To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (225526 ) 3/21/2005 6:18:32 PM From: tejek Read Replies (3) | Respond to of 1572460 Ted, Its also true that it spent much of the second millennium as a province of China. That's not entirely true, either. From the Shilla Dynasty to Koryo (the origin of the name "Korea") to Chosun, Korea has always been more or less independent. True, there were times where independence was just an illusion, and that for all practical purposes Korea was at the mercy of other powers, but most of the time Korean culture and identity was allowed to grow and develop on its own. Again.......my understanding of Asian history is weak. I thought China controlled Korea for most of the last thousand years.The Japanese occupation, on the other hand, was perhaps one of the most brutal periods of Korean history, and it's hard to portray it in any other light. Maybe there were a few good things that came out of the occupation, but that's just like saying there were a few good things that came out of the Nazi's occupation of Poland. As for whether Korea could have prevented it from occurring, I'm not sure that would have been possible even if I went back in time and pointed out the future to those in power. I have no doubt the Japanese occupation was brutal. My impression was that the Japanese saw the Koreans as peasants to be exploited. Of course, they were no kinder to the Chinese. Its interesting the physical differences between the Chinese/Korean populations and the Japanese. The Japanese tend to be taller and thinner and more effete looking. P.S. - Speaking of time machines, John De Lorean just died today. He was 80. Didn't he design an unusual car? I don't understand the time machine references. ted