Identity Construction in East Asia: Comparative Perspectives on Taiwan, Ryūkyū/Okinawa, and the Korean Peninsula

On the 1^st of September 2020 Korean-Chinese users of the most popular Chinese Social media app WeChat were widely sharing news and videos of protests happening in Inner Mongolia. Mongolian parents had kept their children from attending school and had come out on the streets to protest the newly implemented curriculum reforms in China. The reforms replaced Mongolian as the medium of instruction by Standard Mandarin in three particular subjects at high school level, while also replacing the regional textbooks that are printed in Mongolian script with those by the nationally unified textbook series. It soon became apparent that the same policy was being implemented in the Korean Autonomous Prefecture of Yanbian.
The reforms are part of a wider attempt by Xi Jinping and the communist regime to attempt to assimilate the ethnic minorities in China. These changes, however, are seen by the minorities in China to be in direct violation with the constitutional laws upon which the autonomous prefectures in China are built. It is for this reason that minorities with their own languages, including the Korean-Chinese community, see this as a direct attack from the central government to undo their identity.
This paper will focus on the ways the Korean-Chinese community reacted and debated the curriculum reforms in Yanbian. I will pay special attention to how its choice of methods in their resistance towards the reforms shows the opportunities and limitations of their freedom of expression. With the Chinese state clamping down on critical voices towards their policies, the Korean-Chinese make use of pseudonyms to debate the new policies. They also resort mostly to blogs and forums outside of China as a vehicle to disseminate their views.The debate itself spurred renewed interest among the Korean-Chinese community to reflect and debate on how they envision their community in the present and in the future. While some argue that the reforms itself pose no significant change to the inevitable demise of the Korean ethnic identity of the Korean-Chinese, most are seeing the reforms as the starting point of a new and more precarious position of their status as minorities within Chinese society, where the bilingual ability of the minorities are seen as a threat to the regime.

The seventeenth century saw the fall of the Ming dynasty and subsequent rise of the Qing empire, a dynastic change that had a significant impact on established constellations of power in East Asia and beyond. For the Ryukyu Kingdom and Joseon Korea, two tributaries of the imperial court in Beijing that derived a considerable part of their legitimacy from their close affiliation with the Son of Heaven, the shifting dynamics on Chinese soil entailed a readjustment of their geopolitical positioning and concomitant renegotiation of cultural identities. In Ryukyu, a disastrous defeat in war in 1609 had forced the royal court to recognise the Tokugawa shogunate as a second suzerain, putting the kingdom under tight control of the Japanese feudal domain Satsuma. The firm establishment of Qing rule by the end of the century, however, enabled the kingdom to regain some of its lost autonomy and emphasise local identity by balancing Chinese and Japanese influences. In Joseon Korea, a different impetus gave rise to similar developments. While compelled to confirm its role as tributary to Beijing, the Joseon dynasty never fully accepted the Qing, regarded them as barbarian usurpers of the heavenly mandate, and viewed itself as the true inheritor of the Ming era Confucian ecumene. Starting to challenge received narratives of a Sinocentric world, Joseon scholars thus rediscovered the genealogical roots of Korean statehood.
In both cases, historiography and genealogy served as battlefield and medium of what can be considered early examples of state-sponsored identity construction in East Asia. Crucial to these endeavours was a focus on the autochthonous origins of the Ryukyuan and Korean monarchies in the form of the mythical figures Tenson and Tan’gun. Analysing these key elements of Ryukyuan and late Joseon state ideology comparatively, the paper traces similarities and differences regarding the Ryukyuan and late Joseon experiences of identity formation.

This contribution will provide an historiographical assessment of the Japanese colonial period in relation to contemporary Taiwanese identity construction. The focus on the Indigenous voice offers a telling example where identity construction has become more prominent today, considering changes in the island’s geopolitical situation. The cultural affinity between Taiwan and Japan is often highlighted in Chinese-language scholarship, demonstrating how Taiwanese scholarship draws upon Japanese data collection and intellectual history. However, the relevance of the Japanese colonial period as history and legacy in 21st-century Taiwan, in maintaining the vitality of identity politics, is more complex and brings up the issue of decolonization. When researchers discuss the lack of decolonization in Taiwan, it refers to the fact that the regime change in 1945 did not alter the position of the majority of the population; instead, it involved the replacement of one group (Japanese) with another (Chinese). This experience was shared by both Han and Indigenous communities. Examining the Indigenous perspective on Japanese rule and current revitalization movements reveals distinct nuances compared to those of the Han, whether Japan is seen as an oppressor or a benevolent hegemon. To contextualize this, the first part will give an overview of historical scholarship on the Japanese colonial period, followed by a section that highlights key themes in the historical narration on the Indigenous population against the background of the changes in Taiwanese historiography (from Sino- to Taiwan-centric), concluding where the Indigenous voice in Taiwanese identity resonates with global perspectives on Japan's history as an empire.

Japanese writer Shimao Toshio contributed to the discourse on Okinawan cultural identity and its ties to the Japanese mainland, coining the term ‘Yaponeshia’ to encapsulate his ideas. Focusing on the Southern Islands, particularly Okinawa and Amami, Shimao highlights their significance within Japanese culture. Both islands were once part of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, but especially Amami’s proximity to Kyūshū led to strong mainland Japanese cultural influence. The Satsuma clan’s invasion of the Ryūkyū Kingdom in the 17^th century further shaped Amami’s distinct history, influencing its cultural and national identity.
Despite notable cultural differences among the former islands of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, they are often homogenised into a single Ryūkyūan culture. I explore Shimao’s concept of ‘Southern Island culture’ in his texts from the 1960s, analysing his distinctions between Okinawa, Amami, and the Japanese mainland. Employing quantitative and qualitative methods, through computerised textual analysis, I assess Shimao’s writings on both macro and micro levels. This comprehensive approach enhances our understanding of Shimao’s nuanced exploration of Southern Island culture and its broader implications for discussions on Japanese identity.

Intense rivalries between imperial powers dominated the second-half of the nineteenth-century world order. These great powers capitalized on their formidable military and technological prowesses, vying with each other to expand their spheres of interest across different continents. For centuries, Chosŏn Korea was a faithful participant in the Sino-centric tributary system, closely observing norms and rituals and maintaining a foreign policy that recognised China's primacy in the East Asian order. With the 'opening' of Korea to the Western powers for trade, however, the Korean court embarked on a crash course of the Westphalian system, which contained its own set of norms and rules of engagement. As the Korean peninsula gradually transformed into a hotbed of geopolitical competition, Korean elites had to reconcile with their country's fragile geopolitical position, which seemed to epitomise Korea's periphery status in the international system. As we witness the gradual weakening of the U.S.-led world order, both scholars and policymakers must reflect critically on Korea's previous foray into multilateral diplomacy, which still leaves much room for contemplation today.

As anthropologist Thomas Eriksen notes, nationalism and ethnicity are kindred concepts, with the majority of nationalisms being ethnic in character. What sets apart nationalism from ethnicity, is merely the fact that an ethnic ideology demands a state on behalf of the ethnic group. Early attempts by Chinese intellectuals followed this model, as they constructed a nationalistic narrative in which the Han Chinese were the main agent in the formation of the nation. When the communist party found that the nationalist paradigm did not include the multitude of minorities within its borders, they adjusted the narrative to include these groups as well.
The influence of this latter version of China's ethnic nationalism can also be seen in the academic discourse that emerged from 2002 on ancient Northeast Asian history, where states and peoples such as Koguryeo/Gaogouli are included into Chinese history for the sole reason that their perceived descendants are inhabitants within China's contemporary territory. By 2003, South Korean intellectuals also became aware of these Chinese claims and launched a campaign to fight against it.
With the Korean Chinese being in an uncomfortable middle and neglected position, I would like to look at the reactions of Korean Chinese in academia to Chinese and Korean historians' claims and how they have positioned themselves in this narrative. I would like to show how the controversy effected the identity of the Korean Chinese minority and how it shifted their views away from nationalistic narratives to a more transnational outlook.

Despite long-standing cries for recognizing groups sidelined by history and repeated calls to expand our political imagination, Asian studies remains dominated by nation-states. In my presentation, I provide a framework to understand identity in East Asia, specifically Okinawa, Taiwan and Korea. These three identity formations cannot be understood through our existing conceptual structures because they exist both between, within and beyond individual nation-states. These "countries" did not simply transition from empire to nation-state but from the Chinese empire/tribute system to the Japanese empire to the US empire, amidst the tensions of the cold war. The tension between the past and present emerges in each of these national projects and could open possibilities to rethink the future of East Asia from the margins beyond processes of marginalization. Okinawa and Korea were each part of the Chinese tribute system and then came under the grips of the Japanese empire, which itself attempted to reproduce and transform the tribute system in a different context. After World War II, the US empire attempted to use Japan to exert influence over its former colonies, including Taiwan and South Korea. I contend that the re-imagining the future of these nations is intimately connected to rethinking the potential of the tributary system to imagine a world beyond the global capitalist system of nation-states.

This paper explores the significance of identity formation within the social spaces of a microcosmic Ryukyu. With a side view toward the world beyond, the text incorporates comparative insights from previous fieldwork in the outer Izu Islands of Japan. In the Ryukyus, ritual life is imbued with style and décor. It reflects the court's historical interactions with China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. In the southwestern Japanese islands of the Yayeyamas and Yonaguni, women preside over ritual engagements characterized by intricate culinary layouts and interactions. Shamanic interpretations of misplaced ancestries may lead to a reassessment of genealogies, resulting in people switching family names to align themselves with the prestigious Origin Houses administering such forms. These houses serve as physical hubs within an ancestral heritage. Tall prayer stones in the courtyard or elsewhere localize an enduring ancestral presence. Such lithic signs evoke memories of past settlements, villages, and village sections that have either vanished or relocated to other parts of the island. Personal ornaments, weapons, and musical instruments create pervasive animation in courtyard performances. Women's headdresses of multi-hued beads are centric within this category of ancestral wealth. Identity formation in the southern Ryukyu Islands embraces such fluidity and interconnectedness of human and other-than-human engagements. The paper allocates conceptual space for a persistent animistic iteration of the past all across the complexities of Ryukyuan ritual arrangements.

Tourism counts among the most vivid modes of identity construction. This presentation focuses on how tourism has constructed and challenged cultural and political identity in Taiwan in comparative perspective with Ryukyu/Okinawa and Korea. I begin with a discussion of the historical role of Japanese colonial-era tourism as a mode of imperial subjectification. I then turn to examine regional tourism and identity construction in the context of the Cold War, before discussing the contemporary rise and demise of tourism from the People's Republic of China (PRC) to Taiwan.
Starting in 2008, while the PRC pointed over a thousand missiles across the Taiwan Strait, it sent millions of tourists in the same direction with the encouragement of Taiwan's politicians and businesspeople. Based on extensive ethnography, I will discuss how mass tourism, one of several strategies employed by the PRC at aiming political control over Taiwan, has worked in practice. I argue that contrary to the PRC's efforts to incorporate Taiwan as part of an undivided "One China" by strengthening cultural and economic ties, tourism actually aggravated tensions between the two polities, polarized Taiwanese society, and further consolidated a distinct Taiwanese national identity.

The identity construction of Zainichi Koreans faces numerous challenges due to their dual heritage and societal pressures to assimilate. This presentation delves into the crucial role of ethnic classes (民族学級) in this process. Zainichi Koreans leverage these classes as essential spaces for preserving their cultural identity. Offered in both public and private educational institutions, these classes provide a structured environment where students can learn about their cultural history, language, and traditions.
The presentation examines the curricula, pedagogical approaches, and extracurricular activities of these classes, demonstrating how they significantly impact students' self-perception and foster a sense of community cohesion. Additionally, it explores the sociopolitical dynamics that influence the operation and acceptance of ethnic classes in Japan, considering factors such as government policies, public attitudes, and the broader multicultural landscape.
Furthermore, the presentation addresses the challenges and opportunities faced by ethnic classes in promoting cultural diversity and social integration within contemporary East Asia. By providing specific examples and personal narratives, the study underscores the importance of these educational initiatives in fostering a sense of belonging and continuity with Korean heritage. Ultimately, it argues that ethnic classes are vital in preserving cultural diversity and enhancing social cohesion in Japan's increasingly multicultural society.

This article investigates identity construction in Taiwan by examining Taiwan Broadcasting System and Taiwan Indigenous Television. Media involves in identity construction and reveals in cultural, ethnic, political and national identity perspectives.
The development of Taiwan's public television not only reflects the changes in Taiwanese ethnic groups, culture, society, and politics but also highlights the diverse cultural expressions within Taiwan through the establishment of channels catering to different language groups. The establishment of the English-language channel, Taiwan Plus, not only provides an opportunity for foreigners in Taiwan to learn about the country through an English medium but also signifies an attempt and goal to showcase Taiwan's perspective globally. This channel serves the dual function of promoting Taiwan's values and advocating for Taiwan, contributing significantly to the branding of Taiwan and identity construction. Through an analysis of Taiwan's public broadcasting group and media, this article demonstrates the multifaceted aspects of ethnic, cultural, and national identity construction.

After Japan's annexation of Ryukyu in 1879, unprecedented Japanese influences have permeated into and spread throughout Okinawan society through public administrations, education, media, and other ways, leading to constructing Japanese identity among Okinawans. Of these modes of Japanization, I focus on education, which is centralized by the Japanese government. I share my research previously done regarding identity construction in educational settings in Okinawa. The unit of analysis includes a book excerpt in textbooks used in high schools in contemporary Okinawa. The analysis unveiled how Japanese identity can possibly be constructed among Okinawans through learning the content of this excerpt, or nihonjinron discourse, which is characterized by "Japanese culture," "Japanese uniqueness," and "Japaneseness." Nihonjinron discourse approved as a teaching material in textbooks by the authority of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology functions as official knowledge, which students have to learn. This nihonjinron discourse illustrates the "East-West" dichotomy within which students can be induced to choose "Japan"/ "Japanese culture," internalize that culture, and become "Japanese." I problematize this nihonjinron discourse adopted in authorized textbooks as a systematic form of Japanizing Okinawans' minds through education. If this Japanization of Okinawans minds can be a legacy of or on-going colonialism, I argue that it is crucial to create an education program for Okinawan identity development to correct inequality and injustice in terms of ethnic identification in educational settings that have been under control of the centralized Japanese educational system.

Arasaki Moriteru (1936-2018) left a singular body of work on postwar Japan. For over half a century, he had been a leading critic of Japan's involvement in the San Francisco System, a political architecture centred around the US and its regional allies in Asia and the Pacific. In newspaper columns, essays, and books, the Okinawan historian wrote numerous pieces on the subject, particularly on the enduring political and social struggles on the US military base problems in his home, Okinawa. Since his first published book on the early development of Okinawa's anti-colonial movements against the US military government in 1965, Arasaki had dedicated his whole professional life over four decades to writing about Okinawa's grassroots politics in both historical and contemporary terms, which led to the establishment of 'Okinawan contemporary history' as a genre of historical writing. Despite his intellectual legacy, which is certainly unique, his thoughts behind the historical writing have rarely been examined. In this paper, I intend to highlight some key aspects of his historical thought and show its relevance beyond local and national confinements by situating it in broader theoretical discussions on history and politics, especially in light of what Ariella Azoulay's concept of potential history. I argue that it enables us to reframe the history of Okinawan anti-base politics as a record of not just past social activism but of the critical struggles towards multiple forms of de-imperial futures..

The emergence of "Taiwan identity" following the island state's democratization in the late 1980s has been a focal point of scholarly attention. This is due to the subject's implications for China-Taiwan relations, and hence the long-term aspect of war and peace in East Asia. All available social survey data indicates that, in the past three decades since democratization, more and more Taiwan citizens have come to identify themselves as "Taiwanese" instead of "Chinese." This is despite close contact and economic integration between Taiwan and China, and both inducive and coercive measures by the Beijing authorities to bring the islanders into the fold of the PRC. The Taiwan identity has, without doubt, become more salient. Yet underneath this salience is a nation deeply divided by different versions of nationalism and historical memory. This paper argues that our perception of Taiwan identity remains largely superficial without a consideration of the contending memory and identity politics on the island. It offers an alternative way to understand the formation of Taiwan identity by examining conflicting views on the Nationalist martial law rule during the Cold War. The paper will focus specifically on the contention surrounding the Nationalist White Terror suppression in the 1950s.

From mass-produced children's entertainment, during the last decade comics in Taiwan have become a core field of cultural production intensively supported by the state, due to this medium's perceived contribution to defining a local identity and building Taiwan's soft power. One of the most salient outcomes of this official emphasis on comics has been an unprecedented proliferation of production, with many new works quite explicitly designed as attempts to define Taiwan. This study will look at such recent productions - three works by Jian Jiacheng 簡嘉誠 published between 2018 and 2023, which commemorate Taiwanese-language cinema culture. All three were commissioned by the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute and published by Gaea. I will begin with a few remarks on recent practices building new institutional networks, which involve different media forms and cultural organizations that employ comics for new purposes, and publishers such as Gaea serving as intermediaries between these institutions and individual artists. These comments will be followed by an analysis of comics contents, covering the following themes: gender, (Confucian) lineage and community.