Yoshida Shigeru and Syngman Rhee

Yoshida Shigeru and Syngman Rhee were certainly two of the key players during the initial discussions in resuming Japan-South Korean relations in the aftermath of WWII, Japanese colonization of Korea, and the Korean War.

Of course, the two leaders hated and despised each other. And without U.S. incentives and pressure, the two would probably not have met, let alone initiate the process of post-war normalization.

Syngman Rhee was quite a character, fervent anti-communist, and strongly nationalistic.

Yoshida Shigeru, on the other, had been described by Douglas MacArthur as "monumentally lazy and politically inept." (T.J. Pempel, Regime Shift - Comparative Dynamics of the Japanese Political Economy)

Okay, so I cheer more for the Koreans. Crucify me.