Introduction
A half century after diplomatic normalization, Korean-Japanese relations are still haunted by an array of thorny issues carried over from the colonial period, especially the sexual slavery of the so-called “comfort women,” the Koreans left behind on Sakhalin, and the Korean victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings -- all of which were neglected during the normalization talks between the two countries. Previous scholarship, preoccupied with wartime source material and high-profile litigations, paid little attention to how the two countries approached those issues in the post-normalization years. Probing into wartime reality based on old primary sources is certainly important, but the later unfolding of the unresolved issues also calls for a meticulous documentation.

In fact, controversies over those historical issues have elicited responses from various quarters of Japan. The copious records of those responses, in large part, remain fragmented or overlooked. Funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea, compilers of this three-year project (2012-2015, titled “Compilation and Annotation of Japanese Sources on Unresolved Issues since the Normalization of Korean-Japanese Relations: “Comfort Women,” Sakhalin Koreans, and A-Bomb Victims”) sought to redress such inadequacies by documenting how Japan’s cabinet, legislature, judiciary, and civil society spoke and acted upon those issues. Developments outside Japan were also addressed to some extent, depending on their relevance. A wide range of material has been collected, translated, summarized, and annotated.

The final product of that painstaking process, topically and chronologically organized, stands as a comprehensive and lucid guide to how Japan’s responses to those unresolved issues have evolved over the years. And it is now available as an accessible database for professional researchers and the general public.
Expect Effect / Research Utilization
1. Primary Sources for Academic Research
▶ Understanding the nature and structure of ongoing debates
▶Broadening the horizons of interdisciplinary approaches to history issues

2. Policy Implications for History Issues
▶Keeping Japan’s position in perspective
▶Exploring possibilities of negotiated settlement

3. Promotion of Even-Handed Popular Understanding of Korean-Japanese Relations
▶Understanding the wide spectrum of views in Japanese society
▶Enriching post-colonial discourses in Korean society
Project Name :
Research Title : [KRM Task Information ]
Chief of Research : Kim Suk Yeon
Research Institution : Kookmin University
Research Period : 3 Years(September 1, 2012 – August 31, 2015)