"Don't Make Wishes": Korean Wish Plaques Found at Shrine Honoring Emperor Meiji, Including One From a Prospective Teacher

[Financial News] Criticism erupted after photos showed numerous Korean wish plaques hanging at Meiji Shrine in Japan. Some said people should have considered the site's historical significance as a place that honors Emperor Meiji.
The backlash grew after it was revealed that a prospective teacher had left the message, "Please let me become a good history teacher." Some also reacted by saying that the historical meaning of the site had been ignored.
On the 14th, a post by a Korean tourist who had visited Meiji Shrine was shared on an online community.
The poster said he saw many Korean wish plaques at the site. He wrote, "When I got to Meiji Shrine, I could hardly believe it, but most of the wooden wish plaques had wishes written in Korean by Korean visitors," adding that "almost all of the plaques hanging there were covered with Korean writing."
The writer also criticized the act of worship itself. He said, "Look only at the trees, the forest, and the buildings," and "Do not make wishes at a place that enshrines the emperor who was responsible for colonial exploitation."
He explained his reasoning by pointing to the shrine's historical meaning. The poster said, "Meiji Shrine is where Emperor Meiji and his empress are enshrined," and added that it is "a place that honors symbolic figures of Japanese imperialism and colonial rule," making it difficult to understand why anyone would make wishes there even if they could travel to Japan.
The photos showed ema, wooden plaques on which worshippers write their wishes and hang them up. Several of them were written in Korean.
One poster, believed to be a prospective teacher, wrote, "Please let me pass the teaching certification exam and become a full-time teacher," and "Please let me become a good history teacher."
Other plaques carried more ordinary wishes. Messages included, "May my business prosper and my wishes come true," and "May I stay healthy without getting sick. May my life be filled with good things and good people."
One plaque, apparently written on the 11th, also said, "Please make my stocks soar! Let's go to KOSPI 10,000!"
Criticism also came from online users who saw the post. They reacted by saying things like, "Is it right for someone who says they want to be a history teacher to go to Meiji Shrine and make a wish there?"
Meiji Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo. It was founded in 1920 and enshrines Emperor Meiji and his wife as deities.
During Emperor Meiji's reign, Japan pushed modernization while strengthening its imperialist course. After the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, Japan expanded its control over the Korean Empire, which eventually led to the Japan-Korea Annexation in 1910.
In Korea, Emperor Meiji is seen as a symbolic figure associated with Japanese colonial rule. Meiji Shrine is also regarded as a place tied to the painful history of the Japanese colonial period.

hsg@fnnews.com Han Seung-gon Reporter