A Show of Force, a Dimensional Strike

Lee Boo-jin smiled and replied, "You're right. China was highly advanced throughout history and was once the center of East Asia."

There was clearly an unspoken implication in her words, and Lin Yuan immediately caught the part Lee Boo-jin had left unsaid:

"Throughout history," highly advanced; "once," the center of East Asia.

By comparison, that meant it was not very advanced now, nor was it still the center of East Asia.

Lin Yuan would not get angry just because Lee Boo-jin said that. It was an indisputable fact.

After all, China had fallen behind the world in modern times and been bullied for a hundred years. Though it was now striving to catch up, it was clearly still behind South Korea and Japan, countries that had once been its little brothers.

In fact, when China had just begun opening up, Japan's sense of psychological superiority over China had been immense.

Back then, Japan had proposed the flying geese model for East Asian economic development.

In other words, East Asian economies should form an integrated echelon, like a flock of geese.

In Japan's vision, as the East Asian country with the highest technological level and largest economy, it should naturally be the lead goose.

South Korea, as the country second only to Japan, would follow right behind it in second place.

Japan and South Korea would provide technology and capital, building an industrial chain centered around the two countries.

Looking back years later at Japan's flying geese model, it seemed rather laughable.

Yet in the eighties and nineties, even in the early 2000s, it would not have seemed particularly outrageous.

That was because China at the time had yet to complete its initial accumulation of either technology or capital, making it appear relatively backward.

In the early 2000s, many Chinese people