In 2019, the boycott of Japanese products and travel began in South Korea due to trade disputes between South Korea and Japan.

History

In 2019, a new wave of boycotts were started in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

as a response to the

Japan–South Korea trade dispute The Japan–South Korea trade dispute, also known as the Japan–South Korea economic war, is an ongoing economic conflict between Japan and South Korea. There are different cited causes behind the conflict. The Japanese government removed Sou ...

. People participating in the movement stopped buying Japanese products and services, travelling to Japan, and watching Japanese-made films. Boycotts of Japanese products and services in South Korea have affected Japanese brands and tourism to Japan. On July 29, 2019, a Korean credit card company reported that credit card sales from

Muji (), or is a Japanese retail company which sells a wide variety of household and consumer goods. Muji's design philosophy is minimalist, and it places an emphasis on recycling, reducing production and packaging waste, and a no-logo or "no-bran ...

fell by 33.4%, ABC Mart sales fell by 11.4% and

Daigaku Honyaku Center , initials of is a Japanese manufacturer dealing in cosmetics and health food supplements headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It was established in 1972. Their flagship brand name is "Olive Virgin Oil". Originally started in Japan as a translation ...

fell by 55.3%. Uniqlo sales dropped by 40% and the company announced it will close down its Jongno 3-ga store in central Seoul. Similarly, credit card spending from South Koreans in Japan have also declined.

JTB Corporation (aka JTB), is the largest travel agency in Japan and one of the largest travel agencies in the world. It specializes in tourism. There are branches all over the world to help Japanese and non-Japanese guests in both private leisure and corpor ...

reported that the number of Koreans visiting Japan declined by about 10%. Some South Korean airlines announced they will reduce flights or suspend direct routes between major Japanese and South Korean cities. The boycott of Japanese products spread into the cultural sector, with the latest release of the ''

Doraemon ''Doraemon'' ( ja, ドラえもん ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. The manga was first serialized in December 1969, with List of Doraemon chapters, its 1,345 individual chapters compiled into 45 ' ...

'' film series '' Doraemon: Nobita's Chronicle of the Moon Exploration'', which was originally scheduled for release on August 14, had been postponed indefinitely even after the film's Korean dubbing was finished. In July, two other anime films, ''Butt Detective the Movie'' and '' Detective Conan: The Fist of Blue Sapphire'', was subjected to unfavourable online reviews on internet and sold only 134,000 and 200,000 tickets respectively. A poll conducted by Realmeter involving 504 adults reveal that, as of July 24, 62.8% of respondents say they are boycotting Japanese goods. Another poll conducted by Gallup Korea involving 1,005 adults found that only 12% held favourable views on Japan, while 77% have negative views. Likewise the poll found that 61% of respondents blame the Japanese government for the conflict, while 17% hold the South Korean government responsible. A new poll conducted by Embrian involving 1000 adults reveal that, as of December 2, 2020, 71.8% of respondents say they are participating in boycotting Japanese goods.

Japan's response

In regards to the recent spread of Korea-Japan tension, including the conscription victim compensation ruling of the Japanese government, and the strengthening of export regulations, Japan has stated "Korea is in breach of international law," and "export regulations are not related with the conscription ruling at all," and has blamed South Korea.

References

{{reflist Boycotts of Japan Social movements in South Korea Anti-Japanese sentiment in South Korea 2019 in South Korea 2020 in South Korea 2021 in South Korea