Longstanding issues such as Japanese war crimes against Korean civilians , the negationist re-writing of Japanese textbooks relating Japanese atrocities during World War II , the territorial disputes over the Liancourt Rocks , known in South Korea as " Dokdo " and in Japan as " Takeshima " , and visits by Japanese politicians to the Yasukuni Shrine , honoring Japanese people ( civilians and military ) killed during the war continue to trouble Korean-Japanese relations . The Liancourt Rocks were the first Korean territories to be forcibly colonized by Japan in 1905 . Although it was again returned to Korea along with the rest of its territory in 1951 with the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco , Japan does not recant on its claims that the Liancourt Rocks are Japanese territory . In response to then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi 's visits to the Yasukuni Shrine , former President Roh Moo-hyun suspended all summit talks between South Korea and Japan in 2009 . A summit between the nations ' leaders was eventually held on February 9 , 2018 during the Korean held Winter Olympics
Japanese war crimes
Japanese war crimes
South Korea