ICLP: Week 8

This week’s blog is a bit delayed–things have been hectic since we are at the end of the term! We have all been busy preparing for our final presentations. Mine is about the difference in Korean and Taiwanese perception of imperial Japan. While both countries have histories of being former colonies, Taiwan doesn’t seem to have as much of an instinctively negative reaction to Japan. Furthermore, from an international relations angle, Taiwan and Japan have upheld a rather positive relationship when compared with Korea and Japan. I noticed this first when I arrived in Taiwan–people really seem to like Japan here? More specifically, previous sites of imperialism were preserved as historical/tourist sites (unlike the rather somber mood that is found at most Korea under Japanese imperialism related institutes). The main historical reasons I could find had to do with difference in senses of independence pre-Japanese imperialism in both countries (Korea’s was stronger), the amount of investment put into the development of infrastructure by the imperial government in each country, and political changes post-imperialization. This project really allowed me to research a topic that I was interested in and engage with it in Mandarin. I was able to learn about common phrases that were used to describe different political regimes (狗去猪来), which was also interesting.

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