An Australian Perspective on the Japan-South Korea Trade War.

 
 

1. What are the Japanese and South Korean perspectives/arguments

for their (respective) stances & arguments?

-They are in a trade war, with the US and China already in dispute.
Japan removed South Korea from its so-called list of white countries( 27
countries have attained in proper control, sensitive items like military
equipment, the Japanese government has evidence that South Korea
hasn’t taken the right precautions to prevent the exports of that
equipment to third countries, and this is caused by the self-proclaimed
president aka dictator Kim Jong Un.

-Boycotting Japanese consumer goods. such as the microchip. Japan

creates 90% more of the goods compared to South Korea.

-Japan has a very dominant market share

2. How, in your opinion, do former/historical relationships play a role in

this conflict?

-Both countries have history with each other in 1500 where Japan
invaded South Korea twice, however, things haven’t settled down
until 1905. Today in 2019 South Korean court decided to sue
Japanese companies (Mitsubishi, Nippon Steel) for the damage
they've done during WW2. Prime minister Shinzo Abe retaliated,
saying that the biggest issue is trust between two nations. Japan
believes South Korea can’t be trusted when it comes to sensitive
information technology. Fears for its national security and doesn’t
want to be indirectly involved in trading with stakes it considers to
be dangerous.

S.K feels belittled,disrespected.

Conflict awakened historical wounds related to ward & invasions &

mistreatment as well as rivalry & national pride, etc.
3. Do mistrust, pride, or rivalry partly explain or play a role in this
situation, and if so, how

-Yes, it is an issue between 2 nations and especially 2 neighboring

countries. Japan is a dominant country.

4. What role(s) do you think Australia can/should play in this conflict?

-Australia should take a step back and not counterfeit the trade war.

Beyond this context:

2. Can you think of other countries or regions where there are (or
were) economic tensions, boycotts, sanctions, or bans?

-China and America. They have issues based on Microsoft, therefore it

interfered with china’s world-known device; Huawei.

3. Are (or were) these also due either to (military) fears over security
and/or a history of relationships of mistrust/tension or even war,
invasion, oppression, or colonization?

Yes, the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, now

Indonesia from 1942-1945.

4. Do or did some countries play a role in negotiations or in attempts

to resolve the situation? Did they have any (economic) interest in
doing so?

-Indonesia itself gained its Independence on August 17th, 1945. Military

service was established since then.
MTV : ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXejDhRGOuI

The Main Problem

0:37 – 1:17

The main problem with cultural appropriation comes from dominant groups borrowing from
marginalised groups who face oppression or have been stigmatised for their cultural practices
throughout history.

Like corn rows. I mean, anyone can wear their hair in corn rows but black people still face stigmas for
wearing them along with perfectly natural hairstyles like braids and locks. There are even companies
and schools that prohibit these natural hairstyles. People have actually been fired for wearing braids.
Meanwhile fashion models and celebs like Kyle Jenner get praised for wearing corn rows. And that’s
the main point. One group is being penalised by institutions for wearing natural hairstyles while the
other is called edgy and stylish for doing the exact same thing.

Jean-Paul Gauthier & Maori Tattoos

1:30 – 1:58

Take for example tribal tatoos. The Maori of New Zealand have facial tattoos with deep family
meaning and cultural significance. But fashion designer Jean-Paul Gauthier used the tattoos in adds
to sell sunglasses. And that’s a perfect example of cultural appropriation. No matter how much the
designer likes the look, he stripped the tattoo of all of its cultural meaning just to sell a product. Now
if you really appreciate something you should respect it instead of assuming you can use it however
you want.

Katy Perry’s Japanse Aesthetic

2:27 – 2:49

A couple of years ago, Katy Perry did a Geisha themed performance with Japanese women dancing
in the background. Not only was it super stereotypical, her outfit wasn’t even from the right country.
The Japanese American Citizen’s League said it best : « The thoughtless costuming and dance
routines by Katy Perry played carelessly with stereotypes in an attempt to create a Japanese
aesthetic. »

Assimilation v Appropriation

3:32 - 4:10

If Chinese people wear blue jeans, aren’t they appropriating my culture ? Or what about black girls
wearing blond weaves ? Or how about speaking English ? Ok, this is a tough one.

Assimilation and appropriation aren’t the same thing. Marginalised people conforming to standards
set by dominant or, in this case, western cultures, is often a means of survival. When your cultural
heritage is looked down on, often people change or hide things about themselves in order to be
accepted by a majority culture. For example, there are schools where students have been punished
or even suspended for speaking Spanish or indigenous languages. So there are people who are
literally being forced to assimilate, or else… So it’s not really a fair comparison.

Vogue: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y5cARFJw8

Hawaiian culture

0:59 – 1:35

I’m Kanaka Maoli, native Hawaiian. One of the things about Hawaiian culture that not a lot of people
know is that historically it was illegal to practice anything that had to do with Hawaiian culture. So
my grandmother is currently in her 70s and she’s finally learning how to dance Hula. And she’s been
creating her Hula skirt and her ​lei​ for weeks now. And this is nothing what it looks like. This costume
is extremely hurtful not only for myself but for the generations that had to go through this erasure.

3:33 – 3:54

The majority of us know that blackface is cultural appropriation, but that is how I view and how my
people in the indigenous community view this costume. We have endured a history of being pushed
into the background—that even in Hawaii where I’m from that we’re still a minority in what is and
has been our homeland.

Summary by Iraki-born American

3:55 – 4:13

Those are aspects of our cultures and our identities that we were told were wrong and we were told
not to be proud of and we were told to hide and to conform, and so to see folks that don’t have to
conform, you know, use those aspects of our identity and make it popular, make it cool, or make fun
of it, that’s just wrong.

Medley on Halloween costumes

2:22 – 3:09

Halloween would be ​the ​worst time to co-opt another person’s culture because it’s a day of dressing
up as things that are completely out of the ordinary or very bold or very provocative, so wearing
someone else’s culture on that day is incredibly offensive because you’re basically saying their
culture is othered in a way that is almost funny, humorous or, you know, scary. When you see this
costume what do you think ? People tend to think ‘terrorist’ or they tend to think ‘barbaric’ or they
tend to think ‘uncultured’ or ‘uncivilised’ and they make fun of that. That kind of just goes with, like,
what the media has kind of done with my identity, and my background, and my religion. The other
jacket has a dragon on the back. It’s just that they think that it’s cool or nothing else, they don’t find
the significance of it. They see it as exotic.

Revision Room 101

Why Katherine Ryan HATES phonecalls/

Room 101 - BBC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFdB_P7ZlYg

Does Katherine Ryan think having a one syllable name makes you
dim?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3raaJx13fVw

3 things I would put in Room 101

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV2GmKiGmb8

How We Can Make the World a Better Place by 2030

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o08ykAqLOxk