanism Manifesto series. A supplementary volume has recently been released entitled The Truth of "Manga - The Hate Korea Wave"! (マンガ嫌韓流の真実!, Manga Kenkanryū no Shinjitsu, ISBN 4796649735, published by Takarajima-sha and released 2005-10-21), using evidence to support its claims that the arguments presented in The Hate Korea Wave are based in fact. A book debunking Kenkanryu has recently been released, however, entitled This Part of "Manga Kenkanryu" is Nonsense - A Serious Rebuttal.

The 2005-11-19 New York Times article ["Ugly Images of Asian Rivals Become Best Sellers in Japan"] by Norimitsu Onishi describes Kenkanryu and another manga, Introduction to China as "portraying Chinese and Koreans as base peoples and advocating confrontation with them". The article also discusses how the book reveals some of the sentiments underlying Japan's current worsening relations with the rest of Asia, as well as the country's longstanding unease with its own sense of identity. It claims that the book is influenced by how much of Japan's history in the last century and a half has been guided by the goal of becoming more like the West and less like Asia and how the book, and perhaps inadvertently betrays Japan's conflicted identity: longstanding feelings of inferiority toward the West and superiority toward the rest of Asia. (See above)

Claims/arguments made in the book

(under construction)
The book implies that the misjudgement was a decisive factor in the Korean team's (who, like Japan, had never won a World Cup match before 2002) record four advancements into the tournament. Although the book suggests an ulterior motive behind the misjudgement, it does not speculate one (eg. bribery). As the book points out, four referee decisions were also [included in the 2004 FIFA Fever DVD release] in its list of top 10 wrong referee decisions in the history of the World Cup. Although the book states that this DVD release by FIFA was in response to the demands of the "fair judgement movement", Exposing Manga Kenkanryu's Lies refers to a [news article] in which FIFA states that it was not they that directed the DVD's content, but another company under license from FIFA. The blog goes on to point out that the book does not mention that a refereeing decision during a Brazil game was in third place. The New York Times article by Norimitsu Onishi also writes that the reason behind the mentioning of the 2002 FIFA World Cup was to justify Japan's lagging behind South Korean soccer by vandalizing the validity of the South Korea team's success in an attempt to bring it down to an equal footing with Japan, as well as nullify the expanding opinion in Japan that South Korea has emerged as yet another rival to Japan.

The book also describes the conduct of overzealous Korean supporters, and on p20 claims, as the [Asia Times article] points out, that the Hinomaru on the Japanese flag displayed during the opening ceremony in Seoul was deliberately drawn bigger to make the flag look like a used sanitary napkin. The blog points out that the size of the Hinomaru appeared bigger due to an illusion created by the angle at which this photo (original photo [here]) was taken, and that a side angle photo [here] shows a more accurate comparison to the Taegukgi. The blog also suggests that Yamano was working on the false assumption that the circle in the middle of South Korea's flag is the same size as that of the Hinomaru, noting that on the [Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs webpage] the circle on the Hinomaru is also bigger in comparison to the Taegukgi, and also notes that on p20 the tetragrams on the South Korean flag are drawn incorrectly.

Responses to the book

*After the release, arguments against the book (both the book itself and the information used in it), and arguments against those arguments became the focus of blogs and message boards.
  • The 2005-07-26 issue of Tokyo Sports reported that the major newspapers Asahi Shimbun, Yomiuri Shimbun and Sankei Shimbun had refused to advertise the book. Other sports newspapers, including Evening Fuji (also published by Sankei Shimbun), however, advertised the book.
  • In the Amazon.co.jp Japanese Books Top Sales Rankings printed in the Asahi Shimbun from [July 11-17], there was the explanatory message "*Comics are not included in the rankings" (※ランキングの対象書籍にコミックは含まれていません), and the Amazon rankings in other newspapers also showed this message. This message had not been shown before when the books were deleted from the Asahi rankings for [July 4-10]. This was contradicted, however, when the [August 1-7] rankings showed the controversial manga Neo Gomanism Manifesto Special: On Yasukuni.
    • *On the [August 15-21] rankings, the "*Message From Amazon.co.jp: The manga titles removed until now from the rankings, Manga - The Hate Korea Wave and ', will be included in the rankings from now on." (※Amazon.co.jpからのおことわり'''：これまで漫画のタイトルにつき除外しておりました『マンガ嫌韓流』と『マンガ中国入門 やっかいな隣人の研究』を今回よりランキングに含めております。) was shown, and the two books rose to the #1 and 2 rankings respectively.
  • Alongside cries to "Drive away the Hate Korea heat wave!", there were messages posted at the websites of Rakuten and other online stores calling for the burning of the book, while others called for the buying out of all available copies.
  • While the book reached the shelves of bookstores according to schedule on the release date, there was a general shortage of copies and the book immediately following the release date became difficult to find. It is thought that bookstores which did not carry it were few, however. The publisher quickly reprinted the book to meet demand.
  • According to the Shinyusha official website, the number of copies printed (as of September 2005) is 300,000.
  • In the September 30 evening issue of the Yomiuri Shimbun, a review appeared criticizing the book as follows: "Is this not an example of the manipulation of the reader's impression through beautification of those who support you and portraying those who oppose you otherwise, which we criticize China and Korea as doing?" This sentence also refers to outspoken right-wing social critic Yoshinori Kobayashi's practice of glorifying himself and demonizing opponents such as Hachirō Taku and Satoshi Uesugi, which receives frequent criticism. This is only a criticism of the book's images, and as yet there has been no attempt to logically negate the book's arguments using written and physical evidence.
  • A positive comment about the book was written in the Chunichi Shimbun evening edition's Billow and Ripple (大波小波, Ōnami Sazanami) column supporting the book's stance on the Dokdo dispute.

    • Sequel

    The cover of Kenkanryu 2. Click to see a translation.
    Enlarge
    The cover of Kenkanryu 2. Click to see a translation.

    The book was so successful (450,000 copies sold) that a sequel, Manga Kenkanryu 2 (マンガ 嫌韓流2, ISBN 4883805166, Occidentalism entries [link] and [link], official website [here]) was released on 2006-02-22, the same date as Japan's Shimane Prefecture designated "Takeshima Day" last year, angering South Koreans. While continuing more or less upon the basic setting of its predecessor, the sequel also deals with such issues as far as Zainichi issues, the Sea of Japan naming dispute, and Japan's Protection of Human Rights Bill. It is also not merely a criticism of South Korea but also upon the position of Japanese media reporting, House of Councillors member Tomiko Okazaki's participation in anti-Japanese demonstrations, and the educational position of the Japan Teachers Union.

    In the article regarding Zainichi issues, the book by name focuses upon South Korea but is centered upon the North Korean-linked Chogin Credit Cooperatives, Zainichi North Korean schools, and the North Korean abduction issue with focus upon Zainichi North Koreans and the North Korean-linked General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, and this aspect of the book's organisation has undergone criticism from Japanese netizens for failing to touch upon the subject of Zainichi South Koreans and the South Korean-linked Korean Residents Union in Japan.

    Another issue the sequel deals with is the media response (including The New York Times') response to the original book.

    Synopsis

    [(Translated from official website)]

    The original Manga - The Hate Korea Wave, whose sales have exceeded 400,000 copies since its release in July 2005. Even before its release, the Chosun Ilbo, KBS TV and major South Korean media outlets began criticizing it for "fabrication" and "reckless remarks". It was then reported internationally by the US New York Times and the UK Times newspapers as being part of the "Hate Korea Wave phenomenon". It was, however, given the silent treatment by the Japanese media, and the anticipated second round of this controversial work has finally arrived!

    Story

    Kaname's seniors graduate, and the Far East Asia Investigation Committee is joined by freshmen and new exchange students. Kaname Okiayu, who learned the "true" history of Korea, becomes a third year college student and advanced to become a central figure in the Committee.

    On the other hand, Kōichi Matsumoto, a Zainichi Korean who has come to appear in the Committee, has begun to worry about his identity as a "Zainichi"......

    The South Korean university students who lost to the Far East Asia Investigation Committee in the previous debate showdown have, with the praise of the South Korean people, come back for a rematch. Kaname and the group, who have accepted their challenge and come to South Korea, are facing their greatest adversary yet……

    Table of contents

    [(Translated from official website)]

    The "Anti-Japanese Innocence" Borne of a Contorted Society The Serious Damage Dealt By a People Who Cannot Coexist With Others The New Privileged Class Who Reign Using "Discrimination" as a Tool The Sea of Japan Naming Dispute and Violation of Territorial Waters The Truth of the Pollution of Education Resulting from Anti-Japanese Influence The Line Which Links Anti-Japanese Japanese with the Korean Peninsula The Nation Disregarding Human Rights Which is Choked With All Forms of Discrimination The False History and the Altered Memories of the People

    The Hate Japan Wave

    The cover of Kim Sung Mo's yet-to-be-released The Hate Japan Wave
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    The cover of Kim Sung Mo's yet-to-be-released The Hate Japan Wave

    The Hate Japan Wave (Hangul: 혐일류; Hanja: 嫌日流; Revised Romanization of Korean: Hyeomillyu), a manhwa in direct opposition to The Hate Korea Wave, is currently being written by South Korean cartoonist Kim Sung Mo (김성모; 金城摸; RR: Gim Seong-mo, M-R: Kim Sŏng-mo) and is scheduled to be released by February-March 2006, before which some of the content will be made public.[link] According to a Joins.com article, The Hate Japan Wave is being created because The Hate Korea Wave "looked down on Koreans, and distorted history". At this point, chapters on the World Cup and Dokdo have been completed.

    Another book by the same name written by Yang Byeong-seol (양병설), a not so well-known cartoonist, has already been published. Yang's book, however, has been greatly criticized by many fellow Korean readers and media outlets for not being sufficient answer to Kenkanryu as many readers felt it lacks any proof or logical arguments. The cartoonist in an [interview] admitted that his book was not supposed to be a professionally written article, but something he published with his own money as an emotional outcry toward Kenkanryu. A critique of sections of the book by the [Occidentalism] blog (where scans provided in both their original Korean and translated to English can be seen) has criticized it as containing mostly racial abuse rather than providing counter-arguments against Kenkanryu.

    Related books

    See also

    *Gomanism
    *Neo Gomanism Manifesto Special - On War
  • Japanese nationalism
  • Japanese fascism
  • Japanese war crimes
  • Responses of Germany and Japan to World War II crimes
  • Historical revisionism (Japan)
  • Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform
  • Ethnic persecution/discrimination
  • Neo-Nazism

    • External links

     

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