Colonising Japan on the other hand, is not going to happen, the Koreans are just too outnumbered.
Even a backwards Japan will present a unified front, however "weak" it may be compared to post-Meiji Japan; the same was not true for India, and the UK conquered the entire subcontinent by conquering it piecemeal, and sometimes by not even conquering but just buying the loyalty of the princely states.Colonizing India on the other hand, is not going to happen, the British are just too outnumbered.![]()
What would be a rough timeline of Korea becoming a Mejii Japan though? Could Korea ever become as powerful?
Even a backwards Japan will present a unified front, however "weak" it may be compared to post-Meiji Japan; the same was not true for India, and the UK conquered the entire subcontinent by conquering it piecemeal, and sometimes by not even conquering but just buying the loyalty of the princely states.
This would not be possible in a Japan, since even during the latter stages of the Tokugawa shogunate, the regional Daimyos (well, barring the very peripheral and as a result comparatively weak ones) were in no position to really leave themselves at the whims of foreigners and serve as a base for conquest.
The most you could conquer in Japan, at least the impression I get, is the island of Kyushu, since that's always been a rather neglected region by the national government.
When Japan conquered China (rather, tried to), China had collapsed into many warring factions, making their job easier.You could say the exact same thing about China, but look what Japan tried to do in OTL. A modernised Korea, doing the whole gunpowder empire thing, would be able to dominate a backwards and isolationist Japan. The trick is getting a situation like that to work.
The Spanish Japan idea sounds completely ASB, more likely the Dutch or the Portuguese would have conquered it, and even that would be questionable.However, you may need an earlier PoD, in order to keep Japan at a disadvantage. People have said earlier that a Japan that opened earlier to the West may have found itself in a disadvantageous position. What about a Japan conquered by an earlier colonial power, such as Spain. Centuries later, the Spanish empire has declined, while Korea modernises. A suitably glorious Spanish-Korean war ensues, and Japan comes under Korean domination.
Hmm. Maybe dubious. But I still think that this scenario is feasible. People tend to over-estimate Japan due to their OTL success.
When Japan conquered China (rather, tried to), China had collapsed into many warring factions, making their job easier.
And even then, these warring factions in CHINA were able to put up enough of a united front to halt the IJA.
The Spanish Japan idea sounds completely ASB, more likely the Dutch or the Portuguese would have conquered it, and even that would be questionable.
Expanding into Manchuria? Is that a theory of what would happen if Korea had been more modern and powerful? Cause Korea (and previous incarnations) hasn't controlled what is now Manchuria since probably the 900s.Perhaps if a modernising Korea which had already expanded into Manchuria would have the population and industrial might to pull it off. An alliance with a powerful European power might help. Korea and Russia clash in East Asia, Korea ends up supported by Britain? Maybe
something like that.
IMO, If an Imperialistic Korea had a natural projectory, it'd be oriented towards Manchuria, largely for reasons of history and the fact that there have always been (and still are) a lot of ethnic Koreans in that region. Even today, some Korean nationalists consider the whole region as being originally Korean territory. Korean nationalism would likely manifest itself as a desire to recreate that old empire, and hell, it's right there.
Though a modernised Korea would also likely want to prevent a modernised Japan, remembering the invasions of the 16th century. Perhaps if Japan gets partitioned somehow, and China fails to modernise and fractures, then Korea could get back it's (highly industrially useful) heartland while also maintaining a colonial presence in Japan (though likely rubbing shoulders with the Brits and Russians).
I do like this theory, but wouldnt it mean prolonged confrontation with the Chinese? Was this anathema to the Koreans or not (please correct me if i am wrong, i plan to do this for my TL), for when the Koreans did close off their borders, they were reluctant to do so to their western neighbour.
I heard from a Korean friend of my brother's said he read a survey of when the capital of Korea (whether, South or united) will be in 50 years. The most voted answer said "In Manchuria".IMO, If an Imperialistic Korea had a natural projectory, it'd be oriented towards Manchuria, largely for reasons of history and the fact that there have always been (and still are) a lot of ethnic Koreans in that region.
While there are Koreans in the PRC today, it's relatively small number. What was the number and distribution of Koreans during Qing China?Even today, some Korean nationalists consider the whole region as being originally Korean territory. Korean nationalism would likely manifest itself as a desire to recreate that old empire, and hell, it's right there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Korea#19th_century
Its probably a bit stupid to think of total Korean submission to China, but what exactly were the two nation's relations?![]()