Repair is possible, but it takes time
On occupation, economic progress, and the path to reconciliation between former enemies
In 1945, the Japanese occupation of Korea was ended by the defeat of Japan by Allied forces. That occupation lasted for 35 long and painful years, during which countless crimes and horrors were committed against the Korean people. Korea had little time to recover before the Korean War split the peninsula and brought further agony to the people.
â– Yet, despite an often tumultuous path, South Korea has emerged as one of the world's biggest economies and most technologically advanced societies, with a civil society strong enough to put a rogue president in his place.
â– In the aggregate, it's a spectacular tale: The Japanese occupation ended just 80 years ago, the blink of an eye in historical terms, and yet the two countries were able to normalize relations just 20 years after the occupation ended -- and today, both are among the most advanced societies in the world, able to jointly celebrate their mutual accord.
â– That doesn't mean the past is entirely forgotten, nor forgiven, nor repaired. The relationship remains a work in progress. But it does go to show that prosperity and liberalization can go a long way towards creating incentives to get along and even to reconcile.
â– It's unlikely that the two countries would recognize anything remotely close to an alliance today if either one had remained poor or had rejected many of the hallmarks of a modern liberal society. That's worth remembering and recognizing in the affairs of the world around us: It's possible to overcome a terrible past, but doing so takes time and effort. It stands the best chance of success if other macro-scale conditions, social and economic alike, are right.
