[KS] Japan-Korea, France-Algeria: Colonialism and language policy

[Balazs Szalontai]

A footnote to the question of cultural purism in South Korea vs. Taiwan:


"The Taiwanese government banned the importation of Japanese culture between1972 and 1993, following Japan’s 
establishment of relations with the People’s Republic of China. In South Korea, Japanese culture was banned soon 
after the occupation ended and was allowed back in only in 1998." (Nissim Kadosh Otmazgin, "Geopolitics and Soft 
Power: Japan's Cultural Policy and Cultural Diplomacy in Asia," Asia-Pacific Review 19:1, p. 48.) A quite interesting 
contrast between the Taiwanese ban (which was motivated by specific diplomatic considerations) and the South Korean 
one (which was of a more generic and ethno-nationalist nature).

All the best,
Balazs   




>________________________________
> From: Frank Hoffmann <hoffmann at koreanstudies.com>
>To: koreanstudies at koreanstudies.com 
>Sent: Sunday, 27 October 2013, 2:16
>Subject: Re: [KS] Japan-Korea, France-Algeria: Colonialism and language policy
> 
>
>Dear Balazs:
>
>Two things, very short:
>
>1. We do not necessarily always have to understand similar developments 
>as a kind of "copy" of some model. After all we do talk about the same 
>wider East Asian cultural and historical Sino-centric world here that 
>both Korea and Japan belonged to. The Koreans were certainly inspired 
>by the Meiji period reforms, no doubt. But then, given the similar 
>cultural past, and also given that, when talking about cultural purism, 
>which I just called the lowest common denominator model, we may see the 
>very point that this was an easy step! That cannot be compared with the 
>adaptation of a far more complicated political model such as Marxism 
>with its theories about society and economics (and culture), that a man 
>like Kim Il Sung seems not to have understood until long after he was 
>in power. It really just does not "take much" to get to what you call 
>cultural purism.
>
>2. You just wrote:
>> I wonder if it was Taiwan's more ambiguous identity/identities 
>> (Chinese? or Taiwanese? or Fujianese/Hakka?) that somehow "softened" 
>> Taiwanese emotional reactions to naisen ittai. 
>
>I doubt that this statement about a "softened" Taiwanese reaction can 
>factually be sustained. Taiwanese history may not be very well known in 
>Korea. But I see no such "softened" Taiwanese reaction -- what I see is 
>the same fights, resistance, and collaboration issues as in Korea. 
>Except, Taiwan is an island with no Manchuria or Russian Far East in 
>the neighborhood where resistance troops could operate from or flee to 
>for a hiding, or where they could create an alternative system and 
>culture, more or less independent communities (so it was easier for the 
>Japanese to control). ... And also, the differences I was talking about 
>in my last message was more with those South East Asian countries in 
>mind that had been British or French colonies. Books hardly make you/us 
>understand these differences, but once we see how people talk about the 
>colonial period and their own part in it, then there is a huge 
>difference there. 
>
>Best,
>Frank
>
>
>
>On Sat, 26 Oct 2013 17:48:03 +0100 (BST), Balazs Szalontai wrote:
>> Dear Frank,
>> 
>> I certainly agree with most of your observations, particularly with 
>> regard to Taiwan and Southeast Asia. Still, I think that we should 
>> distinguish between the various phases of Japanese cultural influence 
>> in Korea. Your model is fully applicable not only to the 1880s and 
>> 1890s (with Kim Ok-kyun as a notable example) but also to the 
>> "cultural policy" in the 1920s. 1937-45 is another matter, however. 
>> In my opinion, the Japanese cultural impact that Korean society 
>> encountered in these periods probably would not have triggered a 
>> long-term policy of cultural purism, but the policy of naisen ittai 
>> did (see South Korea's official import ban on Japanese films, pop 
>> music, etc., which persisted until 1998, and which had no real 
>> equivalent in other post-colonial countries in Asia). I wonder if it 
>> was Taiwan's more ambiguous identity/identities (Chinese? or 
>> Taiwanese? or Fujianese/Hakka?) that somehow "softened" Taiwanese 
>> emotional reactions to naisen ittai.  
>> 
>> All the best,
>> Balazs Szalontai
>> 
>> 
>
>--------------------------------------
>Frank Hoffmann
>http://koreanstudies.com
>
>
>
>
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