Team Ninja’s upcoming title, Rise of the Ronin, will not be released in South Korea, Sony Interactive Entertainment Korea confirmed. The news broke yesterday after the game was removed from the Korean PlayStation Store and promotional materials, excluding the trailer, were pulled from Sony’s Korean YouTube channel.
This was first reported on Ruliweb, a Korean site (found by Eurogamer). While Sony hasn’t officially stated the reason behind the cancellation, speculation points toward comments made by game director Fumihiko Yasuda in a behind-the-scenes video. In the video, Yasuda compares 19th-century Japanese scholar Shōin Yoshida to Socrates and expresses his desire to depict him in the game.
Yoshida remains a controversial figure in Korea due to his advocacy for conquering the country to strengthen Japan. This sentiment, known as Seikanron (Jeonghanrok in Korea), sparked online criticism from Korean audiences who view Yoshida negatively. Additionally, the inclusion of Kogoro Katsura, a student of Yoshida and a key figure in Japanese imperialism, further fueled criticism.
Currently, neither Sony nor Team Ninja has explicitly addressed the connection between Yasuda’s comments and the cancellation.
The timing and content of the video, coupled with the sensitive nature of the historical figures involved, suggest a strong correlation.
For those who don’t know, Japan and Korea have a very sorted past, to say the least. Japan’s occupation of Korea was not one that is remembered fondly, and there is a lot of controversy about what happened during that time. So, any game that highlights or promotes the imperialism of Japan would be looked down upon by South Korea.
Rise of Ronin not releasing in Korea says a lot about the complexities surrounding historical portrayals in media. This is particularly true when dealing with sensitive topics and international audiences. While the exact reasons behind the decision remain unclear, what’s good is that there isn’t a big campaign to stop it as a whole. The places where it would be insensitive won’t hold the game, but others would find this portrayal of Japan as good or patriotic. I feel this is the correct thing to do so everyone wins.
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