East Asian Countries’ Incorporation Process into the Capitalist World-System in the Long Nineteenth Century (1780s-1940s): Features and Comparisons

Although external arenas’ incorporation processes into the capitalist world-system have long been studied in the fields of world-systems analysis, colonial studies, comparative historical sociology, and global and connected history, the study of incorporation in East Asia has remained primarily unexamined. Based on the fact that the incorporation of three countries in East Asia (China, Korea, and Japan) into the capitalist world-system took place during the long nineteenth century (1780s-1940s), that the three countries were inextricably linked during the incorporation process, and that incorporation in East Asia had unique aspects, this study examines the incorporation process of China, Korea, and Japan, respectively, and examines the geographical and geopolitical relations between the three countries. This study helps to trace the long-term capitalist development of East Asian countries and contributes to showing the holistic yet contradictory picture of the region’s progress in synchronizing with the capitalist world-system: modernization, industrialization, and capitalist transition on the one hand, and colonization and exploitation on the other.