The export restriction measures taken by the Japanese government in July 2019 cannot be interpreted as simply derived from the historical issues of Korea and Japan. Looking back on the Japan-China Senkaku Islands dispute that began in 2009, although there have always been historical and territorial disputes between Japan and China, this expanded to trade friction between the two when China emerged as a global economic power. Similarly, Japan’s Abe Cabinet launched a trade dispute against Korea when the U.S. Trump administration initiated a trade dispute against China as a pretext for “America First” policies. In response to Japan’s export restriction measures, the Korean government announced measures to strengthen the nation’s competitiveness in the materials, components, and equipment industries in August 2019, and expanded its scope of support to include the semi-conductor and bio industries in July 2020, under the goal of becoming a global factory for high-tech industries. The Korean government’s response suggests that it will be very difficult to resolve the current trade friction between Korea and Japan through diplomatic negotiations. After Japan’s export restriction measures, the Korean government made various diplomatic responses, such as suggesting alternative compensation for forced laborers in the Japanese colonial era, filing a lawsuit at the WTO, and withdrawal from the GSOMIA agreement, but in the mid- to long-term, it appears that lowering reliance on Japanese advanced technologies would be the “second-best” way out of these history issues. Nevertheless, in the coming August, the Korean and Japanese governments are facing diplomatic challenges to reach a smooth agreement on the issue of compulsory enforcement against Nippon Steel, the WTO lawsuit filed by Korea, and extension of the GSOMIA. The Japanese government has warned that further retaliation measures will be carried out if any compensation order for a Japanese company is actually executed. Looking back at the achievements of economic cooperation between Korea and Japan, and given that the COVID-19 pandemic is not looking to subside anytime soon, we must gather wisdom in a way that diplomatic conflicts between the two countries no longer disrupt interdependent economic relations