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

[don kirk]

Many thanks for responding in chapter and verse. Ok, that "primitive culture" quote was just for emphasis, not direct quotation. One point not to be overlooked -- Korea was an independent (though paying homage to Beijing) kingdom for centuries. Taiwan was an island outpost, overrun by mainlanders many years before the Japanese took it over in 1895, never an independent nation. Not appreciating the heavy hand of Beijing rule, the citizenry did not share the sense of national identity of Koreans. To some, Japanese rule came almost as a relief, especially since the Japanese adopted almost a munificent policy toward their new holding -- unlike their policies on Korea, hardened by restiveness and revolt (1919).
Don Kirk





On Sunday, October 27, 2013 10:39 AM, Frank Hoffmann <hoffmann at koreanstudies.com> wrote:
 
Dear Balazs:

Yes, certainly seems I did misread the point you made on Taiwan 
(thought indeed you were referring to colonial times).

The other argument, the one from the beginning of your LAST mail 
(quoted below), is really quite different from what you had written 
before and is nothing I responded to.

Thanks for clarifying.

Frank



On Sun, 27 Oct 2013 01:11:53 +0000 (GMT), Balazs Szalontai wrote:
> Dear Frank,
> 
> I think we are somewhat missing each other's messages. What I wanted 
> like to stress is that in post-colonial Korea, aversion to 
> metropolitan cultural and linguistic influence seems to have been 
> longer and more pronounced than in most other post-colonial societies 
> in Asia (and elsewhere). The first comparison was with Algeria, 
> following Dr. Babicz's lead. One cannot really see in post-colonial 
> Korea that wide social strata cannot expect a successful career if 
> they are not fluent in Japanese, and that the government 
> unsuccessfully tries to introduce wholesale Koreanization in 
> education and administration. The second was with Taiwan. I fully 
> agree with the point that in the colonial era, Taiwan also 
> experienced resistance. What I meant by "softened" reaction was that 
> the post-colonial authorities seem not to have pursued such a 
> systematic policy to bar the import of Japanese culture as their 
> South Korean counterparts (though I might be mistaken). Of course, 
> this may have been caused by other factors than the identity 
> question. For instance, the ROC could not really afford to alienate 
> Japan, having faced far more formidable diplomatic competition for 
> Japanese favors from the PRC than the ROK from the DPRK.  
> 
> All the best,
> Balazs  
> 

--------------------------------------
Frank Hoffmann
http://koreanstudies.com
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