The 20th century was an era of many political, social, and economic changes for East Asia. Despite all three countries experiencing the many instabilities and reforms that followed after, ultimately stability ensued after the countries became economically stable. Thus, I believe the most important criterion for determining “success” in adapting to modern change would be economic stability within the country. China was plagued by many political reforms during the 20th century. After the Japanese claim to Shandong and Beijing’s sellout became public during the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, a mass anti-Japanese protest demonstration, the May Fourth of 1919, erupted at Beijing University and swept through the country. This gave rise to the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In 1945, after World War II, the Kuomintang government was left financially and militarily crippled. On the other hand, the CCP took advantage of the Kuomintang situation and emerged from the war as a stronger political party on the whole. They eventually took over China in 1949 under Mao Zedong’s chairmanship. The transition to socialism from 1953 to 1957 was characterized by efforts to achieve massive industrialization, collectivization of agriculture, and political centralization. The Great Leap Forward (1958-1960) followed after, which turned out to be an economic failure resulting in the deaths of millions in the countryside. After Deng Xiaoping took over from Mao, he introduced the Four Modernizations program for the four sectors of agriculture, national defense, and science and technology. The Third Plenum exchanged the classic party line calling for protracted class struggle to one promoting the Four Modernizations, which believed “the attainment of economic goals would be the measure of success or failure of policies and individual politics.” (Pg 9) China’s change to focus on its economic front turned out for the better as they built up their economy and became the economic powerhouse they are today. Korea’s economic development happened later in the 20th century, as it had been plagued by the splitting of Korea into the North and the South, and civil wars between them. South Korea’s economy grew rapidly after the Five-Year Development Plans were announced. The Five-Year Development Plans encouraged private entrepreneurs, businesses, and family-based conglomerates, to export. These incentives included preferential treatment in obtaining low-interest bank loans, import privileges, permission to borrow from foreign sources, and tax benefits. In order for the Five-Year Development Plans to be realized, Korea had to turn to financial diplomacy with other countries. As a result, the economy improved. In the 1970s, the Korean government shifted its focus to heavy industrialization, looking to prepare South Korea for competition in the world market. On the other hand, North Korea has largely been held back economically and still continues to struggle today.
Japan progressed significantly economically during the 20th century. Due to their success in the post WWII era, Japan became one of the most industrialized societies in the world. The atomic bombings of Japan by the United States helped end World War II, with Japan surrendering. America then played a large role in the redevelopment of Japan. The signing of the peace treaty in 1951 led to full Japanese sovereignty of the main archipelago the following year. In January 1974, the first of many trade agreements Japan made occurred. A three-year trade agreement with China covering civil air transportation, shipping, fisheries, and trademarks was signed. “Throughout the postwar period, Japan’s economy continued to boom, with results far outstripping expectations, Japan rapidly caught up with the West in foreign trade, gross national product, and general quality of life.” (Pg. 5) Japan’s rapid recovery from the World War II disaster it suffered could be attributed to America’s aid after the war, and its willingness to adapt to change and adopt Western philosophies.
Although the three countries may have been plagued by political and social problems in the 20th century, they all came to realize the need for a strong economic front in order to stay competitive, and not be edged out in this dog-eat-dog society. Japan seems to have realized this the earliest, and thus “succeeded” in carrying out their economic policies effectively, thus becoming one of the most industrialized and powerful countries that was able to compete with the Western countries in the 20th century.