Based on an essay by Katsumi Murotani published in the monthly magazine Hanada, this article examines the reality behind South Korea’s praise of “K-quarantine” and its supposed readiness to aid Japan. It discusses mask aid, test-kit aid, Asahi Shimbun’s reporting, South Korean media’s arbitrary interpretation, and President Moon Jae-in’s speech about a “South Korea that leads the world.”

May 27, 2020
If South Korea had been ashamed by this, it would still have been almost endearing, but this time it changed the item for which it was “ready to provide aid to Japan” to test kits.
It is interesting that the first report of this came not from South Korean media, but from the Asahi Shimbun on April 25.
The following is the continuation of an essay by Katsumi Murotani, one of the world’s foremost experts on South Korea, published in the monthly magazine Hanada, required reading for every Japanese citizen, which went on sale yesterday, under the title Moon Jae-in’s “K-Quarantine” and the Lie of “Learn from South Korea.”
If one reads his genuine essay, one will keenly realize how deeply Japanese media, especially television stations, are under the operations of South Korea and China.
The arbitrary interpretation that “Abe bowed his head”
“Japan is like hell, where the incompetent Abe administration cannot come up with effective coronavirus measures and the medical system is collapsing.”
On the other hand, “South Korea is like heaven, where K-quarantine has succeeded thanks to mature civic consciousness.”
This kind of comparative picture had spread inside South Korea from around the time when the spread of infection in Daegu City had settled down.
That is precisely why Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun referred on April 20 to South Korea’s “readiness to provide mask aid to Japan.”
But, as the prime minister himself stated, this was based on the impure motive of being able to “raise South Korea’s national dignity.”
To put it simply, it meant wanting to provide masks to Japan and then wear a triumphant face.
The reaction on the South Korean Internet was even simpler.
Many people agreed with comments such as, “It is outrageous to send masks to an opponent with whom we are waging an economic war,” and “We must not send them to a country that did not show gratitude for donations after the Great East Japan Earthquake.”
But no voice came from the Japanese government saying, “Please send them.”
While this was going on, Taiwan provided Japan with two million masks free of charge.
Taiwan sought nothing in return.
If South Korea had been ashamed by this, it would still have been almost endearing, but this time it changed the item for which it was “ready to provide aid to Japan” to test kits.
It is interesting that the first report of this came not from South Korean media, but from the Asahi Shimbun on April 25.
As if following that report, Yonhap News, a state-policy news agency, reported that “Japan is inwardly hoping for South Korean support.”
But no voice came from the Japanese government saying, “Please support us.”
In Japan’s Diet, on April 29, House of Councillors member Haku Shinkun of the Constitutional Democratic Party, a Korean-Japanese, questioned the government.
Asked how Japan would cooperate with South Korea in responding to the new coronavirus, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe referred to the spread of infection in Daegu City and then answered, “I think sharing South Korea’s knowledge will also be beneficial for Japan’s response going forward.”
If it had been an LDP administration of a generation ago, it would probably have offered lip service such as, “We would like to move forward positively with cooperation with South Korea.”
But this answer showed that the perception of South Korea at the center of Japan’s government has definitely and sternly changed.
In ordinary language, it sounded like, “We will use the example of Daegu as a lesson in what not to do.”
However, the Hankyoreh, a newspaper closely attached to the South Korean administration, presented a completely different interpretation in its editorial of May 1.
The headline alone, “Prime Minister Abe now mentions ‘cooperating with South Korea on the new coronavirus response,’” is enough to infer the content.
Why did it describe an answer to a question as a “mention”?
Even if that is a trivial matter, what is meant by “Prime Minister Abe’s attitude is shameless”?
They arbitrarily interpreted it as “Abe has finally bowed his head and asked for support,” and for a moment they felt satisfied, but no matter how long they waited, no official request for support came from the Japanese government.
Just as that irritation was approaching its limit, a new “K-infection” began from a gay club.
Not going to pay condolences, but eating beef-intestine soup
In his speech marking three years in office, President Moon expanded on the part in which he said, “Our goal is the Republic of Korea that leads the world,” and emphasized, “The Republic of Korea has become the world’s safest and most transparent production base. The world is now beginning to prefer innovative capacity and reliable investment destinations over cheap labor costs,” adding, “This is an excellent opportunity for us.”
What does “the world’s safest” mean?
On April 29, a fire broke out at a logistics warehouse under construction in Icheon City.
The construction method involved assembling sandwich panels in which both sides of the insulation material were covered with thin metal plates.
A large amount of urethane was also being used.
When a fire broke out on the second basement floor, toxic gas generated from the insulation material and urethane spread throughout the entire warehouse in an instant, killing 38 people.
The local disaster-prevention authorities’ statement that they had warned the construction company three times that “there was a fire risk” was an excuse to absolve themselves.
They warned them, but were ignored.
Even after being ignored, the disaster-prevention authorities did nothing.
That is the kind of country it is.
In December 2017, when 29 people died in a fire at a commercial building in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, the president visited the site the next day, visited the place of mourning, and showed tears.
This time, he did not go to the site, nor did he go to pay condolences.
Instead, perhaps, two days after the fire, he went out into town with aides and had lunch.
The dish was gomtang, a soup made by simmering beef offal.
The Blue House explained that it was “to help revive the city’s economy, which had sunk because of coronavirus,” but things have certainly changed.
Sowing the seeds of left-wing nationalism
On May 7, a major accident occurred when toxic gas leaked from a chemical plant operated by LG, a major South Korean conglomerate, in India.
Thirteen people died, 5,000 complained of abnormalities in their eyes and respiratory organs, and nearly 1,000 of them were hospitalized.
The Indian government pointed out that “LG expanded the plant facilities before permission had been granted.”
LG is South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate.
It is said to be a “solid conglomerate that does not take risks,” but even that conglomerate produced this result.
Furthermore, South Korea is a society where legal regulations are laid out as vested interests for bureaucrats, and bribes are necessary even to obtain permission and approval for trivial matters.
On what basis can it be called “the world’s safest and most transparent production base”?
The talk of “South Korea that leads the world” did not end as entertainment in the speech marking three years in office.
At the Cabinet meeting on the 12th, the president instructed officials to hurry work toward putting into practice the creation of a “South Korea that leads the world.”
How incomprehensible it is that a country which leapt for joy when it was provided by the United States with a short-term credit line of 60 billion dollars, what South Korea calls a “currency swap,” should now be eager to “lead the world.”
It seems that Moon Jae-in is seeing illusions.
While speaking from illusions and making the people soar, he himself has soared even higher.
Throughout his speech marking three years in office, Moon scattered flattering phrases such as, “I believe in all of you citizens who possess the DNA to overcome crises,” “It was the people who were great,” “I am sincerely proud of all of you citizens,” and “Together with the great people until the end of my term.”
Is this not the sowing of dangerous left-wing nationalism?
Just by listening to the president’s speech, South Korea begins to seem like an extremely dangerous country.
Katsumi Murotani.
Born in Tokyo in 1949.
Critic.
After graduating from the Faculty of Law at Keio University, he joined Jiji Press.
He served as a political reporter, Seoul correspondent, Utsunomiya bureau chief, and editor-in-chief of Jiji Kaisetsu.
He retired at the mandatory retirement age in 2009 and began his career as a critic.
His many books include Bokanron, published by Sankei Shimbun Publications, and Akkanron, The History of the Korean Peninsula That Japan and South Korea Make Taboo, and The Common Sense of Anti-Japanism, published by this company.