East Asia

in Asia & The Pacific Rim

East Asia is a sweeping expanse of varied terrain stretching from the southern borders of Russia to the islands just north of Australia, home to one-third of the world’s population. Its tumultuous history of conquest and colonization left it with political boundaries bearing little resemblance to the cultures inhabiting the land. It’s among the most diverse and divided areas in the world, and its super-beings reflect this.  

THE TRIPLE-EDGED SWORD

For the past half-century, most supers from East Asia have their origins in one of three sources. In the north, industrial and military pollution—including radiation from Japan and Russia—has mutated people. Within China, an artifact called “the Shard” is used by the government to reshape and control the superpowered landscape. Further south, the ruins of lost civilizations, not all of them human, grant magical and alien powers to a fortunate and unfortunate few.   Just as three factors provide the source of many of East Asia’s super powers, three cultural anchors pull on the people of every country in the region. At the center is China, whose ancient culture and immense emigrating population influence mundane and super populations at every level of society. Religion—mainly Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim—also affects daily life even in the nominally atheist China. Finally, Western culture is present everywhere in the form of colonial buildings, ads for Coca-Cola and popular entertainment. These three influences blend throughout the area in interesting, sometimes explosive, ways.   Despite these similarities, this vast region can be subdivided into three areas. The Old Guard, including China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, and the Philippines, is the most economically advanced. Southeast Asia is less wealthy but growing quickly as a hub for tourism and manufacturing, and includes Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Furthest south is Asian Oceania, a string of nations that includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, and Timor-Leste.  

THE OLD GUARD

Most of these nations were stable and established when East met West in the 16th century. Where other East Asian nations were colonized, these were dealt with as (unequal) trading partners. For this reason, the northernmost countries of East Asia have a stronger and longer sense of national identity, even after interactions with the West did much to compromise it.