Korean History

Nationalism as a Construct Emotional attachment and loyalty to one's nation are concepts that are strongly related o the respective individual's comfort zone. Both South Korea and North Korea are the product of centuries of individuals coming together and sharing their passions, their interpretation of the world, and generally creating an environment that they identified with. Henry H. EM makes it possible for his readers to gain a more complex understanding of the factors that encouraged these people to get actively involved in wanting to promote their cultural values.

Even from the time when Koreans were accustomed to answering to an aristocratic form of government, there were songs meant to have them identify with their culture and to be proud of it. The fact that Koreans shared cultural values during the Koryo period meant that they began to think of themselves as a united community and that they started to perform actions that also made it possible for neighboring communities to acknowledge their uniqueness.

Most Koreans came to put across nationalistic types of thinking as a consequence of the fact that they considered themselves as being descendants of the same ancestors. Similarly, they agreed that they had a common background and that this thus made it compulsory for them to preserve these values. In contrast, civic nationalism involves individuals who express nationalistic thoughts due to sharing the same goals and due to also sharing their appreciation with regard to the system they are a part of.

Koreans began to develop an identity consequent to the Kingdom of Silla instilling feelings of national identity in people. The fact that the Chinese played an important role in making the kingdom possible also meant that a lot of Chinese influences came to be transcended into the kingdom's development. The fact that the Japanese were in charge of Korea for a prolonged period of time is visible in diverse historical accounts relating to the country.

The idea of a general "lack" existing in Korean communities is visible in many historical texts relating to these respective communities. The Japanese apparently attempted to justify their presence in the territory by claiming that the Koreans were actually in need of guidance -- with this guidance being best provided by a state such as China. Koreans often think of themselves as a community looking to achieve the same goal.

As a consequence, the past, the present, and the future are all active components of a process meant to improve the nation as a whole. Many individuals in both Koreas are thus inclined to believe that their actions.