Metacognition required for Korea and Japan

Now that mutual exchange and good feelings are increasing, we can look back on whether we really understand each other well.

CHUN SU-JIN The author is the head of the Today-People News team at the JoongAng Ilbo.

At a performance hall in Tokyo, Japan, on March 31, the sign that should say “Korean Language Guide” said “Joseon Language Guide.” The organizer of the international dance event by 33 world-class dancers must have used a translating tool because the Korean language turned into North Korea’s Joseon language. It was corrected the next day.

I applaud the quick response, but it is regrettable because the sign could have been correct in the first place. The confident signage — “Joseon Language” — may reflect the reality of Korea-Japan relations. The two countries think they know each other well, but they misunderstand many things.

Knowing that you don’t know is the first step in knowing. It sounds like a pun, but this is how metacognition can be explained in plain language. Coined by developmental psychologist John Flavell in 1976, metacognition means “reflective and critical thinking on cognitive activities.” It is a process of critically reviewing whether you really know what you know, or only think you know it. Thinking you know something you don’t know — and defining and judging others based on this misconception — is the beginning of misunderstandings and misfortunes. The same goes for Korea-Japan relations.

In the same context, I was impressed by what was said at a private seminar on Korea-Japan ties, held by the Northeast Asian History Foundation early last month. One old scholar said, “The biggest problem between Korea and Japan is that they think each other knows each other well.” Two countries often get off to a bad start based on the misconception that they know one another well.

There is only one reason why I discuss metacognition between Korea and Japan: Korea’s national interests. Whether the new owner of the White House will be Kamala Harris or Donald Trump next January, Korea and Japan need each other for their national interests in the volatile diplomatic landscape. It is all the more welcome news that a key Japanese diplomat said on the condition of anonymity that Japan is actively holding working-level talks with Korea to prepare for “Washington becoming stubborn in foreign policy.”

Last week, I could hear Korean spoken all over Tokyo despite the heat wave. According to statistics from the Japan Tourism Organization (JNTO), 4.44 million Koreans visited Japan in the first half of the year alone. Some even predict that the number of Koreans visiting Japan will exceed 10 million this year.

As the Korea-Japan relationship often fluctuates depending on their government’s ideology, now could be the right time to reduce fatigue in the pendulum movement. Now that mutual exchange and good feelings are increasing, we can look back on whether we really understand each other well. Next year marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan.