National Identities, Historical Memories, and Reconciliation in Northeast Asia

Abstract

In her speech to a joint session of Congress in May 2013, Park Geunhye contended, “Asia suffers from what I call ‘the Asian paradox,’ the disconnect between growing economic interdependence on the one hand, and backward political, security cooperation on the other.” This is, she noted, because “differences stemming from history are widening” and “how we manage this paradox” will determine the configuration of a new order in Asia.¹ Other leaders of the region would agree with her assessment, though they might differ on how to manage the paradox. While Northeast Asia has witnessed growth in regional interactions over the past two decades, especially in the spheres of culture and economy, wounds from past wrongs, committed during colonialism and war, have not yet fully healed. The question of history has become a highly contentious diplomatic issue and a centerpiece in national identity, crowding out other dimensions and complicating bilateral relations as well as US strategic calculations.