But honestly, it seems like the Colonial Modernization Theory has been proven to be a fact

I haven't seen anyone refute it properly.
All they ever say is that everything was destroyed during the Korean War.
"Are you a pro-Japanese collaborator?"
It's nothing but profanity, personal attacks, and emotional reactions.
In reality, even those who oppose the Colonial Modernization Theory are acknowledging its academic achievements lol
ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ
Initially, scholars from the perspectives of the Internal Development Theory and the Exploitation Theory—who received the claims of the Colonial Modernization Theory with shock and rejection—began to gradually revise their own logic and accept criticisms from the Colonial Modernization Theory as debates continued. The criticism that the Internal Development Theory had insisted on the "sprouts of capitalism" theory based on a linear historical development theory of transitioning from feudalism to capitalism, and had failed to break away from Western-centric laws of historical development, is now being widely accepted.
(Copied from an encyclopedia)
Colonial Modernization Theory: Encyclopedia of Korean National Culture. A historical perspective that seeks the driving force of modern Korea's economic and political growth in the Japanese colonial era.
ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ