Japan–Korea, France–Algeria: Colonialism and Post-Colonialism

Abstract

This article compares the colonial situations, decolonisation processes and post-colonial relations of two former colonial ‘couples’, Japan–Korea and France–Algeria. Japan's modern history until 1945 was not only a history of war, but also of colonialism. The Japanese modern takeover of Korea was a colonial enterprise, and Japanese colonialism in Korea was motivated by ideas partly similar to the policy implemented by the French in Algeria. Both Korea and Algeria were an integral part of the coloniser's national territory, and the fate of the two provinces was to be total assimilation. The processes of reconciliation that have taken place since liberation are also best understood within a decolonisation paradigm. While the respective relationships are dictated by specific geopolitical factors and policy choices, the colonial past is casting a similar shadow on both the former colonisers and their former victims.