Korean Nationalism Essay

Korea has been an independent country, primarily for most of its history. However, there has been constant battles over who would dominate it. First beginning with Japan and China, who were its neighbors in East Asia. Then the European Powers and the Western World in the twentieth century. Hence, Korea was never fully able to reach its full capacity on its own, and it thus led to the partition of the country into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the North, and the Republic of South Korea in the South. But before this occurred, I would like to examine the intellectual movement and rise of nationalism that occurred from 1894-1920, the similarity of the intellectuals today and problems that exist today, and the country’s influence

The Enlightenment period occurred roughly from 1894-1910, and was characterized by intellectual experimentation and adaptation, as the leading intellectuals attempted to reconcile the new ideas and models originating from the West. As well as from contemporary Japan and China, with the very powerful equivalent from the Korean Confucian tradition, and in constant consideration of the circumstances of the day (Hwang

“The Independent Club was an intellectual society that advocated liberation from Chinese political domination, and Chinese derived learning” (Hwang 2). Hence, the Independence Club began publishing papers both in Native Korean script and English. This was done partly because of the humiliating defeat of China to Japan (a small island) in the Sino-Japanese War; and because of Korea seeking to establish sovereignty and to maintain itself as an independent state. Subsequently, the Independent Club was shut down three years later in 1899 by the government. But what the movement of this club sought to do, lived on. For some members branched out to start their own newspapers and clubs. Thus, these new organizations that emerged laid the foundation for Korean nationhood and modernity post annexation by Japan and liberation from it in