Protesters filled the streets of Seoul, Thursday, on the 74th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945. South Korean demonstrators expressed contemporary discontent with their Asian neighbour amid rising tensions with historical roots.
The protests went on well into the night and were represented by different factions with several competing demands. A heavy police presence was reported both in front of the Japanese Embassy and at Gwanghwamun Plaza.
Protesters held banners and sported t-shirt witht the word ‘NO’ emblazoned on the front, symbolising the boycott of Japanese brands.
A trade row between the two countries began in July after a Seoul court ordered a Japanese steel company to pay reparations to forced labourers, dating back to Japan’s occupation in the first part of the twentieth century.
Tokyo then tightened restrictions on tech exports to South Korea, a move many South Koreans see as retaliation for the court ruling.