User blog comment:General tiu/Korea: who was he, and can he still be saved?/@comment-2004850-20100531193535

There's nothing that really can be done. South Korea isn't forcing Japan to exclude the character. Sure, there is some pressure and they are displeased, but S. Korea could always be added back if DEEN or Himaruya or Gentosha wanted to take the flack. Truth is, it's easier to avoid it and retire the character than add him back in. Even giving him more of a personality would draw in criticism. My guess would be it was more DEEN and Gentosha than Himaruya, though.

It's a select group of people in power who find the character insulting. There are surely Korean Hetalia fans and people who just don't care. Japan and Korea haven't had the best relationship, a lot of it stemming from WWII. So, an offensive Korean stereotype mixed with a WWII parody/satire/etc. doesn't bode well, especially when attempting to explain the average citizen what Hetalia is.

So, S. Korea probably isn't coming back, other than blog sketches and maybe a blog-only comic strip. North Korea will probably never be created, either. Time will tell at this point.