"Anti-Japanese sentiment has been resurging in South Korea recently. This is a backlash against the Japanese government's announcement that it would restrict exports of semiconductor-related materials. This has led to a widespread boycott of Japanese products and travel to Japan, while some have resorted to incoherent criticism of those who refuse to participate and even criminal acts like terrorism against Japanese cars, creating a somewhat chaotic atmosphere.
Seeing these developments, I'm reminded of the height of anti-Japanese sentiment in the 1990s. Japanese popular culture was fully liberalized in 1998, but before then, Japanese culture was considered taboo, so much so that social aversion to Japan was so strong. Anti-Japanese sentiment was particularly strong in the mid-1990s, when Japan began making outrageous remarks about Dokdo. (aka, The Liancourt Rocks) The social atmosphere at the time can also be seen in game advertisements.
The advertisement above is for the Korean game LAST WAR: The Sinking of Mount Fuji, developed by Gencom and distributed by BCI Soft. The game's description states that it's a shooting strategy game based on a fictional World War III involving Korea, Russia, and Japan.
Actually, just looking at this, it's hard to get a sense of what the game is all about. It seems to feature a shooting mode utilizing 3D full textures, and it's understandable that it includes a scenario-interactive movie mode. However, what exactly is the mission of "overcoming all obstacles and successfully marrying Han Sora"? The screenshots are even more confusing, with scenes of gods, building interiors, battlefields, and real-life events intermingling. The game itself is said to be a mix of adventure and aerial shooting, and I'd love to try it out if I get the chance.
Interestingly, the game's description and advertisements are heavily loaded with anti-Japanese sentiment. Phrases like "Dokdo is Japanese territory? The Japanese archipelago will sink!" seem quite extreme. In fact, this advertisement was published at a time when anti-Japanese sentiment was at its peak among the Korean public. In February 1996, Japanese Foreign Minister Yukihigo Ikeda made the outrageous remark, "The South Korean government's construction of docking facilities on Dokdo Island is a violation of Japanese sovereignty." This led to protests in front of the Japanese embassy, intensifying anti-Japanese sentiment across the country. This, coupled with the already-publicized issue of the East Sea/Sea of Japan designation, led to condemnation of Japan becoming a societal cultural phenomenon.
Incidentally, there's a backstory behind this advertisement. This game was previously released under the name Last War: Crisis on the Third World War. At the time of its initial release, the story was a commonplace one, depicting Northeast Asian nations at war. However, as anti-Japanese sentiment intensified in Korea, the game was quietly renamed and re-released. By forcibly incorporating anti-Japanese sentiment into a game with an existing story, phrases like "Save the Earth from the brink of extinction!", "The Great Sinking of the Japanese Archipelago!", and "Is Dokdo Japanese territory?" were forcibly mixed in, ultimately resulting in a game that felt like it was neither here nor there. This could be seen as a cautionary tale of excessive anti-Japanese sentiment." ~GameMeca, based on machine translation ("독도는 일본땅? ‘후지산의 침몰’")
