Ever since Korea and Japan established kingdoms in the 6th century, both countries greatly influenced each other politically, militarily, socially, culturally, and economically through international exchange. Korea and Japan kept their close relationship throughout history because of geographic proximity. It is also notable that 54 per cent of Japanese males and 66 per cent of Japanese females carry Sino-Korean genes in present-days and there are records that Japan carried a close relationship with Paekche, a kingdom of the Korean peninsula which introduced script, Confucianism, and Buddhism to Japan at an early stage. In the Medieval Period, Korea and Japan maintained a friendly trade policy but there were incidents such as Mongol invasions, wakō (Japanese pirates) raids and two invasions by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, which worsened the relations between the two countries. And yet, during Japan’s period of isolation (from 1639 to1854), Korea was the only nation with which full and free trade was permitted. The 20th century is based on invasion and colonisation of Japan over Korea. For 35 years from 1910 to 1945, under the control of Japan, the Japan-Korea relationship was nothing but misfortune: forced labour, suppression of Korean culture and language, press-gangs, sex slaves, and so forth. The aim in this thesis is to go into greater detail about each significant event and its effect on the relationship between Japan and Korea to uncover some rationale or pattern such as gekokujō (the master being outdone by the pupil, and being treated thereafter with contempt).

The trials of a comfort woman was never revealed after the conclusion of WWII. More than half a century has passed before the name was uttered on the international stage. Why the sudden break of silence? What is the response of the Japanese government. In this paper, we discuss the issue of the comfort women and the the political implications it holds on Japan. Japan's failure to accept wartime reparation, largely due to Allied intervention, has resulted in the widening gap between Japan and Asia. This paper focuses on the combination of increased US influence as a result of the San Francisco Treaty of 1951 and Japan’s fervent nationalistic identity served to widen the gap between Japan and other East and Southeast Asian nations, making reconciliation over the issue of comfort women a problem that remains unresolved to this day.