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I understand what the OP is saying. SK punches above it's weight in most cases whether it's education, economy, Olympics etc.. considering it was one of the poorest countries in the world only in the 50's.
SK is less than half the population and economy and, outside of the N. Korean crisis, has zero influence on the world stage. It has very limited respect amongst world nations and peoples.
Japan has a very high international reputation and is viewed as a modern, civilized, and refined nation and none of those qualities are associated with S. Korea and with good reason.
SK is less than half the population and economy and, outside of the N. Korean crisis, has zero influence on the world stage. It has very limited respect amongst world nations and peoples.
Japan has a very high international reputation and is viewed as a modern, civilized, and refined nation and none of those qualities are associated with S. Korea and with good reason.
Out of all the countries in the world, South Korea is in 5th (!) place in the number of its companies listed on the Forbes Global 2000. Not bad for a country that is ranked only in 27th place by population. That, alone, would indicate that it is a player on the world stage. (To be fair, Japan is ranked No. 3 on the Forbes list and No. 11 on the population list. The United States is ranked No. 1 on the Forbes list -- by a huge margin -- and No. 3 on the population list.)
As far as it being not modern, the only people who think that are those whose image of South Korea comes solely from watching M*A*S*H. Anyone who has walked the streets of Seoul -- heck, anyone who has seen a photograph of Seoul -- knows that it is indeed a modern country.
And as far as South Korea not being civilized or refined, to an extent that's a matter of subjective interpretation. Personally, I think that both of those descriptions fit. I cannot say whether Japan would be more so, because I have not been there. Given Japan's sterling reputation in those areas, I would have to assume that it is so. But saying that Japan is more of something than South Korea is not at all the same as saying that South Korea lacks those qualities.
I understand what the OP is saying. SK punches above it's weight in most cases whether it's education, economy, Olympics etc.. considering it was one of the poorest countries in the world only in the 50's.
South Korea reminds me of the student who is brash but really talented whom the teacher doesn't like and is lazy but achieves 80% of what Japan does. Japan is more of that geeky meek quiet fella who studies all day and night and gets outstanding marks.
True, South Korea has basically achieve what it has today by copying/modelling itself on what Japan had, in almost all of its industries and also being a former colony. I read an interesting book once on how Japan learnt its lessons on South Korea and the Taiwan experience and how they stopped it again from happening in the rest of South East Asia.
Not at all to diminish South Korea's achievements . . . but have you seen pictures of Japan at the end of World War II? "Barren wasteland" sums it up quite nicely.
The fact is, both Japan and South Korea have done amazingly well for themselves.
Japan was hardly a barren wasteland. A few cities suffered major devastation, but that doesn't apply to the whole country.
IIRC, the only two major Japanese cities that were spared were Kyoto, due to its historical and cultural significance; and Kokura, which had been slated to be the target of an atomic bombing and thus was not attacked with conventional bombs. (Atomic targets were not bombed conventionally because the American planners wanted to be able to gauge the effects of the atomic bombs on their targets.)
Look at it this way: if America's 67 largest cities were to be bombed, and assuming that No. 68 Newark, NJ would get blasted during the attacks that would cream New York, that means that the largest city remaining intact would be Greensboro, NC. Personally, I would consider losing every city larger than Greensboro to be pretty darn close to being a barren wasteland.
IIRC, the only two major Japanese cities that were spared were Kyoto, due to its historical and cultural significance; and Kokura, which had been slated to be the target of an atomic bombing and thus was not attacked with conventional bombs. (Atomic targets were not bombed conventionally because the American planners wanted to be able to gauge the effects of the atomic bombs on their targets.)
Look at it this way: if America's 67 largest cities were to be bombed, and assuming that No. 68 Newark, NJ would get blasted during the attacks that would cream New York, that means that the largest city remaining intact would be Greensboro, NC. Personally, I would consider losing every city larger than Greensboro to be pretty darn close to being a barren wasteland.
yeah but Korea was under their rule for 35 years. I won't go into too much detail what the country suffered i.e. comfort women, resources being plundered, years of democide etc... I think it's safe to say Korea suffered more at least from a psychological standpoint while Japan for a brief moment was destroyed due to their own invasion of Pearl Harbor.
yeah but Korea was under their rule for 35 years. I won't go into too much detail what the country suffered i.e. comfort women, resources being plundered, years of democide etc... I think it's safe to say Korea suffered more at least from a psychological standpoint while Japan for a brief moment was destroyed due to their own invasion of Pearl Harbor.
Not just "under their rule" or a "colony", but rather occupied Korea.
Korea didn't "copy" Japan as much as Japan forced its culture on Korea.
In terms of cultural soft power, yes - I understand your point. Everyone knows Samsung and K-Pop, don't forget how popular Gangnam Style was. Korean dramas, makeup, and e-sports are all gaining popularity in the West; Korean students come in large numbers to study in the states. Culturally, I think South Korea is much more relevant than Japan. In economic terms, not even close.
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