Nijimori Studio in Gyeonggi Province is a commercial theme park where visitors can experience Japanese culture, such as trying on kimonos. (Photo from Nijimori Studio’s website)
With the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule just around the corner, a Japanese-themed festival at a theme park here is fueling heated debate online.
Nijimori Studio in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, has been holding a summer festival since July 26, which runs through this Sunday. The festival offers visitors a chance to experience Japanese culture through activities such as trying on traditional attire, attending samurai duel performances and watching parades of portable Shinto shrines, officials said.
What sparked controversy are the programs planned for Friday, which include a samurai duel performance and a kimono contest. This falls on the same day as National Liberation Day, a national holiday that marks Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule (1919-1945).
Seo Kyung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women’s University in Seoul and an outspoken activist on issues related to South Korean sovereignty, wrote in a Facebook post that “holding such an event on National Liberation Day goes against the national sentiment.”
Nijimori Studio is a commercial facility repurposed into a theme park from a former film and drama set.
Some online users, however, argued that historical issues and cultural consumption should be seen separately.
“Should every Japanese restaurant just shut down? If we start rejecting cultural exchange because of a country’s past wrongdoings, what’s the point of diplomacy?” one Facebook user wrote.
The theme park responded to the controversy by introducing programs to mark National Liberation Day, including the reading of a celebratory message and a lantern-floating event honoring independence activists.
A similar controversy erupted earlier last week when the professional baseball team LG Twins announced plans to invite “Tanjiro” and “Nezuko,” characters from the hit Japanese anime Demon Slayer, to throw the ceremonial first pitch at their game against the Hanwha Eagles on Saturday. The team ultimately canceled the plan amid mounting public criticism.
Demon Slayer is set during Japan’s imperial era, and the pattern on the main character’s earrings has long drawn backlash for resembling the Rising Sun flag, a symbol linked to Japanese militarism.
Amid the ongoing controversy over Japanese cultural events on National Liberation Day, demand for travel to Japan has remained steady.
More than 9 million passengers traveled on flights between Korea and Japan as of July 17, marking a 9.3 percent increase from the previous year, according to the Incheon International Airport Corporation.
cjh@heraldcorp.com
AloJapan.com