Professor Park Yuha spoke at the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on March 26, following her acquittal.

The Supreme Court on March 26 reversed the conviction of Park Yuha, a professor emeritus at Sejong University who was on trial for defaming victims of the Japanese military comfort women in her book “Comfort Women of the Empire”. Eight years has passed after she was indicted in 2015.

The Supreme Court returned the case to the Seoul High Court, stating that “it is reasonable to evaluate the expressions for which the second trial court found Professor Park guilty as her academic assertion or expression of opinion” and that “they cannot be considered punishable for libel”. The court also stated that “the appropriateness of the language used in the presentation of academic findings should be tested through free public discussion or peer review process within the academic community, rather than decided by a criminal court”.

In November 2015, prosecutors indicted her on the grounds that 35 expressions, including “voluntariness of comfort women”, “denial of forced detention” and “comradely relationship with the Japanese military” constituted defamation. Prior to this, in June 2014, nine victims of Japanese military comfort women filed a lawsuit against Park.

The first trial ruled that “the judgment of Professor Park’s views should be made in an academic setting, not in a court of law” and acquitted her. On the other hand the second trial found that “11 expressions were false and constituted defamation” and sentenced her to a fine of 110,000 won. The Supreme Court reaffirmed that academic articles are not subject to defamation punishment and that Professor Park did not deny Japan’s responsibility for the comfort women issue.

Japanese temple’s statues of Buddha stolen by Korean larcenists

South Korea’s top court on Thursday rejected a local temple’s claim to a statue that it said Japanese pirates had looted in the 14th century, clearing the way for Japan to press for the artefact’s return after it was stolen by South Korean thieves.

The 20-inch gilt bronze statue of a Buddhist Bodhisattva was stolen from a Japanese temple in 2012 by South Korean thieves, who were caught trying to sell it after returning home.

The Buseoksa Temple in South Korea filed a legal case in 2016 claiming ownership of the statue, which has been in the custody of the government, saying Japanese pirates had plundered it centuries ago.

South Korea’s Supreme Court, however, upheld a lower court’s decision in February rejecting the temple’s claim, and said the Seoul government, the defendant in this case, had to return it to Japan, acknowledging its ownership.

South Korea’s foreign ministry said it respects the top court’s decision.

"The return procedures will be decided by our relevant agency in accordance with related laws and regulations," a ministry spokesperson told a briefing.

The case has been closely watched in both countries, traditional rivals whose relations have for decades been frayed by historic feuds.

The Japanese temple, Kannonji, was not a direct party to the suit but had argued that the artefact was not acquired illegally through pirates but through legitimate trade.

The serialization of Webtoon’s “Desperate to Date” was stopped after allegations of plagiarism from the Japanese manga.

On the evening of August 7, Naver Webtoon announced “Many readers pointed out the similarity of the scene direction to ‘Desperate to Date’ ” and “Naver Webtoon has decided to discontinue the serialization and service of the said work after reviewing the related contents.

The production company YLAB also stated, “We confirmed the facts with the writer No Gatryan and confirmed the fact that he referred to the direction of other works in the storyboard stage,” and “We feel deeply responsible for not correcting the writer’s incorrect working method in advance.”

“Desperate to Date” is a romance webtoon that has been serialized since September 2022, written by No Gatryan and illustrated by Yeon-o.

Recently, it was embroiled in a controversy that it plagiarized lines and direction from the Japanese manga “Kaguya-samawa kokurasetai (Kaguya-sama: Love Is War)” in several scenes.

Japanese	Korean

FIFA Women's World Cup on July 31, Japan shut out Spain in 4-0. Spain won the championship later.

Japanese referee Yoshimi Yamashita was the fourth official in the Women’s World Cup final. It is important to note that this was no coincidence.

The Japan Football Association (JFA) formulated a plan to strengthen Japan in the 1990s and 2000s, which included “winning the Men’s World Cup within 100 years” and “always participating in the Women’s World Cup for each age group” as well as “increasing the number of referees and producing world-class human resources (referees).
　So they challenged a meticulous all-out effort to build the infrastructure for victory.
　Last year, the JFA had 267,572 registered referees. This is a large difference from the 2,736 in Korea.

The atmosphere in the Korean soccer world is also problematic.
　Korea tends to hope for “luck” in many competitions without investment.

Compared to Japan, which prepares with a precise strategy, there is a lot of sloppiness.
　What is even more frustrating is that if the results are not good, the blame game is invariably played out instead of recognizing the limitations and seeking alternatives.

When Korean women’s national team coach Colin Bell pointed out the problems in the WK League^[1] after the team’s group loss at the World Cup, there were calls from various quarters that ‘Coach Bell must be fired’.
　I am not trying to defend Bell.
　They are immersed in looking for scapegoats, as in soccer, as in normal social issues, and they miss what is really important.

1. The WK League (Hangul: WK리그) is a semi-professional women's football league, run by the Korea Football Association (KFA) and the Korea Women's Football Federation (KWFF), which represents the sport's highest level in South Korea.

Hase Hiroshi, Governor of Ishikawa perefecture

Jewelmuscat and RubyRoman cultivated in Korea without permission

The Governor Hase visited Korea from August 2nd to 4th. He purchased “RubyRoman” in a supermarket in the suburbs of Seoul and tried it.

“Domestic RubyRoman” is written on the label in the Hangul Alphabet, and the price is about 2,000 yen ($14) per bunch (500 grams) .

The governor wrote in his blog, “It is uneven, there are gaps between grains, …… it has no tension or luster. It is similar but different. I can’t understand how such grapes can call themselves Ruby Roman.” He expressed his displeasure.

While regretting the outflow, he wrote, “Ishikawa Prefecture’s waterfront strategy at the time was not thorough enough,” he added, “I would like to let Korean producers and consumers enjoy the real RubyRoman.”

“Ruby Roman” reached a record high of 1.6 million yen (excluding tax) per bunch at the Kanazawa market’s first sale this summer. According to the prefectural investigation it revealed that the Korean grapes sold under the same name are a genetic match for the Ishikawa prefectural one. It is believed that the seedlings have been leaked.

The 25th World Scout Jamboree held from 1–12 August 2023 at Saemangeum, North Jeolla, South Korea

In addition to sloppy heat measures, various other problems were surfaced at the 25th World Scout Jamboree held in Saemangeum.

The scouts suffered from the extreme heat as soon as they arrived at the site. One Scout troop member from Germany wrote on his Instagram page, “As soon as I arrived at the Jamboree site and got off the shuttle bus, I was shocked by the heat.” A Korean member of the team said on his site, “It’s like I’m in a sauna. I have to get up at 6 am to avoid boiling up in the tent,” he wrote.

Clemente Hormazbar (16) from Chile said, “There is grass on some roads, but the shade is so narrow that only one or two people can stand” and “There is no way to beat the heat except to drink lots of water in the shade.” A parent (40) who sent her son to the Jamboree said, “When I talked to him on the phone last night, he was crying and saying that he wanted to go home.” and “The parents who sent their sons to the Jamboree are in turn sending daily necessities by courier.”

The venue of Saemangeum Encampment had no shade and the maximum temperature rose to 35 degrees Celsius.

According to the organizing committee, 992 patients were reported as of 10:00 p.m. on the evening of the 2nd of this month. Of these, 207 (20.9%) were heat stroke patients and 106 (10.7%) suffered burns from the strong sunlight. At 10:30 p.m. on the evening of the 2nd, when the opening ceremony was held, 83 Scout troop members collapsed complaining of dizziness.

One volunteer who attended the opening ceremony said, “It was very hot when we gathered in the arena for the group event. I felt it was dangerous to have tens of thousands of people gathered in one place on such a humid day.” In the arena, the space per person was only 90 centimeters wide and 70 centimeters long.

Participants had to prepare their own meals after receiving foodstuffs from the organizing committee, but there was no fresh food available and the quantity was insufficient, leading to a string of complaints from participants. Sebastian Baquez (16) from Chile said, “I couldn’t eat enough, so I went to a convenience store to buy fruits for dinner, but the store was covered in cobwebs.” In some cases, the food provided was rotten. Mold was found in boiled eggs provided to participants by the organizing committee.

On the first day of the Jamboree, there was confusion because vegan food was not prepared. Catalina Gonzalez (23) who led the participants from Chile said, “We have several children who only eat vegan food, but some were unable to eat because only beef-based ingredients were provided.” Though the event is attended by people from all over the world with a variety of eating habits, the event has been criticized for failing to take even the basics into account.

Ripoff is a problem at convenience stores in the encampment. According to a participant, a Coke costs 2,300 won (approx. $1.7) in town, but 2,500 won (approx. $1.9) at the local convenience store. According to another participant, two tissues, a daily necessity as well as foodstuffs, cost 4,000 won (approx. $3), many times more expensive than in Seoul. Some of the medicines needed to treat heat stroke patients also ran out, and the organizing committee urgently requested the cooperation of nearby university hospitals.

The sanitary conditions of the toilets and shower facilities were also a problem for some. There was a wave of dissatisfaction such as, “The shower rooms are not drained, and the members are showering in their boots.” and “There are so many mosquitoes.”

Song Jae-mu (48), a volunteer who has participated in more than four Jamboree events since 1991 noted, “I have been participating in the Jamboree since I was 15 years old, but this is the worst. Children all over the world are being sacrificed in Saemangeum.” According to Song, it was indeed hot in Japan too, but drainage was not a problem. He also reported that the heat was so intense after the heavy rains in Saemangeum that it was hot and humid, and the ground was so level that it was hard to walk even with boots on.

C. Ronaldo’s Soccer School with 50 Japanese children (7/25 at Panasonic Stadium, Osaka))

Cristiano Ronaldo showed the special fan service in Japan. He did not show that in Korea.

Al Nassr (Saudi Arabia) played a soccer game with Paris Saint-Germain on their tour of Japan this month and the game was a draw of 1-1. Al Nassr’s player, Ronaldo, was in the starting lineup that day and showed up to his Japanese fans.

It was not the content of the match that was the topic of discussion. On the 26th, the Japanese soccer media “Soccer Digest” featured Ronaldo, reporting that “the lucky boy, a 38-year-old superstar gave a deep emotion to a boy.”

While Ronaldo was waiting to enter the game, an escort kid shed tears when he saw Ronaldo. Ronaldo sat the escort kid down and smiled. When the tearful escort kid asked for an autograph, Ronaldo gladly obliged.

Japanese netizens watched Ronaldo's fan service video and responded, “I can't not love him”, “I would cry too!” and “I might faint”.

This is in contrast to four years ago when he did not play in the Korean tour and was given the nickname “Nalkando” (coined from a combination of Ronaldo and Kando). (“Kando” means “robber”.)

Thus Ronaldo became “Nalkando” and lost his Korean soccer fans. Such Ronaldo showed a completely different image in Japan.

Cigarette butts are piled near Kangnam Station in Seoul.

The sentences that a Taiwanese female college student posted in the community site are diffused in online community site in Korea.

She wrote, “I went out to Korea to play a little ago, but on the third day my feeling became clear. I never wanted to come to Korea.” And she gave the reasons.

“10 reasons I never go to Seoul”

1. Air pollution. I know it's not due to Korea, but scenery is hazy generally. I do not feel the beauty of Han River.
2. A car runs on the sidewalk, and there are many illegal parkings too in Korea.
3. There are too many cave-ins on the sidewalks. It is the worst when I walk with my carry case.
4. Roads are messy, and there are a lot of cigarette butt and vomit. I was shocked to see a woman smoking and vomiting saliva on the floor.
5. There are a lot of slopes. Uphill slopes and downhill slopes are repeated. It is the worst to walk on rainy days.
6. You must cut into the line well to get on the bus.
7. It is the same when you get in or out into an elevator. It is normal that you hit people coming and going.
8. The voltage of the Korean outlet is different from Taiwanese one. It’s very inconvenient, but this is my mistake that I did not check beforehand.
9. It is difficult than expected to buy a ticket of Korean high-speed railway (KTX). There were not comfort and pleasure when I get on the Taiwanese high-speed railway.
10. You can eat Korean foods in Taiwan or Japan too. You do not have to go to Korea to eat them.

Some Korean net users sympathetically commented “it is not wrong”, and some commented the opinions for fear of negative recognition for Korea, “I am unpleasant. She generalizes the personal experience of herself”.

Video montage broadcast on a Korean YouTube channel

The purpose of this fake video seems to be to discredit the Japanese by giving the impression that someone as influential as Kylian Mbappe is more interested in Korea.

The video was uploaded to YouTube on the 15th of last month and became a huge hit in Korea.

Mbappe was asked by a Japanese journalist about Lee Kang-in, the South Korean international who was expected to join PSG at the time. The journalist asked, “Is his join for marketing purposes? What do you think about other Japanese players?”

Mbappe responded, “he can come here because he has talent. I don't know what the question is about, but the fact that he is here means that he is ready for our team. We have to trust him.” To the question about the Japanese, he replied, “I don't know much about players from your country (Japan).”

In fact, however, Mbappe was speaking in French about something else, with the wrong Korean subtitles. The Japanese journalists' questions were synthesized.

The Independence Gate in Seoul

The Independence Gate in Seoul was built by the Korean independent association in 1897. The beginning was that Korea dynasty's independence from China was accepted by Shimonoseki Treaty after the Sino-Japanese War in 1894-95.

Once I talked with a graduate student of Yonsei Univ., “The Independence Gate” became the topic.

He said that the gate meant the independence from “Japan”.

He also said that Korea (Korea dynasty) had no reason to become independent from China, because Korea had not been a Chinese dependency.

After that, I asked ten students of Yonsei Univ. and Seoul Univ.. “Does the gate mean the independence from China or Japan?”

Only one answered “It may be China?”, but the others answered “Japan”.

In Korea the politicians and the mass media often criticize Japanese indifference to the history and they appeal loudly that Japanese should learn “right” history.

However, there is an aspect that “right” history that Korean believes is sometimes only the apotheosis that does not based on the facts.

Large quantities of Korean wastes wash ashore on the shore of Tsushima, Nagasaki.

The Japanese Environmental Agency thinks 80% of the drifted wastes on the shoreline of the Sea of Japan come from China and Korea. The wastes in the West Coast of Kyushu come from China and those in the Sea of Japan come from Korea.

For a long time the Korean government had designated the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in Shimane prefecture of Japan as “the throwing sea area” of human feces, domestic animal feces and urine, and other industrial wastes.

The Chosun Ilbo, Korea newspaper wrote in this way on February 12, 2008.
“Disposal amount was 550,000 cubic meters in 2007 and it increased rapidly to 13.5 times in 1988.
The reason why we throw away filth into the sea is that it does not cost the processing expense except the shipping charge.”

It was 1993 that Korea joined London treaty that forbid the disposal of wastes to the sea. However, it was the end of 2015 that the domestic procedure was completed. 22 years passed since the joining.

Then does the disposal of wastes to the sea disappear now? It is clear if you see the shorelines of Nagasaki, Tsushima and San-in.

Depending on time, the large quantities of containers of the hydrochloric acid and the hydrogen peroxide surge to the shore.
Both medicines are used for production of natural salt and culture of laver. You are not to use them for production of salt or laver, but it is “Kenchanayo (Never mind)” for Korean, if not found.
Maybe the Korean collected empty containers, loaded them onto a ship and threw them in Tsushima Current.

“We prohibited it, but we do not know what the private enterprises do.” This is the favorite line of the Korean government.

The Korean government does not have a sense of the rule of law that it is responsibility of the government to supervise the Evasion of Law.

One of four people who visited Japan last year is a Korean.

According to the Tourism Bureau of Japan, Koreans were the most with 1,012,700 among 3,831,900 foreigners who visited Japan last year. One of four people is a Korean.

The second is Taiwanese with 331,100. The third American (323,500), the forth Vietnamese (284,100) and the fifth Hong Konger (269,300).

The poster of the recruitment of members of basketball club using the character of the Japanese basketball comics “SLAM DUNK”

At the beginning of this month, Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor in Sejong city put a poster on the bulletin board, but it had the Japanese comic character of “SLAM DUNK”.

The poster is a guide for the recruitment of new members of the basketball club, and the approval seal of the management headquarter of the Government building is pushed clearly.

This is in contrast to Ministry of Employment and Labor having done so far. Because it had pushed forward “No Japan campaign” positively.

In September, 2019, when “No Japan campaign” had got into swing, the Ministry canceled the global employment event that a large number of Japanese companies participated in.

The club explained about this poster. “we had a simple purpose to activate the club”, “it was unrelated to business of Ministry of Employment and Labor and the official viewpoint, and we did not consider deeply about using the character of Japanese comics”.

The club was worried about the expansion of the problem and said, “we will remove the poster”.

Victor An, the former representative of Korea from short track race

Victor An (Korean name Ahn Hyun-soo) was a former representative of Korea from short track race, but he shows the movement of the return to Korea.

Victor An was a star player of the Korean short track race and he achieved a triple crown in 2006 Turin Winter Olympics.

Ann was naturalized in Russia in 2011 and got the triple crown in the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014.