Tsushima: Representative of the History between Korea and Japan

This is an interesting article about Tsushima, a Japanese island near Korea.  Not only was it interesting to me because I visited Tsushima this past March, but also because it's a fascinating microcosm of the precarious relationship between Japan and South Korea - both sides seem to be working toward a climate of mutual respect, but neither side is wholly willing to let go of the past or to let go of their pride and admit that the goal is really worth the cost.

Here's the beginning of the article to entice you to read more:

Over the centuries, this mountainous island in the strait separating Japan and Korea has seen some of the most violent episodes between those ancient Asian rivals, serving as a hide-out for pirates, a forward base for invaders and a desperate first line against attack. But in recent years that troubled history seemed hazily remote in Tsushima’s sleepy fishing hamlet of Kozuna, where villagers have gathered for generations in a tiny temple to pray before a statue of the Buddhist deity of compassion that is centuries old.

At least they did until October, when villagers discovered that someone had broken into the unguarded temple at night to steal the bronze statue, which is believed to have been made in Korea. Villagers breathed a sigh of relief in January, when it was safely recovered by the police in Daejeon, South Korea. 

But then the case took an unexpected turn. A South Korean court prevented the statue’s repatriation on the grounds that it might have been stolen from Korea centuries ago by Japanese pirates. Outraged at what they called a baseless claim, the islanders retaliated by canceling a summer pageant that attracts South Korean tourists with a colorful re-enactment of a procession of Korean emissaries who visited the island during a rare era of peace. 

The standoff over a single small statue (just a foot and a half high) offers a glimpse into how disagreements over history continue to divide Japan and South Korea, two nations that share more in common culturally than either would care to admit.