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Update time! I'm trying to balance more historical development and current overview in this update.

The World in a New Century, Section XIII: Eastern Asia
Published by the McNally Corporation in Chicago, 1901.

China:
The Chinese Empire is the largest nation in the world today and covers much of the eastern half of the Asian continent. Like the United States, the geography of China is very diverse. While China covers such a large area, it has been held back from becoming more successful for several reasons. China's population, like much of the rest of Asia, is uneducated and largely made up of peasants. The government itself has also held back the development of the nation. For centuries China has kept up a policy of isolation from the Western world. This has only changed in the last century, when the Western powers forced the Chinese to open up their country to trade with Europe.

More recently, the Chinese government has faced increasing difficulties from both inside and outside the country. Throughout the century, China has had to deal with numerous uprisings by its Mohammedan population. In 1879, a great flood of the Yang-tze River, the major river that runs through the center of the country, decimated the region around the city of Jiangning[1] and is estimated to have led to the deaths of over 200,000 people. Fourteen years later in 1893, the northern regions of the country faced a very cold winter and a flood of the Yellow River the following spring. These have been recorded as some of the worst natural disasters of the past century. Additionally, the growing influence of Russia in the far northern reaches of China and the recent defeat by the French and Coreans has further damaged the stability of the Chinese government.

As part of the opening of China to trade in the past decades, the great powers have gained concessions in territory and trade from the Qing to finally break the country's isolation and allow trade with the rest of the world. Corea, France, the United Kingdom, and Portugal have possessions along the Chinese coast that Chinese citizens are allowed to trade in. Additionally, the cities of Shanghai, Canton, Hangzhou, Weihai, Tsingtao, and Tianjin have been opened to foreign traders and companies within their city limits.


Japan and Corea:
The two most modernized countries in eastern Asia are Japan and Corea. With the help of the British and French, these two countries have lifted their societies into the modern world and have established small manufacturing and urban sectors. After Great Britain opened up relations with Japan in 1861, the Japanese began to build up their industry, but still remained locked in the feudalistic system of the Shogunate. However, in the 1880s, a revolution assisted by the British restored some powers to the emperor[2]. However, the shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, has still retained much influence for the past thirty years. In the past decade, Japan has begun expanding outside its home islands and has arranged treaties to acquire the Bonin island chain and Saito Island[3].

Meanwhile, Corea has taken a quicker and more radical approach to modernization. While Corea has also kept its monarchy, the government has allowed more western advisers from France and other powers to modernize the country. With the help of the French, Corea renounced their vassalage to China in 1885 and defeated the Qing, fully establishing themselves as an independent country. Since then, the Corean Empire[4] has been vigorously building up its industry using the large coal reserves in the peninsula. The Coreans have quickly become a regional power in eastern Asia, though they are still leagues behind the great powers of Europe in influence.

[1] Qing era name for Nanjing.
[2] Less drastic than the OTL Meiji Restoration.
[3] OTL Marcus Island.
[4] Korea was declared an empire by Gojong in 1890 after the victory in the Sino-Korean War.