The Best of Enemies: Japan and South Korea

Hockey games between Russia and Team USA may not have the oomph they once did. Australia's dominance has drained the spark from its cricket matches with England. But for those of us who appreciate a good international rivalry, there's hope.

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During Japan's 5-3 victory Monday over South Korea in the finals of the World Baseball Classic in Los Angeles, business ground to a halt in the two countries. Hundreds of people clustered around dozens of flat-panel TVs at the giant Bic Camera electronics store in downtown Tokyo, while commuters tracked every pitch on mobile phones. In South Korea, the game was broadcast from a giant video screen at the busy Gwanghwamun crossing in Seoul. Interest was so high the government even allowed prisoners to watch.

Hwang Yung-ki, who works at a Seoul insurance company, said he postponed an appointment to listen to the game. "We didn't even go out to have lunch and instead had instant noodles in the office," he says. "The boss gave us a stingy look, but we watched the game anyway. We had to!"

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Like all great rivalries, this one has deep political and historical roots, starting with Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. Koreans were forced to assume Japanese names and take school lessons in the Japanese language. More than three million Koreans were forced to work in factories for Japan during World War II and Korean women were made to serve as prostitutes for Japanese troops. Today, many Japanese are quietly anxious of the growing success of South Korean companies like Samsung Electronics. South Koreans, meanwhile, see Japan as a target to be surpassed.

The Japanese won the WBC in 2006, but South Korea reached the semifinals of that tournament and last year, won the gold medal in baseball at Beijing -- beating Japan in the process. If there was any moment when the rivalry became a phenomenon, it was March 17 when the South Korean team celebrated its 4-1 victory over Japan in the WBC's early rounds by planting a flag on the pitcher's mound.

For now, the Japanese own the bragging rights. Japanese media has nicknamed the team "Samurai Japan" to acknowledge its courage. But thoughts of the Koreans are never far. "I don't hate Korea that much, said Ryota Morioka, 36, a Tokyo real estate worker who watched the game at a bar. "I just don't want to lose to them."