Colonial history in Korea is fraught with anecdotes evidencing Japan's darker motives. It is widely believed that, upon deliberating the invasion of Korea for centuries, Japanese attempted cultural genocide against Koreans by enslaving the people, desecrating their heritage, and enforcing assimilation. While much of it is true, there is more to colonialism than an odious intention. In Primitive Selves: Koreana in the Japanese Colonial Gaze, 1910–1945, Taylor Atkins argues that Japanese love of things Korean or Koreaphilia also helped to facilitate colonial domination. This book examines the aspect of liberal colonialism, wherein Japanese looked upon Korean culture as the object of fetish than that of contempt. In light of contemporary Japanese enthusiasm for the Korean Wave (hallyu), Akins's study is an intriguing looking glass into the colonial origins of Koreaphilia.
According to Primitive Selves, Koreaphilia is a variant of Orientalism and Japanese attraction to Korea parallels...
