China, Korea, and Japan
China, Korea, and Japan were virtually isolated from the world till 1800s.
For China, it was China that was the most advanced in terms of culture in the world. So, Chinese empires in succession in history did not feel any need to communicate and trade with other nations on an equal basis. Only if other country had begged a Chinese Emperor to allow trade with China, the Chinese court would regard the foreign country as its subject state and permit trading relations.
So, China did not admit that the UK and other European countries in addition to the US were multiplying their national wealth and military power due to their success in pursuing the Industrial Revolution. The Qing dynasty, the last classic Chinese empire, could not manage to learn, study, and adopt Western science and technology.
As for the Korean Kingdom, they were simply proud of being a great follower of Confucianism. The Korean court was content to be a tributary to China. Yi-Dynasty Korea was at the time suffering poverty and a moral slump, due to failures in agriculture, a split of the society between the lazy noble class and poor farmers.
As they became blind to the world due to their biased inclination of Confucianism and Sinocentrism, Koreans never tried to reform their social structure, economy, and living standards by introducing fruits of the Industrial Revolution from Europe and the US.
Only Japan could successfully reform its political structure through a civil war which put an end to supremacy of samurai dominance and opened a new era for Westernization and modernization. This revolutionary movement is called the Meiji Restoration as new Japanese elites, namely ex-samurais, built national structure with Emperor Meiji at their center. Actually this new era of Japan which started in 1868 is called the Meiji period (till 1912) today.
So, among China, Korea, and Japan, only Japan could start its version of the Industrial Revolution before the 20th century.
The industrial revolution began about 1870 as Meiji period leaders decided to catch up with the West. The government built railroads, improved roads, and inaugurated a land reform program to prepare the country for further development. It inaugurated a new Western-based education system for all young people, sent thousands of students to the United States and Europe, and hired more than 3,000 Westerners to teach modern science, mathematics, technology, and foreign languages in Japan (O-yatoi gaikokujin).
In 1871 a group of Japanese politicians known as the Iwakura Mission toured Europe and the USA to learn western ways. The result was a deliberate state led industrialisation policy to enable Japan to quickly catch up. The Bank of Japan, founded in 1877, used taxes to fund model steel and textile factories. Education was expanded and Japanese students were sent to study in the west.
Modern industry first appeared in textiles, including cotton and especially silk, which was based in home workshops in rural areas.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution#Japan
So, historical approaches to and views on the past cannot help but be very different among these three countries, since only Japan was resolute in standing against Western powers, including Russians, with its own force and power cultivated through its industrial revolution which started around 1870.
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Luk 3:26 Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda,
Luk 3:27 Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri,