Tochak Waegu

Tochak waegu or To-wae for short, is a South Korean political insult used mainly by South Korean leftists against South Korean conservatives who are perceived to be pro-Japanese. Tochak waegu is similar to the terms maegukno  and minjok banyeokja.

Political position
In South Korea, liberals and leftists are more anti-Japanese than conservatives. The term is commonly used to criticize South Korean conservatives' relatively favorable foreign policy towards Japan. It is also used as a derogatory expression for those who sympathize with the Japanese right, and those who are perceived as too lenient towards Japan, even if they are also anti-Japanese. Therefore, "tochak waegu" are considered to be race traitors.

Some South Korean scholars argue that in South Korea, defending the policies of the Empire of Japan or espousing historically revisionist views of Imperial Japan should be criminalised, which, according to them, would have the same legitimacy as the criminalization of Neo-Nazism and Holocaust denial in European countries. However, such legislation has not been introduced in South Korea as to not hinder freedom of speech.

In South Korean politics, liberals and leftists tend to characterize conservatives as "pro-Japan", while conservatives tend to characterize liberals and leftists as "pro-Pyongyang" (or Jongbuk). South Korea has historically been under Japanese colonial rule so to be "pro-Japan" is regarded as "fascist" or "far-right" while to be "pro-Pyongyang" is regarded as "ppalgaengi"  or "far-left". Thus, South Korean politicians (mainly liberal politicians) equate "tochak waegu" with the "far-right".

Criticism
The term "tochak waegu" itself is a slanderous term for South Korean conservatives, not Japanese people, but this term is sometimes used as a slur for Japanese people living in South Korea. This is also related to the South Koreans' perception that Japanese people are perpetrators, not victims of racism. Some Koreans see the term "waegu" as racist against Japanese people, but others argue that it is not racist.

A column in the JoongAng Ilbo, a moderate conservative news outlet, criticized the expression '"'tochak waegu''" as akin to a liberal version of McCarthyism. This position was criticized in an article written by Hong Se-hwa for the left-wing news outlet Hankyoreh, in which he claimed it to be "government-led nationalism" that has nothing to do with left-wing nationalism and criticized right-wing Japanese nationalism and hostile symbiosis.