Japanese Culter Censored in Korea

[TrainerRyan]

Warning: This Topic will deal with Very Dark Subjecsts as well as Political Issue related to World War II

Not too long ago saw a Youtube Video about Baned Pokemon Episodes. Later in that Video they talked about international censorship, specifcally South Korea, entire Episodes of the Anime were banned because it had a Japanese Culteral referances. If it had someone dressed as a Samurai it got Baned, Dressed as a Ninja Baned. Also we all heard that there were alot of "Hoop Jumping" on getting the Pokemon Games being sold in Korea.
Pokemon wasn't the Only Japanese Franchise that had Trouble in Korea. When Soul Calibur for the Dreamcast was released, the South Korea Government demanded the removal of Mitsurugi the Samurai, so Namco replaced him with a White Guy.
These actions are very very Silly, however the reasons for all of this is way too Serious. During WW2, Japanese Army tried to take more of Asia for themselves, they invaded huge areas of Korea and China, alot of lives were lost during those attacks, but the ones that survived were taken as prisoners.
During that time the Japanese Military did had very Brutal Ways of Toturing Koreans and Chinese Prisoners, I'm not so sure how much detail about it I should give out because it will give anyone Horific Nightmares.
But to give you a sort of an Idea on what it is lets talk about China's Censorship of the American Game World of Warcraft. In WoW the Undead Character Models have exposed Bones around there arms and leg joints, but when Blizzard ent. want to sell their game in China, the Chinese Government strongly insisted that all exposed bones must be covered up. The reason is because it's remiscient of one of the many brutal acts that the Japanese Military did to Chinese and Korean Civilians. So Blizzard added flesh to cover up all the Expose Bones on the Undead in every Chinese copy of WoW.
Tho I will agree that what happened with WoW is more reasonable compared to other Media I mentioned that got censored, because stuff like Samurais and Ninjas had nothing to do with WW2 Japan. Even tho making something resembling what happened to many Chinese and Korea at the hands of Japanese wasn't their intention, Blizzard covered up the bones anyway, it basically like removing a Manji because it looks too much like a Swastika.
Anyhow, there is alot more I could talk about this Subject, but want to here more opionions on this subject first. Any Thoughts?

 

[Robo-Floatzel]

Heavy censorship related to the atrocities of World War II do not just apply to China and Korea. In Germany, the very discussion of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich is a very sensitive topic, with not only censorship being involved, but also the fact that there are laws that will put people who use Nazi or Nazi-like symbolism in trouble. Granted the censoring of samurai and ninjas (and anything prior to WWII) is rather pointless when you consider how many cultural elements are shared between Japan and Korea.

While Japan and South Korea are much friendlier today than they were in the past, keep in mind that between WWII and now, Korea went through a very rough history, starting with the Korean War that divided the country in half, then South Korea went through several military coups (such as the October Yushin) lasting until around 1987 or so. South Korea didn't really become democratic until the time of the 1988 Olympics in Seoul and the collapse of the Soviet Union a few years afterwards, so the censorship of episodes of the Pokemon anime involving Japanese culture were somewhat pointless partially because the hatred of Japan that came from the previous military regimes still lingers, combined with the fact that South Korea is far more westernized than Japan is, courtesy of US involvement in the Korean War.

However, the censorship continues with the editing of the Sage class in HG/SS, the incidents involving the character of Korea in Hetalia, and virtually anything addressing the elephant in the room known as North Korea (which is similar to the aforementioned German anti-Nazi law), let alone Japan in WWII, among other such things. This censorship might go on even long after the reunification of North and South Korea when it eventually happens.

 

[TrainerRyan]

Another point I like to put is the fact is the Majority of Western Peoples know very little about what happened in Asia during WW2. Infact, the Majority of recent Hollywood movies set during WW2 are about Nazi and the European front, because the one movie in 2001 about Pearl Harbor was a box office flop. Heck even kids who sleep thru History Class knows alot about the Hitler and his Atrocities. But we all should know the reason why it was called a World War is because it went beyond 1 Continent.

Found a News Article that a Perfect Example of a Westerner not knowing Asian WW2 history

 

[Almonds]

-snip -
Tho I will agree that what happened with WoW is more reasonable compared to other Media I mentioned that got censored, because stuff like Samurais and Ninjas had nothing to do with WW2 Japan. Even tho making something resembling what happened to many Chinese and Korea at the hands of Japanese wasn't their intention, Blizzard covered up the bones anyway, it basically like removing a Manji because it looks too much like a Swastika.
Anyhow, there is alot more I could talk about this Subject, but want to here more opionions on this subject first. Any Thoughts?

-snip-
While Japan and South Korea are much friendlier today than they were in the past, keep in mind that between WWII and now, Korea went through a very rough history, starting with the Korean War that divided the country in half, then South Korea went through several military coups (such as the October Yushin) lasting until around 1987 or so. South Korea didn't really become democratic until the time of the 1988 Olympics in Seoul and the collapse of the Soviet Union a few years afterwards, so the censorship of episodes of the Pokemon anime involving Japanese culture were somewhat pointless partially because the hatred of Japan that came from the previous military regimes still lingers, combined with the fact that South Korea is far more westernized than Japan is, courtesy of US involvement in the Korean War.

Another point I like to put is the fact is the Majority of Western Peoples know very little about what happened in Asia during WW2. Infact, the Majority of recent Hollywood movies set during WW2 are about Nazi and the European front, because the one movie in 2001 about Pearl Harbor was a box office flop. Heck even kids who sleep thru History Class knows alot about the Hitler and his Atrocities. But we all should know the reason why it was called a World War is because it went beyond 1 Continent.[/URL]

World War 2 isn't the only reason for Japanese culture being censored in Korea. There are a lot of historical issues between Japan and Korea. Japan invaded Korea in the past a few times, and there's also the Period of the Japanese Imperial Colonial Administration, or simply put, where Korea was colonized. There have been quite a lot of unfavorable matters regarding military and culture overall, so too much Japanese culture depiction, or anything that points to historical issues, is likely to get banned. Or in the very least, gets dubbed/aired/localized with heavy to minor edits. There were a lot of restrictions in the past, but over the years, people became more accepting of cultural differences and are more educated on historical issues. As long as the overall content isn't offensive, cultural references are generally okay.