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"All of the western political ideology (Colonialism, Communism, Fascism, Democracy) that came to Korea (and China) came by way of Japan." This is demonstrably
by astine 11y ago
"All of the western political ideology (Colonialism, Communism, Fascism, Democracy) that came to Korea (and China) came by way of Japan."
This is demonstrably false. Chinese communism especially, was not just influenced but guided Russia and the Comintern. Mao certainly didn't get his ideas from Japan, and the contrasting liberal and fascist influences largely came from the West by means of Shanghai rather than Japan.
Similarly with Korea. Japan may have forced Korea to open up and dominated for nearly half a century, but Korean communism came from Russia.
- kyllo 11y agoThat was a bit later though. Leninism came to China and Korea in the late 1910s and 20s. I am talking about the ideologies and philosophies (Marxism among them) that came from the West by way of Japan several decades earlier than that. You could argue that Leninism and Stalinism are more directly responsible for North Korean Communism today than Marxism was, and you wouldn't be wrong in my opinion, but the concepts of socialism, fascism, democracy, etc. first came to Korea and China by way of Japanese scholarship.