3 ms·

> South Korea’s rise to a middle power status comes without much historical baggage The kingdom of Joseon was annexed entirely by Japan in 1905. Modern Korea

> South Korea’s rise to a middle power status comes without much historical baggage The kingdom of Joseon was annexed entirely by Japan in 1905. Modern Korea (nevermind the North/South prefix) would not exist had the US not enter WWII. The 35-years under Japan is a major flashpoint in Japan-Korea relation, it's a joke that the thing that unites North and South is their common hatred of Japan. I'm surprised there's not a more nationalistic jingoistic attitude from South Korea, given their economic state today. Historians agree that the costly outcome of the Russo-Japanese war led to the rise of militaristic Japan and their entry into WWII.

cyberlurker 5y ago
I’m sure the US military presence and support plays a big part in keeping the lid on major conflict between South Korea and Japan. There is significant historical baggage from Japan colonizing Korea.
bigbillheck 5y ago
> Historians agree that the costly outcome of the Russo-Japanese war led to the rise of militaristic Japan and their entry into WWII. There was an awful lot going on in Japan during the Taishou era tho.
simmanian 5y ago
The article seems to be saying that since Korea never conquered and/or colonized other states, there's less EMOTIONAL baggage, allowing Korean culture to spread more easily.
yongjik 5y ago
The thing is ... complicated. America defeated Japan in WW2, leading to the liberation of Korea, but it was immediately followed by the US and the Soviet dividing the country in half. To make matters more complicated, the US backed a right-wing former independence fighter, who turned out to be a corrupt asshole who rolled in the same bed with national traitors (those who had worked for Japan under occupation). Because America now needed a strong military presence to fight the cold war, it also pushed Korea to be more friendly with Japan. The end result is that, in Korea, the "right wing" is friendlier toward the US and Japan, while the "left wing" tends to be more nationalistic (i.e., wanting a unified Korea) and hostile toward Japan. (Of course, even this is a gross simplification ...)
- devchix 5y ago
  The thing is super complicated! The US under SecDef William Howard Taft backed the Japanese annexation of Korea (tacitly, as it didn't do anything in protest) in return for Japan not raising a row over the US acquiring The Phillipines, during the Spanish-American war. Everybody is retconning history. Anyhow, the point is, it's a reach to say Korea's history has little historical baggage. Why is it not a poor, angry, belligerent nation state whose chief export is "freedom fighters" with massive chip on shoulder, as opposed to the technical, democratic state it is right now.
  - yongjik 5y ago
    Err... I don't think your second point necessarily follows the first point. For a country to become "angry an belligerent, with massive chip on shoulder," it needs (1) angry, desperate people, and (2) someone who would gain politically by fanning the hatred (often in a self-reinforcing cycle). I think the anti-Japanese sentiment didn't really took off because, once you start looking into the matter, you'd rapidly realize that half of the country's ruling class was national traitors, at which point the question will become strictly verboten. By the time the country became democratic enough so that people could actually raise these questions, there was no point in becoming a "freedom fighter." Sure, everybody loves to hate Japan (especially when there's a soccer match), but nobody with half a brain would want to, say, visit Tokyo and blow up stuff ... it makes zero sense!
    - devchix 5y ago
      You're right, thanks for the nuanced view. I guess my impression here is that modern Korea, with its own cultural identity: dress, food, language, literature, history ... would not have been if the US hadn't entered WWII. I don't mean to create indebtors, it's an observation on how a country+culture could survive or disappear on a turn. And given what tenuous a beginning it had, it's amazing that South Korea is the entity it is now.
      - yongjik 5y ago
fomine3 5y ago
There are many news between Korea and Japan makes nationalism battle. Latest one makes Japanese rage is this. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/skorea-team-screen-its-food-over-fukushima-radiation-concerns-2021-07-19/ https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/skorea-team-scr... Their "screening" performing is unscientific (use air dosimeter for food, completely nonsense) so they are blamed because it seems to racism.

cyberlurker 5y ago

I’m sure the US military presence and support plays a big part in keeping the lid on major conflict between South Korea and Japan. There is significant historical baggage from Japan colonizing Korea.

bigbillheck 5y ago

> Historians agree that the costly outcome of the Russo-Japanese war led to the rise of militaristic Japan and their entry into WWII. There was an awful lot going on in Japan during the Taishou era tho.

simmanian 5y ago

The article seems to be saying that since Korea never conquered and/or colonized other states, there's less EMOTIONAL baggage, allowing Korean culture to spread more easily.

yongjik 5y ago

The thing is ... complicated. America defeated Japan in WW2, leading to the liberation of Korea, but it was immediately followed by the US and the Soviet dividing the country in half. To make matters more complicated, the US backed a right-wing former independence fighter, who turned out to be a corrupt asshole who rolled in the same bed with national traitors (those who had worked for Japan under occupation). Because America now needed a strong military presence to fight the cold war, it also pushed Korea to be more friendly with Japan. The end result is that, in Korea, the "right wing" is friendlier toward the US and Japan, while the "left wing" tends to be more nationalistic (i.e., wanting a unified Korea) and hostile toward Japan. (Of course, even this is a gross simplification ...)

devchix 5y ago
The thing is super complicated! The US under SecDef William Howard Taft backed the Japanese annexation of Korea (tacitly, as it didn't do anything in protest) in return for Japan not raising a row over the US acquiring The Phillipines, during the Spanish-American war. Everybody is retconning history. Anyhow, the point is, it's a reach to say Korea's history has little historical baggage. Why is it not a poor, angry, belligerent nation state whose chief export is "freedom fighters" with massive chip on shoulder, as opposed to the technical, democratic state it is right now.
- yongjik 5y ago
  Err... I don't think your second point necessarily follows the first point. For a country to become "angry an belligerent, with massive chip on shoulder," it needs (1) angry, desperate people, and (2) someone who would gain politically by fanning the hatred (often in a self-reinforcing cycle). I think the anti-Japanese sentiment didn't really took off because, once you start looking into the matter, you'd rapidly realize that half of the country's ruling class was national traitors, at which point the question will become strictly verboten. By the time the country became democratic enough so that people could actually raise these questions, there was no point in becoming a "freedom fighter." Sure, everybody loves to hate Japan (especially when there's a soccer match), but nobody with half a brain would want to, say, visit Tokyo and blow up stuff ... it makes zero sense!
  - devchix 5y ago
    You're right, thanks for the nuanced view. I guess my impression here is that modern Korea, with its own cultural identity: dress, food, language, literature, history ... would not have been if the US hadn't entered WWII. I don't mean to create indebtors, it's an observation on how a country+culture could survive or disappear on a turn. And given what tenuous a beginning it had, it's amazing that South Korea is the entity it is now.
    - yongjik 5y ago

fomine3 5y ago

There are many news between Korea and Japan makes nationalism battle. Latest one makes Japanese rage is this. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/skorea-team-screen-its-food-over-fukushima-radiation-concerns-2021-07-19/ https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/skorea-team-scr... Their "screening" performing is unscientific (use air dosimeter for food, completely nonsense) so they are blamed because it seems to racism.