By Soh Ji-young
Staff Reporter

SEOUL - Koreans are venting their anger over the Japanese government’s recent authorization of middle school history textbooks that gloss over its wartime atrocities.

In the eyes of one Japanese woman, her government’s move is clearly an act which will lead to Japan’s isolation in Asia and other parts of the world.

"I don’t understand why our country is trying to hide its wartime atrocities even though it is clear Japan has ultimately nothing to gain from it," said Yamada Ikuyo.

"If the government continues to hide the truth regarding past aggressions by the Japanese people, it will ultimately result in the loss of other Asian countries’ trust in us, which we already have so little of," she told The Korea Times.

While many Koreans only reacted emotionally about the textbook issue, Ikuyo, a Japanese, actually did something to rectify the situation.

For the past three months, Ikuyo worked as a volunteer at the Seodaemun Prison History Hall, located in central Seoul, briefing Japanese tourists who visit the museum on Japan’s colonial-era brutalities.

Previously used as a prison to incarcerate and torture Korean independence fighters, the museum includes prison cells, execution grounds and torture chambers which vividly tell the story of Korea’s tragic past under the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule.

"The Japanese should repent and provide compensation for their wartime wrongdoings, or they will forever act as a barrier to a lasting friendship between us and other Asian countries," she said in fluent Korean.

Ikuyo came to Korea in April 1999 when her husband, a Japanese government official, was assigned to Seoul for two years.

But her special interest in Korea began long before. While working as a counselor for foreign students at Shizuoka University ten years ago, she first came to know about the hidden aspects of Japan’s colonization through several Korean students she befriended.

"I was shocked to learn about our wartime atrocities, as nothing about them was included in the textbooks I read in school," she said.

After that, she became engrossed in the issue, poring over history books and visiting various museums in Asian countries such as China, Hong Kong and Korea to find out more about Japan’s past aggressions.

But the Japanese woman did more than just flip through books - she even helped several Korean women living in her hometown, Shizuoka, to file suit against Japanese companies which exploited them during colonization. "Although the suit did not end in success, I was happy to support Koreans who were victimized by our country," she said.

Her fervor and dedication ultimately lead to her volunteer work at the prison-turned museum.

"I decided to apply as a volunteer to enlighten the Japanese people of our wrongdoings as well as press the government to repent for the atrocities," she said.

Ikuyo guided about 100 Japanese tourists while working at the museum, and they displayed various reactions ranging from shock and surprise to repent and indignation.

"Most of them were thankful to be able to find out about Japan’s brutal past, but there were a few who, even after finishing the tours, still believed the war was justified," she said.

"There was one Japanese student who came to Korea to find out more about the distorted textbook issue, and he went back convinced that Japan was indeed in the wrong," said Ikuyo.

"I feel hope as long as there are young people like him," she said.

Her effort to put the historical record straight will not stop after leaving Korea, but is expected to gain momentum. She returned to Japan late last month as her husband concluded his assignment in Seoul.

"I plan to work with civic groups in Japan to block the distorted textbooks from being used in schools, as well as contribute to enhancing relations between Korea and Japan," she said.