I think that's something widely taught in America, Europe and some anti-china countries. Similarly Americans and Europeans are always told Japan is the best Asian country but maybe half of them know nothing about Japanese culture and would never go there. Interestingly these people would often upvote everything about Japan on reddit and defend shits they don't know about.
Japan's constitution was imposed on them by the US, so Japan's success reinforces the idea that the US is a benevolent power bringing peace and prosperity.
Similarly, S Korea would not exist were it not for US military involvement. They were a dictatorship then, but gradually reformed into a democracy. This again stands as proof of US good intentions. Taiwan ran a similar course.
The US can't take credit for the success of any other Asian society, so they are seen as wholly "other".
ROK and ROC are hardly democratic. Both began as military dictatorships and transitioned into bourgeois dictatorships as the USA pumped billions of dollars into their economy. Despite this South Korea and Taiwan both have incredibly low approval ratings for their presidents and government. Just like in the USA. Wonder why that is?
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u/talionpd Jun 03 '23
I think that's something widely taught in America, Europe and some anti-china countries. Similarly Americans and Europeans are always told Japan is the best Asian country but maybe half of them know nothing about Japanese culture and would never go there. Interestingly these people would often upvote everything about Japan on reddit and defend shits they don't know about.