Lukewarm to hot take- I actually really love the Korean representation in the RGG series. It's really heartening to see a Japanese franchise make room for Korean representation in a way that feels organic and has actually grown and gotten better over the life of the series.

Like even Kiwami 2, for all its flaws regarding some main characters, still included Korean gangsters into its worldbuilding in a way that didn't feel like tokenism. The fact that Koreans were victims wasn't an aside- it was integral to the story. The fact that I could just fight

random Koreans with the same name as me was also such a novelty!

Korea and Japan understandably have a tense relationship that hasn't been made better by recent administrations, and while Japan's lack of atonement for its atrocities against Korea and other Asian countries

is still something that needs to be sincerely and authentically addressed, a part of me yearns for a future where both countries can more readily exchange cultures with each other the way the Yakuza franchise does.

I've seen a JP (and even non-JP) netizens kind of dismiss Korean

calls for justice and atonement, which is pretty hurtful, and I think Koreans have every right to react strongly if a Japanese entity makes a misstep. There are certain things you absolutely cannot take lightly and that will cause a harmful impact despite all intentions

which I think is a valid reason for a lot of JP entities to shy away from Korean inclusion whatsoever (no cap I will throw a damn party if we ever get a Korean character in FGO LOL).

But I think sometimes including Korean rep the way RGG does is more powerful than avoiding

the issue altogether. I hope that we see more attempts at it moving forward, along with steps being made to finally heal the wounds left by history.

Take this all with a grain of salt tho bc I'm Korean-American and also more removed from Korea's traumas

and tbh my bar is on the floor just because specifically Korean rep is a rarity in most of the media I consume. Ppl are definitely allowed to disagree.