In truth, the Colonial Modernization Theory is destroying normal academic discourse.

‌They are certainly glorifying it quite a bit, but the essence of colonial Joseon was being treated as an army estate; far from proper administration, it was a complete mess that suppressed both domestic and foreign civilian economies equally.
When I try to investigate the reality and hardships of such Japanese administration, I face constant suspicion: "Are you laying the groundwork to glorify Imperial Japan? Are you a follower of Colonial Modernization Theory? How many yen are they paying you?" It is truly not easy.
- It was impossible to even form political agendas, discourses, or express opinions.
- They actively obstructed the formation of civilian capital for both foreigners and locals.
- Regarding the fostering of manufacturing, even the military industries they claim to have developed were mostly at a level where extremely small-scale manufacturers just guessed based on intuition.
- As for education, it was predicted that literacy eradication might only be possible after the year 2000.
- They spent over 10 years testing the waters on whether to build high schools and universities, and when they finally did, they were primarily for Japanese residents in Korea.
- Average height actually decreased compared to the Korean Empire era.
- The number of people who left for Manchuria or the Maritime Province because they could no longer survive approached 2 million just before liberation...
This is the reality beneath those pretty statistics. To speak frankly, why do you think communism became so dominant despite such suppression from the outside? It is because the lives of ordinary citizens were in total shambles. If they had truly benefited from modernization, would they have spontaneously formed the People's Republic Committees and shouted "Japs go home" simultaneously across the country the moment Imperial Japan collapsed? I suppose if they want to claim it's just the "default ungrateful Chosenjin," there's nothing I can do. lol
So, not only is it strange to judge modernization based solely on simple numbers, but many of those numbers themselves are clearly suspicious. Yet, they lump all the complex elements of "modernization" together under the umbrella of "economic growth"—it makes me think that this is nothing less than an academic bulldozer.