Walking through northern Taiwan: A journey to deepen understanding of Taiwan through new encounters
Last year (2025), I participated in the Keelung Peace Camp and learned how the port city of Keelung served as a gateway to the outside world, particularly in the past. The 50 years of Japanese colonial rule, experienced during Asia's drive toward modernization, have a profound impact on the city today, and traces of Japan can be found throughout the city. The most obvious example is the architecture, from the stately designs of the Imperial Japanese era to wooden Japanese architecture. Japanese curry is still popular, and seafood curry udon is apparently a Keelung specialty. Chikuwa, or chikuwa fish cake, is also known as "chikura" and is still sold at the port. There are countless connections to Japan, but at the time, Keelung had a Japanese district, as well as Ryukyuan and Korean villages. Most of these people left after the war, but of course, some remained for various reasons, and their descendants still live there today. However, their lives after the war are not we...