The Embassy of Japan in Seoul (Korean: 주 대한민국 일본 대사관; Hanja: 駐大韓民國 日本 大使館; RR: Ju Daehanmingug Ilbon Daesagwan) is the diplomatic mission of Japan in South Korea. It is located in Seoul, South Korea's capital.
| Embassy of Japan in Seoul | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Location | Seoul |
| Address | Twin Tree Tower A, 6, Yulgok-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea |
| Coordinates | 37°34′31″N 126°58′47″E / 37.5754°N 126.9798°E |
| Ambassador | Koichi Aiboshi |
In addition to this embassy, Japan also has two consulates in South Korea: one in Busan and one in Jeju City.[1]
History
editThe current embassy was opened on 18 December 1965, following the re-establishment of relations between the two countries, under its first ambassador, Toshikatsu Maeda.[2] In 2015, the embassy was moved to the Twin Tree Tower as a temporary location while the embassy building is being renovated.[3]
Design
editThe building has been described as "a large, red brick structure surrounded by high, barbed-wire-topped walls and guarded at all hours by dozens of police officers".[4]
Demonstrations
editThe embassy is known as the site of numerous South Korean anti-Japanese demonstrations.[4] In 1974, the embassy was ransacked by angry protesters during a time of heightened tensions between Japan and South Korea.[5] In 2005, two South Koreans sliced off their fingers during a protest related to the Liancourt Rocks dispute outside the embassy.[6] In 2012, a South Korean driver rammed his truck against the gate of the embassy, claiming it was done to highlight the Liancourt Rocks dispute.[7]
Comfort women protests
edit
Since 1992, the embassy has been a site of weekly Wednesday demonstrations related to the comfort women issue.[8] The controversial Statue of Peace, related to the comfort women issue, was unveiled in front of the embassy in 2011, causing another lengthy diplomatic row between Japan and South Korea.[9][10] In 2012, a Chinese man threw four Molotov cocktails at the embassy to voice his anger over the comfort women issue.[11] In 2015, an elderly South Korean man set himself on fire during a weekly Wednesday demonstration.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Websites of Japanese Embassies, Consulates and Permanent Missions ｜ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan". www.mofa.go.jp. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ 미래희망기구. www.hopetofuture.org. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ "Japanese Embassy to Move to Temporary Location". Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ a b c "South Korean man lights himself on fire during anti-Japan protest in Seoul". Los Angeles Times. 12 August 2015. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ Japan and Korea: The Political Dimension. Hoover Press. 13 April 1985. ISBN 9780817981839.
- ^ island, Justin McCurry on Ulleungdo (18 August 2010). "Rocky relations between Japan and South Korea over disputed islands". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ "Japan anger after protester rams truck at embassy in South Korea". BBC News. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ Barbara Molony; Jennifer Nelson (9 February 2017). Women's Activism and "Second Wave" Feminism: Transnational Histories. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 255. ISBN 978-1-4742-5053-5.
- ^ Padden, Brian. "Weekly Korea Protests Keep Japanese WWII Atrocities Alive". VOA. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ Sol Han and James Griffiths (6 February 2017). "Why this statue of a young girl caused a diplomatic incident". CNN. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ "Chinese man throws firebombs at Japanese Embassy". The Korea Times. 8 January 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
External links
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