This is a part of on going long-term project which will eventually extend beyond Korea and on to other parts of East Asia.

I traveled to Korea in 2005 after almost 15 years of absence from East Asia. Though not my homeland I found the nation shared some resemblance to where I come from - Taiwan. Indeed Korea, in particular South Korea, shared the identical path in the history with Taiwan. They were both colonized by Japan in the late 19th century and ruled under brutal dictatorship after World War II. Both became economical powerhouses of region since the 1980s and under went a political reform in the late 1980s, which saw both nations transformed to democracy.

Japanese rule had a profound effect reflected on on Korea and Taiwan. Though it reflects more so on South Korea than Taiwan perhaps due to the close proximity in geography. Ironically, while Koreans have almost identical lifestyle and business structure to that of Japan, resentment is still high toward the Japanese due to history.

Of course there’s always complicated factors that made what Korea ‘Korea’ today or Taiwan for that matter. This is the main reason I am compelled to try to understand them and in hope to capture them through my lens.