Lions vs. Lions

Either way, the Lions will win. As the Daily Yomiuri ザ・デイリー読売 reports (Seibu sweats it out / Rips Tianjin, then earns berth in final when Uni-President whips unbeaten Wyverns):

"The Saitama Seibu Lions 埼玉西武ライオンズ scored a tournament-record 16 runs Saturday afternoon and clinched a spot in today's Asia Series final, when Taiwan's Uni-President Lions 統一獅 eliminated South Korea's SK Wyverns in a furious final day of preliminary play...Seibu's Takeya Nakamura 中村剛也 hit a tie-breaking, three-run homer as the Japan champs whipped China's Tianjin Lions 16-2, then awaited the outcome of the late game...Liu Fu-hao hit a pair of three-run home runs as Taiwan's Uni-President came from behind to beat the previously unbeaten SK Wyverns...In today's final, Seibu will face Uni-President, which it beat 2-1 on Thursday."

It should be a good game.

One thing (among many) that I still can't fathom about Taiwan is the depth of antagonism felt towards Korea and Koreans. In sports like baseball, for example, when a Taiwanese team plays a Japanese team, Taiwanese fans expect their side to be defeated (which makes a victory that much sweeter). But when it comes to facing a Korean opponent, teeth are bared in a grudge match, and a loss can leave a very bitter feeling. I don't really know why. There isn't much of a historical rivalry between the two countries as far as I can tell, but saying the word "Korea" seems to generate some strong emotions among the Taiwanese. My wife says its because of the way Korean teams play, but I'm not sure what she means by that. It goes beyond sports, because in virtually all of my adult classes, there will be at least one student who will say that he/she would never even think of visiting Korea because they can't stand the people, for example. What makes things even more difficult to understand is that Korean TV dramas are very popular in Taiwan, and kimchi is eaten often as a side dish at meals. Japan, the former colonial master, is still held in high regard by many (non-mainlander) Taiwanese, both young and old, yet South Korea is apparently despised by many, despite the only sin I'm aware of is the breaking of diplomatic relations in 1992 (and the Koreans certainly aren't unique in that regard!). So what is it, then?