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| Members of the Our Future Party, a progressive party of young people, hold pickets to urge a boycott of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul, Wednesday, in protest of Japan's economic retaliation on Korea. Yonhap |
By Kim Hyun-bin
While Korean citizens are holding voluntary campaigns to boycott Japanese products and trips to the country amid escalating diplomatic tensions, they are opposing public office- and state-driven campaigns.
Many say such public or politically motivated moves can mislead Japanese and other foreigners to think the boycott campaigns are mandatory and accuse the Korean authorities of instigating anti-Japan sentiment.
On Tuesday, Jung-gu Office set up 1,100 anti-Japan banners across its district in central Seoul, including areas with many Japanese tourists such as Myeong-dong and Cheonggye Stream.
The banners read "Boycott Japan, we do not travel (to Japan), do not purchase (Japanese goods)."
But soon the poster campaign sparked strong public backlash.
A petition posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website titled "Please remove the anti-Japan banners in central Seoul," garnered close to 20,000 signatures, Wednesday.
"I am for the Boycott Japan movement, because Koreans' collective action can damage Japanese companies which will lead to Japan's self-reflection on the trade restrictions and finally normalization of ties with Japan," the petitioner wrote. "However, setting anti-Japan banners in central Seoul will offend Japanese tourists and could worsen ties between the two countries. It could drive more Japanese people to support the restrictions."
The petitioner said it will make people believe the boycotts are orchestrated by the Korean government rather than the public's voluntary participation, and will eventually have a negative impact on the international community's opinions over the issue. "We are not trying to sever ties with Japan. The central government should stop such an act (led by the district office)."
Some Jung-gu residents also expressed their opposition to the banner installation on the district office's website, saying "What outraged us is not Japan but Abe," and "We are not in a fight with Japanese people."
After meeting strong backlash, the district office head Seo Yang-ho ordered the banners removed just a few hours later.
"We humbly accept concerns that the banners can make Japanese people wrongly think Korea criticizes Japanese citizens as well as the Abe administration, and acknowledge the criticism that the boycott campaign should be for people to participate voluntarily," Seo said on Facebook.
Also, some members of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) have taken a radical stance and urged the government to consider issuing a travel ban to the neighboring country and boycotting the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
"Radioactive materials were detected recently in Tokyo, with the level four times higher than the permissible level," Rep. Choi Jae-sung of the DPK said during a radio interview. "So we need to consider expanding travel restrictions to all parts of Japan."
Currently, the Korean government recommends people not to visit areas within a 30-kilometer radius of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and some other zones set by the Japanese government.
Another DPK lawmaker Shin Dong-keun, a member of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, called on the government to reconsider Korea's participation in the Tokyo Olympics.
"If the Tokyo Olympics are not safe from radioactivity, we need to re-evaluate our participation in the event," Shin said. "Using sports as a political tool is a problem, but the safety of our citizens is of the utmost priority, so we will need to review boycotting the Olympics if safety is not secured."
But such stances are not gaining support, even among other DPK members.
Rep. Sul Hoon of the party said, "The public voluntarily boycotts Japanese products and travels. In this situation it is not right for the central and local governments to tell people to go or not to go to Japan. It may cause Japanese people to boycott visiting Korea, and many other side effects."
