>>211862964i honestly don't understand your point. flanders was always hightly developed, then it shifted to the south because there were the mines and heavy industry
compare this to opening the country at gunpoint, realise total isolation wasn't particularly great, then copy the west as much as possible
but credit where credit is due, by doing so they became a dominant power in east asia, but now they're dropping the ball, again. could be worse, but not great either