And in more recent times, how the USA first viewed Japan and later Korea.

And yet Japan and Korea both where shifted to more Western modes of thought, about innovation, development, and an adoption of democracy and personal rights. This supports my point.

Where do you get that from?

All the people I know who worked with and for Korean and Japanese entities have countless examples to show how alien the corporate culture is for westerners.

South Korea in particular doesn't seem exactly like a heaven for personal growth and experimentation.

South Korea had little choice in the matter as it’s effectively a tributary state to the US. What’s amazing is that the US didn’t somehow screw up with South Korea.

Japan’s democracy seems to be a hold-over from its imperialist ambitions from the Meiji restoration, when the emperor took power back from the shogunate and “westernized” to fast-track.

Meaning, the Japanese took all of the trappings of western civilization but under the veneer it’s still distinctly Japanese.

Agile civil development.