wednesday (7/31) afternoon readings II

[Anonymous]

I am still not sure why Japan annexed Korea. It didn't have any natural resources necessary to Japan (unless I am ignorant of it). It may be a strategic reason due to its proximity to China, but I am speculating. The only reason I could give based on a a document from http://www.koreasociety.org/?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=147 is that Japan was feeling "big brotherly." How can we not see this as being a bully. I would like to see some reason, perhaps from the Japanese perspective, about why it was necessary to take it over.

[Anonymous]

I realize that the US media is "occupied" with other matters, but why does it not show as much as it could/should regarding South Korea. Too much emphasis is placed on North Korea and its nuclear program. I remember hearing about the two Koreas new-found connection and I felt excited. It seemed to come suddenly that they were no longer operating together. Thanks for clarifying today, Jennifer, but it bugs me that not more emphasis is placed on the emergence of Korea as a growing economic powerhouse.

[clay dube]

This was driven primarily by a belief that Japan needed material and markets. Rice was exported from Korea to Japan and Korea absorbed Japanese manufactures. Centuries before, Hideyoshi sought to control Korea.

NY Times article on annexation:http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F60E15F6395417738DDDA10994D0405B808DF1D3

A confounding but rich article as much about the present day debate as about the annexation: http://www.japanfocus.org/-Mark-Caprio/3438

The Library of Congress country study on South Korea discusses what Japan did in Korea (but not enough on why): http://countrystudies.us/south-korea/7.htm

[Anonymous]

I find Kim Dae Jung's writing to be very inspirational and informative. He seems credible especially with his reasoning that Confucianism and Buddhism do not clash with democracy, citing other countries as examples. He seems forgiving of his enemies, playing on the hearts and minds of the Christians in SK. With all of this, there is still something I do not trust about his tone of overwhelming optimism, especially towards the end of this writing. Maybe I am just a cynic.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, Clay for more resources. I shall definitely look them over.

[Anonymous]

Here's a link to the story that Clay referenced in class. Painful.

[Anonymous]

Prof Jung-Kim's presentation was a tremendous overview of modern Korea. I found the industrialization of S. Korea just amazing, it was wise of their gov. to take the lessons of Japan and adapt and modify them in order to create there own model for success.

[Anonymous]

I came away from the N. Korean presentation with a different perspective on their current political situation. I now have a new sense of empathy for the people of N. Korea, I also agree with Jung-Kim that the Cold War style of diplomacy that the US seems to be applying is not an effective approach in this case. Or did I read to much into her comments on this point?

[Anonymous]

What I got from this article is that the students who attend these schools are not necessarily smarter than other students, but their work ethic is far greater. I think this article would be great in showing my students that hard work will carry them through almost anything.

[Anonymous]

Do not think American schools will put cameras in study hall. Privacy issues will cloud any justification. We have cameras on campus but never in classrooms.

[Anonymous]

This topic reminds me of Joseph Nye's Soft Power. The idea is that the easiest way to gain power is to have others want to emulate you. This is done with pop culture. Many of my students are into Korean pop culture and would love to learn more about Korea. The textbook focuses on China and Japan, but not so much on Korea. I think it is important to include more discussion about Korean history, especially now that the younger generation is genuinely interested about Korea.

[Anonymous]

Here is a great interview with Kim Jung il's nephew Kim Han-sol. He is a very impressive young man who seems rather fair in his ideas regarding North and South Korea
edited by Chris82csub on 7/31/2013

[Anonymous]

I was not aware that most Koreans would like the unification. Will the unified Korea be democratic?

[Anonymous]

I get the impression that most Koreans want reunification, but they disagree on whether a unified Korea would be communist or a capitalist democracy.

[Anonymous]

This story seems to capture the tragedy of the Korean war on a very personal level. The two young men who were playmates as children were forced to do unthinkable actions as members of opposing armies. This story would be a great reading for middle school students because it personalizes the effects of war.

[Author]

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