Brothers in the mirror: Taiwan & Korea’s road to democracy and future Partnership – Part I

This is Part one of a two-part series, “Brothers in the mirror”.

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On the evening of December 3, 2024, President of South Korea Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law, citing the need to respond to “anti-state forces” and threats from North Korea. This move shocked both South Korea and the international community, marking the first time in 45 years that such a measure had been enacted in the country.

Some experts have suggested that the damage to South Korea’s democratic reputation could far exceed the impact of the January 6th Capitol riot in the United States. Meanwhile, President Yoon’s declaration of martial law also sparked significant attention in Taiwan. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) parliamentary group, affiliated with Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te, swiftly posted on social media, mentioning that Taiwan’s ruling party was facing a similar predicament. The post was soon met with criticism, with some accusing the DPP of supporting martial law. The post was quickly deleted, but the controversy continued to escalate.

In contrast to President Yoon’s martial law, which was revoked within six hours, Taiwan had previously held the record for the longest period of martial law in the world, until Syria surpassed it. Taiwan’s martial law, imposed by the Chinese Nationalist (KMT) government, lasted from 1949 until 1987, a total of 38 years.

In 2024, Taiwan and South Korea still share many similarities: both nations’ people are passionate about baseball, and in the context of AI becoming a key industry of the future, both countries’ semiconductor industries have garnered significant attention. Looking back in history, both Taiwan and Korea were once colonies of Japan. Despite gaining independence from their Japanese colonisers after World War II, both Taiwan and Korea fell under the tight control of dictatorships. Economically, both Taipei and Seoul experienced rapid growth from the 1960s onwards, earning recognition as two of the “Four Asian Tigers.” By the end of the 20th century, Taiwan and South Korea both underwent political reforms that led to democratisation, becoming true democratic nations.

The Homogenous Peninsula and the Multicultural Island

East Asian countries share a “Sinitic cultural sphere,” (漢字文化圈) influenced by China but each developing its own national identity and culture. Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Taiwan are examples. The Korean Peninsula has been inhabited by humans for over 700,000 years. Historically, the region saw the rise of three major unified dynasties: Unified Silla, Goryeo, and Joseon. The Joseon Kingdom was then annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1910.

According to legend, the mythical figure Dangun Wanggeom (단군왕검) founded Gojoseon in 2,333 BCE, making it the earliest state on the Korean Peninsula. While historians are divided on the matter, Dangun Wanggeom is considered a common ancestor of the Korean people. This view is recognised by both the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). Due to widely circulated myths and education, Korea has long been perceived as a homogeneous country. However, in the twenty-first century, South Korea is evolving into a nation of immigration.

In contrast, Taiwan has always been a multi-ethnic immigrant society. Research shows that humans have inhabited Taiwan for at least 30,000 years, and Taiwan is also the birthplace of the Austronesian language family. Despite China’s ongoing efforts in recent years to promote its narrative to the international community, claiming that according to ancient Chinese texts, it was the Chinese who first discovered the island and migrated to Taiwan, thus asserting that all Taiwanese people belong to the “same ethnicity and culture” of the Han people. In other words, China is the motherland of the Taiwanese people.

Historians note that, for over a thousand years before the late Ming Dynasty, Chinese records referred to the island in the East with various names such as Ryukyu, Penglai, Yizhou, and Dongfan, but there is still no direct evidence that these recorded islands correspond to Taiwan. These ambiguous and ever-changing terms in Chinese historical texts suggest that for over a thousand years, China only had a vague understanding of the existence and geographical location of this island. Since the advent of written records, Taiwan has experienced colonial periods under the Dutch (1624 to 1662) and the Spanish (1626 to 1642), the Zheng family regime (1662 to 1683), the Qing Dynasty (1683 to 1895), and the Japanese colonial period (1895 to 1945). From October 1945, Taiwan has been governed by the Republic of China under the KMT, and following political reforms in the 1990s, Taiwan became a democracy in the 21st century.

Today’s residents of Taiwan include the indigenous peoples of the Austronesian language family, Han Chinese who speak Hakka or Taiwanese as their mother tongues, Han Chinese who migrated to Taiwan with the Kuomintang government after World War II, as well as new immigrants from Southeast Asia and other countries. This diverse mix of ethnic groups has shaped Taiwan into a quintessential immigrant society.

Colonisation by Japan and Post-War Social Development

Before Japan officially colonised Taiwan and Korea, its rulers had sent envoys to neighbouring countries on several occasions, demanding tribute or initiating military actions, demonstrating their expansionist ambitions. Due to the lack of relevant records in ancient texts regarding the 4th century, Japanese history is said to have a “blank century” （空白の4世紀） . However, according to the inscription on the “Gwanggaeto Stele” (廣開土王碑) in “the Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom”, a UNESCO World Heritage Site registered in 2004, it is recorded that between the late 4th and early 5th centuries, Goguryeo fought multiple wars with Japan, known as the Goguryeo–Yamato War or Goguryeo–Wa War. While there are various interpretations of the outcome of these wars, Korean society generally views them as early evidence of Japan’s incursions into the Korean Peninsula.

Additionally, during the 16th century, under the rule of the Joseon Dynasty, Japan instigated several wars, the most famous of which include “the Sampo Waeran” and “the Imjin War.” These events plunged the region into turmoil. Despite Japan’s attempts to occupy the Korean Peninsula, it was thwarted by the Ming Dynasty’s defence. As the 20th century dawned, with the rise of colonialism, Japan first manoeuvred to detach Korea from the control of its traditional suzerain, achieving a “dependent” status, before turning it into a protectorate. Finally, in 1910, through the “Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty”, Japan officially consolidated its sovereignty over the Korean Peninsula. In contrast, Taiwan’s colonisation by Japan began as a result of the First Sino-Japanese War, after which China, having been defeated, ceded Taiwan and the Pescadores to Japan.

After WWII, the relationship between former colonies and their colonising powers became a focus of international relations studies. The differences in the attitudes of Taiwan and South Korea towards their former Japanese coloniser also became a point of observation for researchers. Although both regions experienced Japan’s aggression, the main reasons for becoming Japanese colonies still differ. First, Taiwan fell under Japanese rule due to the defeat of the Qing rulers at the time, whereas Korea was forcibly occupied by Japan. Second, the development of national consciousness and post-war social development are also crucial factors influencing the differing attitudes towards Japan in both regions.

When Taiwan was ceded to Japan by China, it was considered a frontier region of the Qing Empire. Although the people of Taiwan generally had no conscious loyalty towards their nominal overlords in Beijing and may even harbour feelings of abandonment, they had not yet developed an independent national identity prior to Japanese colonisation. After WWII, due to issues such as Taiwanese-born Japanese soldiers in the Japanese army and comfort women, the people of Taiwan had high hopes for ‘returning to the motherland’ to escape second-class citizenship. However, after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) took over Taiwan, the real living conditions of the people did not improve compared to the Japanese colonial period. Various ethnic groups in Taiwanese society were not only forced to abandon their mother tongues and learn the new “national language” Mandarin, but they were also dragged into the civil war between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party, leading to social turbulence. Following the 228 Massacre in 1947 and the imposition of martial law in 1949, Taiwan became mired in dictatorship, which created complex nostalgic feelings about the Japanese colonial era.

In contrast, although historically a vassal state of various great powers, Korea never truly had its national sovereignty stripped away. The independent Kingdom of Joseon was annexed by Japan in 1910. Therefore, after Korea gained independence from Japan in 1945, it maintained strong negative sentiments towards Japan. The first president of the Republic of Korea, Syngman Rhee (이승만), who took office in 1948, was a prominent anti-Japanese figure. Moreover, Japan’s forced mobilisation of Koreans through methods such as the comfort women system, the conscription of labourers, and the recruitment of military personnel between 1931 and 1945 continues to fuel historical disputes that trap South Korea and Japan in a cycle of tension. As a result, South Korean society generally holds a negative view of the Japanese colonial experience.

(Featured photo from President Yun Seok-yeol Facebook page)