Modernization of Korea and Japan

The Miraculous Modernizations in Korea and Japan

Ever since Western powers first attempted to colonize virtually all of Asia, these eastern nations have struggled to become modernized and independent, with the exception of Japan and Korea. It can be safely assumed that both Korea and Japan suffered great destruction from World War II. For some years following Japan¡¯s defeat in World War II, the nation¡¯s economy was almost totally paralyzed from wartime destruction, with severe food shortages and rampant inflation. Similarly, Korea has had to endure the infamous Japanese occupation and the Korean War. But it is not their wartime sufferings that define these countries; rather it is the astonishing rebound from their status as war-torn, impoverished countries to modernized nations.
After World War II, both Korea and Japan defied the odds with resilience and rebounded to become developed nations. People in Japan set about rebuilding their war-devastated economy, initially as...