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proximity. When considering the Confucian culture East Asia must include Vietnam.
North Korea and Mongolia do not appear well on the map of East Asia because North
Korea is a half of the divided Korean peninsula and clings to its isolated socialist
system, and because Mongolia is in a state in which its economy is underdeveloped.
South Korea and North Korea are erstwhile Cold War adversaries experiencing the
pains of division. Taiwan, to China, is a part of China, while to the Taiwanese residents,
who argue for independence, it is an independent country.
Despite such differences and geographical boundaries, within East Asia the
exchanges of finance, products, people, information, and culture have been rapidly
increasing since the opening up of China and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Many
East Asian people and the media have started to imagine East Asia as one regional
community. In this regard, East Asia is a newly “imagined community.”
Against this complex geopolitical background this chapter of the book will
critically review the accomplishments of the critical media and cultural studies
(Hereafter referred to as "MCS") in the past twenty some years in the region called "East
Asia," in which, to reiterate, a new imagined community has been forming. Just as the
researches of other world each regions cannot be organized with the terms "North
American MCS" and "European MCS," the phrase “East Asian media and cultural
studies” is probably not an appropriate mapping. If the term “North American MCS” is
used many researchers in of the U.S. will make an objection saying "How could
research on the U.S. be grouped into one category? Of course, it must be divided into
sub-categories." Also, Canadian researchers of Canada will try to talk about the special
characteristics of Canada. If the term “European MCS” is used there will be tumultuous
Convention