近代的概念起源于西方。西方将工具理性为代表的近代化带到东亚后，日本率先通过主动转变走上近代化道路，而朝鲜受殖民主义影响只展现出十分脆弱的近代化水平。但并非说建立在小农经济和儒教文化上的东亚传统完全阻碍了近代化的进程，因为其中的理性因素对国家发展具有一定的积极影响，而对传统的运用和批判涉及到对有效范围的限定。应该注意到，传统具有一定的近代意义，能够通过发明与实践形成认同感并表现出近代的特性。不过，近代日本统治者将发明传统作为侵略的一种手段，导致在本体矛盾激化之下走向失败；朝鲜尽管利用传统形成民族凝聚力、并避免国家被彻底殖民化，但过激的民族主义成为了朝韩分裂后历史正统性与反日情绪的催生剂。因此，应辩证地看待传统和近代化之间的关系。近代化既要符合时代发展与国情的需要，也应当被客观公正地评价。

Modern is a concept originated in the West. After the West brought the modernization represented by instrumental rationality to East Asia, Japan took the lead in embarking on the road of modernization through active transformation, while Korea only showed a very fragile level of modernization under the influence of colonialism. However, it is not to say that the East Asian tradition based on small-scale peasant economy and Confucian culture has completely hindered the process of modernization, because the rational factors have a certain positive impact on national development, and the application and criticism of tradition involves the limitation of the effective scope. It should be noted that the tradition with certain modern significance can build a sense of identity through invention and practice, and show the characteristics of modern times. However, modern Japanese rulers took the invention of tradition as a means of aggression, which led to failure under the intensification of noumenon contradictions; although Korea used tradition to form national cohesion and avoided the complete colonization of the country, extreme nationalism has become the catalyst of historical legitimacy and anti Japanese sentiment after the split of Korea Peninsula. Therefore, the relationship between tradition and modernization should be seen dialectically, while modernization should not only meet the needs of the development of the times and national conditions, but also be evaluated objectively and fairly.