Japan-Korea: Histories that Bind

Japan and South Korea are neighbors whose cooperation in the 21st century is vital. Yet this bi-national relationship is challenged by complex, intertwined, often violent, and contested histories. Historian Alexis Dudden, University of Connecticut, traces the ways in which these two countries have been tied together and torn apart through the 20th century and argues that acknowledging history and learning from it will be essential if these two nations are to move forward. She discusses the current controversy over Comfort Women and briefly considers North Korea.