Rise of the Ronin will not be released in Korea following director's controversial comments

by Danny Craig  · 
Rise of the Ronin will not be released in Korea following director's controversial comments
Team Ninja

Team Ninja's upcoming action RPG, Rise of the Ronin, will not be released in South Korea after its director, Fumuhiko Yasuda, discussed the inclusion of controversial scholar Shōin Yoshida.

The details:

  • As reported by Korean site Ruliweb, Sony has confirmed that Rise of the Ronin will not be released in the region, either physically or digitally. The company did not provide an explanation for the decision, but it is thought to be related to Yasuda's recent comments in a behind-the-scenes video.

  • The video shows the director visiting Hagi City and the Shoka Sonjuku School, which Yoshida founded in the nineteenth century. Yoshida is a controversial figure as he backed Seikanron (Jeonghanrok in Korea), a debate in 1873 over whether Japan should invade Korea to strengthen its military power. Although no action was taken at the time, Japan ultimately took control of the region between 1910 and 1945.

  • Yasuda has been accused of glorifying the scholar in the video by stating that "he could be compared to Socrates." This resulted in backlash from Korean communities, and Sony has now pulled the game entirely since it features both Yoshida and his student Kogoro Katsura.

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