It also marks the centennial of the "national humiliation" Korea experienced when Japan forced it to sign the Protectorate Treaty of 1905 that effectively deprived the nation of its diplomatic status.

It is the 60th anniversary of Korea's liberation from colonial rule, and is being viewed as a crucial time to reflect on Korea-Japan relations and forecast the direction in which the bilateral relationship will move in coming years.

◆ From perpendicular to horizontal relations

Tokyo University Prof. Lee Won-deok described the last century of bilateral relations as "the process of perpendicular relations becoming horizontal ones."

One hundred years ago, Japan was victorious in the Russo-Japanese War and took Korea's sovereignty into the palm of its hand as it established its hegemony over Northeast Asia.

Ito Hirobumi and Japanese Army Commander Hasegawa ride along Seoul's streets in a carriage after the signing of the Protectorate Treaty in November 1905.

Korea moved back and forth to no avail between China's Qing Dynasty -- which had become a semi-colony in the grip of Western Great Powers -- and Japan -- which had successfully modernized through the Meiji reforms -- and the nation was eventually colonized by Tokyo.

During the colonial period that began in 1905, Korea tasted Japan's harsh imperial rule. The feelings of pride and superiority over the Japanese held by Koreans, who considered themselves the Confucian world's "Little China" and the conveyer of advanced culture, were completely deflated.

In the eyes of Koreans, whose identities came under seige amid feelings of impotence and inferiority owing to the deprivation of their national sovereignty, Japan was without doubt a merciless ruler, but at the same time a model student in the ways of modernization and Occidental civilization.

If we say that 100 years ago, the bilateral relationship was characterized by one side unilaterally annexing the other, the restoration of the nation's independence in 1945, following almost 40 dark years of Japanese rule, came on the form of independence handed down to us courtesy Japan's defeat in the Pacific War.

Afterwards, the Korean-Japanese relationship couldn't help but be prescribed by Korea's internal division, and the international Cold War that was taking hold.

As North and South Korea were caught up in the Cold War, they had to endure the tragedy of fratricidal fighting. Korea, being a part of the Free World, chose to maintain an alliance with the United States after the war, while Japan emerged from under U.S. occupation and decided to guarantee its security and economic development through a U.S.-Japan alliance.

Bound by their respective alliances with the United States, Korea and Japan set upon a course of normalizing ties once the steadfastly anti-Japanese Syngman Rhee administration was forced out of power.

During the negotiations to normalize the relationship between the two nations, Washington applied pressure on the two nations to establish diplomatic ties early so it could realize its strategic goal of forming an anti-communist block in East Asia. The Cold War relationship between Korea and Japan was dictated by the security and economic logic upon which the Cold War was based.

With this scenario forming the geo-political backdrop and the two sides unable to completely put aside their reciprocal animosity, America was placed in the role of mediator and a diplomatic normalization treaty was signed.

Afterwards, the economic growth brought about by Korean-Japanese cooperation helped the South rise above North Korea politically, socially and economically.

After 1990, the relationship between Seoul and Tokyo underwent great structural changes compared to what had occurred previously.

With the end of the Cold War, which defined the "1965 system" of Korean-Japanese relations, Korea's internal politics evolved from authoritarian military dictatorships to a democratic political society, and the size of the economy grew to the point where it could no longer be ignored internationally.

The relationship is looking increasingly like a normal bilateral relationship based on developing mutual dependency, both qualitatively and quantitatively.

In both nations, sudden generational shifts have led to the dominance of new ways of thinking by the post-war generation in all sectors, such as politics, economics, society and culture, and the relationship that this generation is pioneering is, at its core, one in which notions of superiority and inferiority do not really have a place.

◆ History as obstacle

Residents rejoice in the streets of Seoul upon hearing of the nation's liberation from Japan on Aug. 15, 1945.

With the conclusion of the Cold War, it was perhaps natural that numerous incidents would arise from the ticking time bomb of past events, which had been pushed aside by the demands of Cold War security and economic logic.

Korean society's democratization, which arrived just at the right time, and the pluralistic understanding of history within Japan were factors that led to great friction as the resentful history between the two sides re-emerged. This friction began building up in the 1990s, and was more concentrated than it had been before.

The future of the Korean-Japanese relationship depends on whether the two sides can build a future-oriented relationship as they move to remedy the past. Professor Park Cheol-hee of Seoul National University presented several possible scenarios as to how relations between Seoul and Tokyo may develop in the future.

Firstly, if both nations put priority on their own internal political dynamics and issues of the past become inflamed in an emotional way, while at the same time the two cannot narrow their differences on the issue of North Korea, bilateral relations are likely to deteriorate.

On the other hand, if the internal politics are such that historical issues cannot be overcome, but the two are able to deepen their cooperation over the North Korean nuclear issue, the two could continue their strategic cooperation despite a manageable level of tension.

Meanwhile, if the two nations manage to overcome historical issues in a constructive way but antagonism grows over North Korea, the bilateral relationship would require some time to heal so that problematic foreign policy lines could be adjusted within an atmosphere of total cooperation.

On the other hand, if Korea and Japan were to satisfactorily overcome historical issues and strategically support one another to bring about stability on the Korean Peninsula, a future-oriented cooperative relationship could emerge between the two countries.

Of these hypothetical scenarios, the last one is the most desirable. Prof. Park suggested the following way of facilitating it: "Firstly, both governments must take the principle of avoiding moves that provoke the other side and manage issues one by one, and acting responsibly. Korea must show restraint so that its probe into the past is confined to recovering the historical legitimacy of the Korean people and does not expand into a campaign aimed at securing reparations from Japan."

"Japan, too, should stop engaging in interpreting history according to its own fancy and making absurd statements, and the Japanese government must stop shirking its responsibility by sitting idly by," he added.

Park proposed that there was a need to plan future-oriented projects by establishing a so-called "Korea-Japan Future Foundation" funded by both governments, based on a political resolution to assuage the feelings of both peoples.

◆ The coexistence of Korean and Japanese "Waves"

Korean Foreign Minister Lee Tong-won and Japanese Foreign Minister Shiina Etsusaburo sign the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea on June 22, 1965.

The Korean-Japanese relationship of the 21st century, when viewed from a long-term perspective, will likely develop qualitatively and advance to a more mature level.

The thing to look for in the relationship in the years ahead is the expansion of grassroots exchanges that transcend borders, such as those between companies, civil society, regional administrations and common people.

The "Yonsama Craze" that hit Japan and the "Japanese Wave" in Korea are two of the symbols of this latest development in the bilateral relationship. Borders no longer exist in the cultural consumption market, and within the bilateral relationship as well, the significance of national borders is gradually diminishing.

University of Shizuoka Professor Kohari Susumu said that, "The biggest obstacle to grassroots exchanges between Korea and Japan was the reporting attitude of media companies in both countries."

He said, "In the case of reports that could negatively influence the bilateral relationship, one should make accurate reports after thorough fact checking... During the World Cup, mutual understanding improved in large part because the media reported in a benevolent fashion -- Japanese media showed Korean wins, and the Korean media showed how Japanese were cheering for Korea."

In order to promote intellectual exchanges befitting the Information Age, Kohari suggested that Japanese newspaper companies establish Korean-language homepages in a similar fashion to the way that major Korean newspapers have opened up Japanese-language sites. To promote cultural exchanges, he suggested the establishment of a culture and arts television station to be jointly run by Korea and Japan, similar to ARTE TV, which was established by Germany and France in 1991.

(Jung Kwon-hyeon khjung@chosun.com )