One of Japan¡¯s summer traditions is the National High School Baseball Championship tournament held every year at Koshien Stadium.
Readers who do not normally follow Japan-Korea relations may not be aware of it, but something unusual happened this year. At this historic tournament celebrating its centennial, Kyoto International High School, formerly a South Korean-associated school, won the tournament on Aug. 23. After the game, the school¡¯s anthem, sung in Korean, echoed through the stadium.
The reactions to Kyoto International High School¡¯s accomplishment, both in Japan and South Korea, were intriguing. In South Korea, President Yoon Suk-yeol posted a Facebook message congratulating the winners, saying that the victory ¡°gave pride and courage to our compatriots in Japan.¡± Yonhap News reported that ¡°a national school made miraculous history.¡± After the match, the South Korean Foreign Ministry posted a text message from Minister Cho Tae-yeol congratulating the school on its victory, saying it was a ¡°bridge of friendship between the two countries.¡±
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