Singaporean

March 1 is a national holiday in Korea. It commemorates a large pro-independence demonstration that took place on that date in 1919 in Pagoda Park in downtown Seoul. Among the leaders was a 17-year-old girl, Yoo Kwan Sun, who was tortured and executed by the Japanese for her role in the pro-indepedence movement.

Did you wander over here from the Occidentalist?

In WWII, Koreans were known as the most brutal follower of Japan, harshly abusing prisoners. In other words, Koreans must apologize to Asian countries as well if Japan must.

The reason why Koreans are so desperate to accuse Japan is that they don’t want to be brought to justice. They want the world to look Korea as a pity victim of Imperial Japan.

You know the truth, right? There are almost no rebellions in Korean peninsula against Japan just before 1945. That means Japan ruled Korea peacefully. There were many volunteers increasing still at the end of the war in Korea.

Korean must think that it was a part of Japan, not being a colony. They ought to confess their crimes of willingly abusing Australian prisoners before blaming all crimes to Japan.

As I said, I do not hate or stick to Japan itself.
If I were, why am I here in Japan to learn advantages of
Japan and other Asian countries?
I love Japanese drama, animation, and good friends here.
I sometimes want to adopt good Japanese systems
to my country in the future.

Most of all, we Koreans want to forget bitter memories.
However, if some Japanese right-wing politicians lead
to bad directions….it makes more massed.

Most of Japanese friends in the 20s have not been
educated about their history in the 20th century, so
if Ishihara Shintaro, a Tokyo governor, says
Comfort Women were prostitues and hookers,
a lot of youngsters believe that. Then, they are blaming
old grandmothers who could not marry and could not be
pragnant, then demonstrate in front of Japanese Embassy
in Seoul every Wednesday till now.

I do not believe one’s government cannot publish
history textbooks which depicts one’s history as bad.
I think it would be impossible to write bad things on Japan
in Japanese high school textbooks.
It is the same in South Korea textbooks.
I was not educated that some Korean soldiers dispatched
during the Vietnam War did very brutal behaviors in Vietnam.

I also do not want to believe, and South Korea government
do not want such comments in history textbooks.
Throughout mass media, I saw it, and I and my friends
just want not to forget our bad behaviors to Vietnam citizens.
(Sorry to talk about stories unrelated with Japan)

After Japanese invasion in the late 15th century,
Koreans believed there would be no war anymore,
then Japan invaded again in the early 16th century.
At that time, the Chosun dynasty reopend its relations
with Japan again.

Then, Japan came back again as colonists in the 19th.
Most of all, victims want to forget the memory.
However, offenders forgot quickly, and they extort it.
I hope there would be no more circulation of history.
Is It? Is it?

also, roh was right about the difference in administrative treatment between korea and taiwan in the early half of last century.

for the case of taiwan, the corrupted KMT who arrived in 1945 behaved much worse than the Japanese. that is also an important factor.

I can read Korean, but I’ll take your word for it. Koreans have some beliefs about Japan’s colonial rule that seem doubtful to foreigners. One example is the Korea/Corea debate. If the information comes from both Korean and Japanese sources, then it is credible.

According to his explanations, graduates of navy or class
of intelligence (�¦�µ�·�¨�»�?�¥�£�«�¥�®���¥�­�¦�¦� �¡�¥�¡�º�¨�º�«�¯�¼�°were dispatched to Taiwan
in the early 20th century, but poor males from northern parts
and Kyushu regions who did not have any chance
to succeed in Japan at that time were dispatched to Korea
and mainland China, full of resistence and conflicts.

There is another characterstics in Japanese colonial
govenance in the Korean peninsula (1907-1945).
Japanese headquarters in Korea, which was called as
“Chosun Chong-dok-bu(Ã�¦Ã�â��Ã�?Ã�©Ã�®Ã�®Ã�§Ã�¸Ã�½Ã�§Ã�?Ã�£Ã�Â¥Ã�ºÃ�â��)”, was not supervised by
Japan governments.

That is, it was independent from the Japanese emperor and
Japanese Diet or any governance. This is very different from
the Taiwanese colonial governance.
Taiwan colonial office was controlled and supervised by
Japanese governance.
(I can give many history books related with these ones, but
I am worrying whether Sonagi sang can read Korean or not)

In the end, dispatched Japanese colonial soldiers had
relatively a lot of autonomy to rule out the Korean peninsula,
and sometimes it led to brutality and uncontrolled power.
I guess that might influence different recognition on Japanese
colonial period.

If there are any biased or misunderstanding ideas in
my writing, I hope others’ good comments or oppositions.
I would like to hear others’ opinions or TRUTH.

I’m wondering where you learned about the socioeconomic differences between Japanese soldiers sent to Taiwan and to Korea.

Japan had been invading Korea (also eastern China) since 16th century (all the pirates first, then with army).

While koreans are not happy with the Chinese empire either, at least all the Chinese emperor wanted not much more than useless symbolic rights. the Ming and Qing emperors view Korea as a protectorate, it didnt not commit the crime against the Korea people like the Japanese did. Occasionally it actually helped to defend Korea upon request by the Korea kings.
(but sui/tang invaded korea in 7th century, chinese textbooks called them ‘invasion war’, and the war led to the collapse of sui dynasty)

another interesting observation from the Chinese internet sites: almost all of the netizen (incl many CCP apologists), while still proud of fighting the US in the Korean war, were ashame of having popped up the DPRK regime.
typical comment i saw, “while those who died in the Korean War should be honored as heros, looking at the famine and mess in DPRK today, we do not know how we could face the (South) Korean people”

It is based on the different styles of colonial governance as
indicated above, of course. Generally, upper-class and highly-
educated Japanese soldiers were dispatched to Taiwan as
there was not hard resistence. On the contrast, lower and
poor Japanese soldiers full of anger and complaints to their own status were dispatched to the Korean peninsula.

Accordingly, the lower-class Japanese soldiers massacred and
exploited, and these memories gave anger to Korean people.
Second, nationality and one’s own identity are very strong
compared with Taiwanese people who had just immigrated
at the colonization period.

Lastly, the Japanese invasion (not war, pre-attack by Japan)
was not the first time (1907-1945). It happened from the
15th centuries. These severe memories gave distrust on
Japan till now, and that is why Korean people cannot regard
Japan as “modernization”.

Memories tell the present.

“while relatively very little happened in Taiwan or to Taiwanese”
try telling that to these women http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2005/03/12/2003245895

“And what exactly are these surveys purporting to measure? Like or dislike of the Japanese government (which would make sense) or “Japan”Ã�? in general (which I’m not sure is accurately reflected), or something else (like future prospects for relationships between the survey subject’s country and Japan? I can’t tell from the screenshot what the kanji is tha they’re using (not that I could read it well anyway), but is it like/dislike or positive/negative.”
it doesn’t matter what it’s supposed to measure, but what it shows is that when Korean and Chinese people hear/see anything at all slightly related to Japan, all they can think is how much they hate it. The fact that the details we’re given are so few, actually shows how little the people of Korea and China need to make the decision that anything Japan = the devil.

What do you know about Taiwan history. I am Taiwanese, our family lived in Taiwan for hundreds of years. My great grandfather’s family went back to mainland during the Japanese occupation. The Japanese controlled people by boiling and skining Taiwanese rebels alive and murdered the whole village in southern Taiwan.

Curzon at Coming Anarchy discovers that Japan is popular among the Taiwanese (95%!) its old Axis ally Thailand (96%), and plucky Singapore (94%). These countries are looking for a peaceful Japan to export security to their regions. Not that Nihon alway…