Many nations that were long-term subjects hardly ever lost the benefits of their experience. The term "legacies," which informally refers to items passed by a predecessor, is best defined by these marks. The legacies left behind by the Japanese and the parts some of these legacies played in the division of the North and the South are closely examined by academics who specialize in post-colonial Korean history. The ideas of the Japanese legacies are a topic that patriots are also interested in. They argue that the marks played a major role in extending the exploitative hand of the Colonialist imperialism beyond its empire. The rather viral infection that was contracted in the exposure of the Koreans to the subservient rule is still plaguing the society and can be used as explanations to those ills experienced in the post-war period. The Koreans have haunted the postwar political world's corridors with a militaristic form of miasma hanging ominously over the dictatorship period which followed the Japanese defeat.
It was not until 1945 that Japan lay prostrate and Korea was in a position to escape the grip of its colonialist. This was facilitated by the by the victory that the allied bloc of the World War II got resulting to a defeat of the Japanese army. Thereafter, Korea would be subjected to a postwar period full of intense bitterness. It should, however, be noted that the legacies brought both underdevelopment and development in the peninsula. There was the agrarian growth, political mobilization, political deactivation, extraordinary dislocations and the sparking of industrialization. It also resulted to the new roles of the central state, communism, nationalism and the mushrooming of a new set of political leaders in the country. Other scholars have argued that the influence by the Japanese was behind the treacherous collaboration and armed resistance. A common ground can, however, be arrived that the legacies left behind deep conflicts and fissure that have affected the national identity of the Koreans up to date.
The Development of Hatred Baring Economic Growth
One of the most significant legacies is the creation of differences between the north and the south regions. The creation of these two new countries that we have today can be associated with the effects that the Japanese colonialism had in Korea. The existing boundaries were previously absent, and the two countries were unified. The drawing of the national boundaries has been associated with bringing diverse groups together and teaching the individual members of the sub-sections created on the need to have self-governance. The Koreans can, however, be deemed as being already organized and with a sense of direction prior to the period of being declared as a Japanese colony in 1910. The argument can be based on the economic trend that was evident before the Japanese invasion and after the attainment of the independence.
The divisions that the North Korea and the South Korea have today have resulted to sections of the population blaming the Japanese for the invasions that hindered their development in terms of wealth and power. Korea's relative proximity to China has resulted to the crystallization of the perception that they would be more superior to their colonialist. Thus colonialism led to the formation of hatred and the delays in the economic development. Japan played a significant role playing divisive politics in Korea. The two regions were made not to be in terms with each other so that they would be overpowered in the case of a rebellion. Japan has however apologized after realizing that the situation in the contemporary world has spiraled out of control. An analysis of the manner in which the two nations interacted before reveals that there is a high likelihood of being one were it not for the Japanese intervention.
Introduction of a New Administration
Instead of the Japanese helping the Koreans create or improve on their administration, they engaged in substitution. This implied that the Japanese ruling elites would be substituted with Korean officials of Yangban scholars. This would act as a coordination instrument between the Japanese education for the Confucian classics and the old state of administration. It would also act as a bridge between the budding Korean expertise and the Japanese capital. An eventual effect would be the imposition of the Japanese language to the Koreans. The Koreans, after the post-colonial period, did not thank their colonial masters and instead, they viewed Japan as having snatched away their ancient regime held in great awe. The Korean's sovereignty was infringed, and their national dignity was negatively impacted on. The Korean continue to deem the Japanese rule as illegitimate and at the same time, humiliating. Besides, the geographical proximity of the two nations made the Japanese dominance more galling and resulted in a peculiar intensity in as far as these nations' relationship is concerned.
Japan also made sufficient efforts to build bureaucracies in their colony, Korea, that were centralized and big when considering their colonial standards. As opposed to the small colonial cadre in India by the British, the Japanese had 700 00 in this colony by the beginning of the 1940s. The majority of the colonizers were offering service to the colonial government. It was at this point that the first national police force came into being. The policing force was given the task of overseeing the transportation and communication activities. The Oriental Development Company was responsible for funding and organizing the agricultural and industrial projects, and it reached a point of owning 20% of the Korea's arable land. The company, further employed Army official responsible for supervising the production in the agricultural sector.
There were central judicial bodies that were responsible for the creation of new laws that formed an extensive and legalized form of racial discrimination directed towards the Koreans. They would thus be reduced to second-class citizens on their home soil. The departments of bureaucracies made Seoul to be the headquarters of the country, a decision that was not welcomed by the northerners. This move can be regarded as one of the reasons that would make the North Korea and South Korea to be adversaries for a long period. Conglomerates and semi-official companies like the big Zaibatsu constructed the new face of Korea. Korea was tightly held and closely monitored in a system where the administrator and the planners acted as models instead of directionless conquerors. The form of administration was, however, favoring some regions over others and this sparked a spirit of favoritism which would result in the two nations being not in terms.
Unequal Economic Development
Korea was left as a highly organized state that was politically voiceless but with remarkable progress in the economic sector. Upon gaining independence, the agricultural output had risen to the extent that its economic growth outdid that of Japan. The Koreans hold the belief that the benefits of their growth was benefiting the Japanese and thus, would be better without the colonial intervention. However, there were some valuable lessons and techniques that they learned from the Japanese. The policy of the administrative guidance for the benefits of the economy and the formation of new state industries are among the positive measures taken. However, the repression of the labor was a basis for the surreptitious models in both Koreas in the postwar era. Despite the Japanese teaching the Koreans the value of bureaucratic authoritarian path, the concept was well integrated in the 1970s.
The disparities in the Northern and the Southern regions in as far as the economic development is concerned contributed to the current tense state of affairs the two nations. The Japanese made more efforts to develop the agriculture in the North Korea and to an extent, can be considered as neglecting the current South Korea. This was a disappointment to the southerners although they were also better off when considering industrial growth. As result of this, there has been a form of enmity that emanated from this imbalance that makes the two states not to be in term with each other. This is, however, a phenomenon that cannot be reversed and thus, the two nations should seek ways of solving their differences although they are politically motivated.
Bibliography
Akita, George, Brandon Palmer, and Kevin Michael Doak. The Japanese Colonial Legacy in Korea, 1910-1945. 1st ed. Portland (Me.): MerwinAsia, 2015.
