Recommendation
Recommended Preface: A Quick Guide to Taiwanese History_Tsai Ching-hua, Deputy Minister of Education
Preface So close yet so far

Part 1: From Prehistoric Times to the Anti-Qing Rebellion (Prehistoric Times to 1683)

Chapter 1: How did Taiwan begin? _The Creation Myth of the Taiwanese Aboriginal People
Chapter 2: Two Nations Visit the Beautiful Island of Formosa: The Dutch and Spanish Rule
Chapter 3: "The Story of the King": What Kind of Man Was Zheng Chenggong? _Conflicting Evaluations of Zheng Chenggong

Part 2: The Qing Dynasty (1683–1895)

Chapter 4: Why Did the Han Chinese Risk Their Lives to Come to Taiwan? _Han Chinese Immigrants from the Qing Dynasty
Chapter 5: What Would You Believe?_The Religious Beliefs of the Han Chinese
Chapter 6: 'Made in Taiwan' Sells Like Hot Cakes - Tea, Sugar, and Camphor
Chapter 7: Is "Gaesanmuban" a Reclamation or an Encroachment? _Relations between Taiwanese Aborigines and the Han Chinese during the Qing Dynasty
Chapter 8: Why Did Missionaries Come All the Way to Taiwan? Missionaries Who Visited Taiwan in the 19th Century

Part 3: Japanese Rule (1895–1945)

Chapter 9: Qing or Japan, That is the Question: The Beginning of Japanese Rule
Chapter 10: Converting Taiwanese People into Japanese Citizens?_Taiwan's New Education
Chapter 11: What Did People Do for Fun 100 Years Ago?_Leisure and Entertainment during the Japanese Colonial Period
Chapter 12: Taiwan is the Taiwan of the Taiwanese: Efforts to Enlighten the People

Part 4: Republic of China Era (1945~)

Chapter 13: Night Has Fallen, Mafia, Open Your Eyes_People Who Lived During the Martial Law Era
Chapter 14: No Eternal Friends, No Eternal Enemies: The Diplomatic History of the Republic of China
Chapter 15: Unlimited Growth Continues: The Miracle of Taiwan's Postwar Economy
Chapter 16: From the Spirit of the Chinese Nation to K-POP: Changes in Taiwan's Socio-Cultural Landscape

Taiwan: A Hot Potato That Will Determine the Fate of the US, China, and South Korea
The key to understanding world affairs lies hidden in Taiwan's history.

How much do we know about Taiwan? Taiwan is a very close country, less than three hours by plane from our country.
However, compared to Japan or China, which are located at a similar distance, it is a country that is not well known to us.
Information about traveling to Taiwan is readily available online, and Taiwan's signature foods, such as milk tea, jippai, and mango shaved ice, have become familiar. However, knowledge about Taiwan's history, politics, society, and culture remains shallow.

Taiwan's importance in today's international situation is growing by the day.
In particular, Taiwan is a country directly related to South Korea's security issues.
As long as we maintain tensions with North Korea, the future fate of South Korea will inevitably be greatly influenced by our relations with the United States, China, and Taiwan.
Why doesn't China recognize Taiwan as a country? Why do the United States and China engage in a power struggle over Taiwan? What impact will the relationship between Taiwan and China have on our country? Without understanding Taiwan's history, it's difficult to predict not only Taiwan's future, but also our own future, and even the future of East Asia and the world.

“The most beautiful scenery in Taiwan is its people.”
The wisdom of those who survived in the cracks between great powers

Taiwan's history spans only 400 years since the first written records were discovered, but the circumstances surrounding it are extremely complex.
There are at least five countries that are related to Taiwan's history: the Netherlands, Spain, China, the United States, and Japan.
Even the 'Taiwanese' are a mixture of people with different personalities, from the aboriginal tribes that settled on the island of Taiwan in prehistoric times, to the Han Chinese of the original province who migrated in search of a way to live during the Qing Dynasty, and to the Han Chinese of the outer provinces who settled in Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War.
They have created their own unique culture by fusing and recreating various cultures in the gap between various powerful countries.

Taiwan has many aspects of its history that are similar to ours.
It was heavily influenced by China, including the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and also shares the experience of Japanese colonial rule.
After World War II, it maintained friendly relations with the United States and protected liberal democracy.
Of course, there are many other differences.
Taiwan has relatively less resentment toward its experience of Japanese colonial rule than we do.
Unlike our country, which is composed of a single ethnic group, Taiwan is a country of many ethnic groups that have formed a unique ethnic identity.
Both Taiwan and South Korea experienced rapid economic growth, earning them the nickname "Four Tigers of Asia." However, Taiwan experienced a relatively small gap between the rich and the poor, compared to South Korea, which developed primarily around conglomerates and corporations.
How could they, sharing similar past experiences, develop such different cultures? What experiences made them unique?

Contains the 2019 revised curriculum
A living history class in Taiwan from a local history teacher

The author of this book is a history teacher who has been teaching students in the field for many years.
The author has carefully selected 16 themes based on what actual Taiwanese students are learning, and faithfully compiled them into one volume, in line with Taiwan's revised 2019 curriculum.
For the author, history is not simply a subject to be memorized, but another window through which to meet ‘people.’
The author's educational passion, presenting multiple perspectives on a single event and encouraging students to consider the hidden meanings for themselves, is fully evident in the book.

For example, it shows without reservation how 'Zheng Shenggong', who is called the founding father of Taiwan, was taught in each era.
Textbooks from the Japanese colonial era claimed he was Japanese, and textbooks from the martial law era used his image to promote the ideology of "anti-communist rebellion."
Even after his death, Zheng Chenggong is constantly being recreated in new images for the benefit of various groups.

Furthermore, the author constantly focuses on the experiences of ordinary people like us, not leaders, in the whirlwind of history, such as the stories of Han Chinese immigrants who risked their lives to land on the island of Taiwan from the Qing Dynasty, the stories of indigenous people who lost their homes and were forced to live in the mountains due to Han Chinese land reclamation, and the stories of people at the time when Taiwan was ceded to Japan under the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty. He sheds light on their lives.


From prehistoric times to the K-pop craze
16 themes presented from a balanced perspective

By reading this book, domestic readers can organize the major themes of Taiwanese history, from prehistoric times to modern society and culture, into 16 categories.
Above all, we can learn how actual Taiwanese people define their identity and view history, breaking free from the narrow, outsider-centric perspective.
This not only allows us to view Taiwan's history from a diversified perspective, but also allows us to assess the various issues facing East Asia in a three-dimensional manner, without being bound by political ideology or preconceptions.

The approximately 50 images placed throughout the text help readers gain a deeper understanding of Taiwan's history, which may be unfamiliar.
The 'One Step Further' corner is designed to provide a deeper look into Taiwanese history by covering topics or important events that domestic readers might be curious about, although not covered in the main text.
As readers progress through the book, they will discover that Taiwan's history is not far removed from our own.
Taiwan and we share a past experience of colonial rule, and the Korean War had a profound impact on Taiwanese history.
Studying Taiwan's history will provide a valuable opportunity to reflect on Korea's past and present and foresee the direction we should take in the future.