SJEAA Stanford Jounral of East Asian Affairs volume 13 | number 1 SPRING 2013 1 Greater China nationalist movement Nationalist Movements in Korea and Taiwan Under Japanese Colonialism Homogeneity and Diversity Korea and Taiwan had both been occupied and colonized by Japan during the first half of the Fei Yan twentieth century. Japan established a replica of the Japanese bureaucracy, police, education, and Oxford University judicial system in two colonies but pursued contrasting domestic colonial policies in the degree of exploitation and assimilation. While the colonial policies in Korea were more abrupt and aggressive, those in Taiwan were accredited by more cooperative and mutually beneficial features. Such different ruling approaches resulted in the varying levels and political orientations of nationalist movements toward the Japanese colonial rule. Koreans had a much stronger sense of anti-Japanese prejudices and the nationalist resistance per-sisted throughout the whole colonial period. Taiwanese, on the other hand, adopted a more compliant course and kept their goals moderate enough to avoid open confrontation with the colonial government. This paper examines the reasons for such homogene-ity as well as diversity in the ways Japan ruled its colonies through a comparative study of nationalist movements in Korea and Tai-wan. INTRODUCTION of life in Taiwan, and thereby hold a much more pro- Korea and Taiwan were the two most prominent Japanese sentiment. colonies of Japan. The Qing Dynasty ceded Taiwan to Why was the Japanese occupation of Ko-rea Japan in 1895 following the Sino-Japanese War of 1894- ultimately met with high levels of resistance and 95, while Korea be-came a Japanese colony informally national animosity by the Korean masses? Why did the in 1905 and formally in 1910. Both countries gained Japanese occupation of Taiwan not generate the same inde-pendence from Japanese colonization after Ja- anti-Japanese prejudices that existed in Korea, but pan’s defeat in World War II in 1945. instead intensified the fervor of existing anti-Chinese Among all the colonies of Japan, Korea and Taiwan sentiments, ultimately creating a uniquely Taiwanese were the only two colonies that orga-nized nationalist identity? movements,1 although both na-tions gained some In ruling Korea and Taiwan, the Japanese had economic development under Japanese rule. However, adopted identical systems but different policies. Korea presented a greater nationalist resistance to Japan Korea and Taiwan too held almost identical po-litical than Tai-wan did.2 During the colonial period, Taiwanese structures, education systems and policy agendas. adopted a more restrained course and kept their goals However, there were several differences in the colonial moderate enough to avoid open confronta-tion with the policies adopted by the two colo-nial governments. colonial government.3 Koreans, on the other hand, used This paper aims to examine such homogeneity as well every means - moderate as well as radical - to achieve as diversity through a comparative study of Japanese their goal of national independence. Even today, Korea rule in Korea and Taiwan. has reserved its nationalist point of view towards Japan. KOREA AND TAIWAN AS COLONIES OF As a re-sult, Korean historiography tends to regard JAPAN any positives deriving from Japanese imperialism as As the first colony of Japan, Taiwan was the third incidental to the ruthless pursuit of Japanese in-terests.4 largest colony within the empire. The island was 5 Many Taiwanese, in contrast, have looked upon important to Japan in two ways. First, it served as an their colonial experience as a rea-sonably happy and important training ground for nu-merous colonial nostalgic, while welcoming the Japanese presence as a officials who provided the em-pire with valuable favorable alternative to a Chinese one.6 Thus, Taiwanese experiences in administering the other colonies. The consider Japa-nese acts as having improved the quality success of Japan in ruling its first colony, Taiwan, set an Summer 2013 100 fei yan example for other colonies to follow. Moreover, Taiwan in Korea. This is supported further by the argu- was the most profitable colony within the Japanese em- ment below: pire. Taiwan’s sugar industry enabled Japan to become the fourth largest cane sugar industry producer of the “Unlike the Koreans, who vehemently detested world. As a result, Taiwan achieved the goal of financial and tenaciously opposed the Japanese and their self-sufficiency within seven years. Meanwhile, other colonial occupation, the Taiwanese are said to have Japanese colonies took a longer time to achieve this retained a fairly positive image of the Japa-nese status, and Korea never stopped receiving subsidies and recollected approvingly the virtues of Japanese from Tokyo throughout the thirty-five years of Japa- rule. If the Koreans speak of oppression and nese rule.7 resistance, the Taiwanese speak of moderni-zation Korea was the largest colony within the Japanese and development…Although the supposed contrast colonial empire. Its uniqueness lay in the fact that it was between colonial Taiwan and colonial Korea has annexed not as a result of vic-tory in foreign war but by more to do with their respective precolonial and a treaty agreement, which guaranteed “equal treatment” postcolonial histories than Japa-nese rule per se, it for Koreans. An unusually large number of Koreans is undeniable that Japanese colonialism has had a served in the colonial government at all levels - even the profound impact on the subsequent developments police force. Korea was also a unique colony to Japan, of these former colo-nies.” 10 as it was the only colony of Japan, which possessed a strong cultural identity and a history of more than two Consequently, there were striking differ-ences thousand years as an independ-ent nation.8 between the Korean nationalist movement and The Koreans and Taiwanese both shared similar the one in Taiwan. First, the two colonies had origins and values with their colonial rul-ers. Korea different goals in their nationalist movements. and Taiwan, like Japan, received strong influences Taiwanese nationalists mostly worked towards from Confucianism, which spread from China. This the goal of home rule, as the nature of their in turn created a sense of cultural affinity between movement was reformist.11 They showed a will- the colonizers and the colonized. Thus, the Japanese ingness to stay within the Japanese empire if Ja- vigorously pro-moted its assimilation policy in these pan accepted their demand for home rule. In the two colo-nies. In the 1930s, the Japanese intensified its course of their struggle, they were willing to make efforts in assimilating the Koreans and Taiwanese and major concessions and narrow their goal. In the inaugurated the Kominka Movements (ko-minka undō 1930s, they fought for a mere local autonomy and 䇆ㄛࢊ洂ࠤ) in both colonies around the same time. nothing else. This attitude contrasts sharply with They were also the only two colo-nies where nationalist that of the Koreans. To the Koreans, any-thing less movements were organized setting the two colonies than independence was unthinkable.12 They used apart from the rest of the Japanese colonies.9 Thus, the various means and formed dozens of organizations similarity of the colonial experience of the two colonies to fight for their national independ-ence without and their uniqueness within the Japanese colonial compromise. Whether they were cultural empire provide us with good cases for a comparative nationalists in Korea or independence fighters in study. Manchuria, they all worked for the same common REACTION AND RESPONSE OF KOREANS goal - the independence of Korea. AND TAIWANESE Second, while Taiwanese nationalist lead-ers The Taiwanese reaction and response to the chose to take a moderate course and work within Japanese imperial undertakings differed dra- the legal framework set up by their colo-nial matically from the situation in Korea, and for rulers, Korean nationalist leaders chose to work many people of Taiwanese background, the Japa- without this legal framework and take a radical nese occupation manifested itself in the form of a and violent course of actions in achieving their pro-Japanese, anti-Chinese prejudice, rather than aims. Some of them even chose exile as they the undeniable anti-Japanese sentiment generated found it difficult for them to carry on their work 101 KOREA nationalist movement under Japanese rule.13 As such, there were many its all-out expansion in Asia. From the very beginning, Korean nationalist leaders who continued their Japan acquired Korea out of the question of national struggle with the Japanese in China, Manchuria, security. The peninsula was geographically proximate Siberia and the United States.14 Those who stayed to Japan, and a hostile power gaining control of Korea in Korea tended to work outside the system set up could potentially threaten Japan’s security. Therefore, by the Japanese. Thus, the colonial government the Japanese never loosened its control over Korea and had to adopt a repressive policy in dealing with the military remained influential in ruling the peninsula them. On the other hand, most of the Taiwanese throughout the colonial period. nationalist leaders had limited themselves to the Nevertheless, geographical differences alone cannot political opposition by law.15 They tried very hard explain why resistance to Japanese rule was stronger to persuade the Japanese government to meet their in Korea than Taiwan, since both countries suffered demands by petitioning the Taiwan Gov-ernment- similar levels of political repression at the hands of the General as well as the Japanese Gov-ernment. They Japanese.16 were even willing to end their po-litical movement Social Structure when the colonial administra-tion asked them to. The second important difference was the varying The Taiwanese were in es-sence more ready to levels of native social structure between two nations.