Presentaci

1
Cócaro, Nicolás
2
Liberation and the Aftermath
On August 15th, 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced
on the radio that Japan had surrendered and that
the long war in the Pacific was finally over. The
news of the Japanese capitulation was welcomed
with a great deal of relief and joy in Korea. The
Japanese surrender to the Allies meant that forty
years of harsh colonial rule would come to an
end. The 15th of August, the day that WW II was
officially over, was also the Day of Liberation
in Korea. Unfortunately, liberation from the
Japanese would not spell the end for Korea's
misfortunes. The division of Korea into two
separate states loomed just beyond the horizon.
And perhaps the greatest tragedy of all, the
Korean War, lingered not too far behind. The
events that would occur between Liberation Day
and August 25th (the day that there were two
official governments in the Korean peninsula)
would set the stage for the tragedy of the Korean
War.
To learn more about the liberation of Korea, the
American Soviet occupation of Korea, or the
emergence of separate states in Korea just "click
" on one of the following choices
Allied Plans for Korea The Americans
enter Korea The Emergence of Two Koreas
Consolidation and Confrontation Timeline of
main events
Liberation and the division of Korea
3
The Allied Plans for Korea
1943
British foreign minister
met with
Roosevelt
Anthony Eden
Discussed what to do with
should be
agreed
governed
Manchuria
Formosa
Korea
by an
international trusteeship
after the war
For a period of
they
30-40 years
"schooled" their theories and forms of democracy
prior to being granted national independence.
4
"the aforesaid three great powers, mindful of the
enslavement of the people of Korea are determined
that in due course Korea shall become free and
independent."
Which proclaimed that
Roosevelt
1943
announced the
"Cairo Declaration"
Churchill
Chiang Kai-shek
Roosevelt
"some period of apprenticeship before full
independence might be attained."
1944
Churchill
Ask
Stalin
for
Truman
general agreement on trusteeship
Churchill
left a
1945
Potsdam Conference
Stalin
which possessed
numerous holes that would later foster conflict
between the former war-time allies.
5
The Allies move into Korea
Expecting a long and difficult campaign to drive
the Japanese out of the Asian mainland and to
invade Japan itself, U.S. military planners
General Douglas MacArthur sought
Soviet assistance in ending the Pacific War. The
American State Department was willing to
"swallow" Soviet control of Manchuria and Korea
as the price to be paid for the Soviet entrance
into the war against Japan. The sudden Japanese
collapse meant that nothing was in the way of
Soviet control of the entire Korean peninsula.
The State department now devised a plan which
would divide the peninsula in half, leaving the
Soviets to occupy Korea north of the 38th
parallel and an American occupation south of the
line. The State Department proposal, otherwise
known as General Order 1, was drafted by two
young colonels, Dean Rusk and Charles Bonesteel.
Depending how one looks at it, the Soviet
decision to go along with General Order 1 and
halt at the 38th parallel was simultaneously both
predictable and an utter surprise. The Soviet
halt was surprising because nothing was in the
way of Soviet domination of the whole of Korea.
Japanese forces, were in a state of
disintegration in the face of the Soviet
juggernaut. American forces were in Okinawa and
too far away to meet, much less challenge, the
Soviet rush southward down the peninsula.
This hastily drafted division of Korea along the
38th parallel still remains to this day.
6
The American proposal
it was construed by the Soviets as an American
test of Soviet intentions in the post-war era.
because
was predictable
a direct Soviet challenge to the United States in
Korea was deemed too "expensive" and risky, given
the Soviet need to come to terms with the
Americans in the post-war order of Europe, an
area that was of greater strategic importance to
the Soviet Union.
The Soviets conclusion
that the possible gains in seizing the whole of
Korea were not worth inherent risks.
P'yongyang
The Soviets moved to occupy
Hamhung
all the major cities north of the 38th parallel.
The Americans arrived in
a full month after the Soviets crossed the border
into Korea.
on September 8th
Inchon Harbor
The American military quickly occupied
the southern half of the peninsula
Seoul
Korea was now occupied militarily by two foreign
nations with separate and conflicting agendas.
Their influence on the hapless nation and its
people would soon be felt.
7
The Emergence of Two Koreas
suggested a
U.S.
a multi-lateral conference
China
swayed to follow the American line
could be
because
Britain
before the United Nations
involving
U.S
favored
Soviet Union
1947
American proposal
rejected
because
United Nations passed a resolution
It was not agreed at the Moscow Conference.
"United Nations Temporary Committee on Korea"
UNTCOK
watchdog national elections to be scheduled
sometime before March 31st 1948.
denied entrance
in
American Occupational Zone
Soviet Zone
so
The Committee opted for separate elections to be
held in the South
8
separate elections would lead to a permanent
partition of the country
Because they believed that
some
rejected the
Koreans
U.N. plan
Syngman Rhee
approved of the U.N. plan for separate elections
because
Only a South Korean government would be able to
raise a South Korean Army to repel an invasion
from the north.
Rightist leader Kim Ku
leftist leader Kim Kyu Sik
over the issue of separate elections for South
Korea
broke with Rhee
Both attended a
in
"unity conference"
P'yongyang
voiced opposition against
the idea of separate elections that transcended
all political faiths
But
the U.S. military government in Korea decided to
implement the U.N. plan.
9
1948
elections were held in the South
UNTCOK
"a valid expression of the free will of the
electorate in those parts of Korea which were
accessible to the Commission"
declared them
The new Representatives
in the
established the
Republic of Korea
southern end of the peninsula
the
Three months later
National Assembly
elected Syngman Rhee
to become the
president of the ROK
autumn of 1948
Elections were in held in the North
born
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
elected as its first premier
Kim Il Sung
The creation of two separate regimes
was due to
the formation of quasi-governmental bodies that
possessed some administrative
10
such as
in the
the Interim People's Committee
North
in the
the Interim Legislative Assembly
South
With these elections the division of Korea had
an air of permanence
Consolidation and Confrontation
Both regimes faced similar challenges
The first challenge
attaining legitimacy the existence of the "other"
state was an obstacle in achieving it
ROK led by Syngman Rhee
competition for the allegiance of the nation
DPRK led by Kim Il Sung
domestic opposition that seriously endangered
the consolidation of one-man rule.
11
Syngman Rhee
The second challenge
contend with the politically powerful southern
landlords that grew suspicious of Rhee's growing
autocratic ways
had to
confront what was left of the Left in South
Korea who began threatening his rule by engaging
in armed rebellions and mass demonstrations
throughout the country
Kim Il Sung
As head of the Korean Worker's Party
so
he use all the autocratic means at his disposal
to insure his position at the top.
a union of various communist groupings
was faced with a party that had four different
"voices".
leader of the Soviet faction
The first "voice was accented by Russian headed
by Ho Kai-I
The second "voice led by Pak Hon yong which had
a southern Korean accent
The third "voice" led by Kim Tu Bong had a
heavy Chinese accent
leader of the Yenan faction
The last "voice" was Kim Il Sung's own Kapsin
"guerrilla" faction
12
He embark on a campaign to systematically wipe
out all the other voices leaving the party and
the state united under the only voice of Kim Il
Sung.
so
1948-1950
was marked by
an intense drive towards political consolidation
on the part of the two regimes and its rulers.
Kim Il Sung the Consolidation of the North
was
Kim Il Sung
on the road to socialism
was able to nationalize nine-tenths of the
nation's industrial production
with Soviet assistance and advice, embarked on a
two-year economic plan
1950
placed on heavy industry
the economic life of the country was firmly in
the hands of the government.
strove for political consolidation of his own rule
when he became chairman of the Korean Worker's
Party
13
was able to
Kim Il Sung
remove potential challengers from "center stage"
Pak was delegated as vice-chairman of the party
erstwhile leader of the South Korean Communists
yet contained and enclosed enough so that Kim
was able to pull the reins in on Pak if it ever
proved necessary
prestige Kim's own image in the south
relegating
remove most Soviet-Koreans from positions of power
Ho Kai-I
Kim Tu Bong
co vice- chairman with Pak Hon Yong.
Was the
leader of the Chinese "Yenan" faction
leader of the "Soviet" faction within the Korean
Worker's party
become chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly
Kim Il Sung was the lone master of North Korea.
unification
Was of
The Central issue of North Korean regime
the sole legitimate government in Korea
The DPRK considered itself as
because
wanted to extend their rule southward to Pusan
the southern regime did not have the support of
the populace
14
"the most important and immediate task of the
party and the people".
June 1949
declared that unification was
Kim Il Sung
Later than
made the fateful decision that he would have to
call on the military to unify the nation
Korean People's Army,(KPA)
the presence of Soviet military advisors
Strength ened by
the large amounts of military equipment
Syngman Rhee the Consolidation of the South
Rhee's hunger for the enlargement of executive
authority soon ran into conflict with the
legislative body.
expand the mandate of the National Security Law
(NSL),
When he
designed to
used the
Syngman Rhee
crack down on alleged communist inspired sedition
to
suppress any political opposition to his authority
against members of the National Assembly who
called for the dismissal of Rhee's cabinet
the purging of former Japanese collaborators in
the Rhee bureaucracy
Rhee's main base of political support
15
strengthening support of farmers
pushed through a
Rhee
land reform bill
weakening the influence of Korean landlords.
to
were
Those who objected
jailed by invoking the NSL

• Communist inspired insurrections threatened
  Rhee's bid for political consolidation

1948
a rebellion of communist guerrillas and peasants
that challenged the authority of the new regime
Cheju-do uprising
response was a
severe crackdown in Cheju-do
where
In other areas
guerrillas broke out
Rhee succeeded in squashing these internal
threats to his power
called for a
Syngman Rhee
"march north"
overthrow the communist regime in P'yongyang
to
replace it with that of his own.
1949 and 1950
stepped up his rhetoric to a feverish pitch
Despite the intensity of his
The Republic of Korea was incapable of launching
a major military campaign to unify the peninsula.
The South Korea Army
much inferior
was
to the
Korean People's Army
16
Until
MacArthurs ampphibious attack
Towards Confrontation
The Belligerent rhetoric
of
both sides
tension
created a
along the
of
high level
anxiety
38th parallel.
The border separating the two Korea was often the
scene of violent clashes and routine
cross-border raids.
17
Syngman Rhee
Rhee was born in Kaesong in 1875, the son of a
poverty-stricken Yangban(Korean Gentry) family.
As a young adult, Rhee studied English. In 1896,
Rhee played a minor role in forming the
Independence Club. By 1897, Rhee was imprisoned
for various political activities. In 1905, a year
after his release from prison, Rhee went to the
United States to study. After receiving his Ph.D
from Princeton University in International Law,
Rhee went back to Korea for just a short while
before returning to the U.S. where he
remained until 1945 as a Korean nationalist in
exile laboring and lobbying for Korean
independence. While in exile, Rhee became
the President of the Korean Provisional
Government for a short stint. He
maneuvered to position himself as the principal
spokesman for the Korean Right. By 1947,
Syngman Rhee, had received the unofficial
"blessing" of the U.S. to lead the Koreans
after the withdrawal of the American presence in
Korea. Syngman Rhee was chosen by the National
Assembly to become the first President of the
Republic of Korea in 1948. As President, Rhee
cracked down on political opponents and coerced
the press to print news more favorable to the
government. Rhee's rhetoric about a "march
north" to unify the Peninsula under his rule did
not lessen a bit. During the war, Rhee helped to
stir controversy by encouraging General Douglas
MacArthur and the U.N. forces under his command
to liberate the north. He led Korea until the age
of 85 when a student uprising toppled his
government in April of 1960. From there Rhee left
for theUnited States where he
remained in exile until his death in 1965.
18

Kim Il Sung
Kim Il Sung (Kim Song Ju) was born in P'yongi in
1912. Kim and his family emigrated to Manchuria
in the 1920's where he attended a Chinese school.
At the age of fifteen, Kim was arrested and
imprisoned for a year for having been a founding
member of a Communist Youth League. After his
release from jail in 1930, Kim founded the Korean
Revolutionary Army. In 1931, Kim join a Chinese
Communist guerrilla group, fighting the Japanese
military in Manchuria. Kim swiftly rose up the
ranks of the Chinese Communist Army. Between
the years 1932- 1941, Kim led a band of Korean
guerrillas against Japanese positions and
personnel in Manchuria. In 1941, Japanese
counterinsurgency forces forced Kim to leave
Manchuria for the Soviet Union. There he
remained until he "hitched" a ride with the
Soviet Army into Korea in 1945. Kim strove to
unify Korea under the banner of communism.
After the creation of the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea in 1948, Kim became not only
the head of the Korean Workers' Party, but
premier of the new communist state as well. In
late 1949, Kim made the fateful decision to
launch a major military campaign to unify Korea
under force of arms. After the war, Kim continued
the trend towards one-man rule. He succeeded in
constructing a cult of personality with himself
as the main icon for adoration .In the
post-Korean War years, Kim developed the idea of
juche, an ideology of self-reliance blended with
Marxism, thus creating a distinct "native" Korean
communism. At the age of 82, Kim Il Sung died.
19
1945
1950
Timeline
1947
1951
1948
1953
20
1945
15 Aug Korea divided into US and Soviet
occupation zones along 38th parallel
1947
26 July President Truman's National Security
Act creates US Department of Defense
1948
15 Aug After supervised elections, US military
government turns over power to Republic of
Korea
21
1950
June
July
August
September
25 - North Korean People's Army invades South
Korea - UN calls for an end of aggression 27 -
UN asks member countries to aid Republic of Korea
- US announces intervention. North Korea attacks
Seoul airfield. 28 - US bombers attack troops in
Han River area - North Korean army captures
Seoul 30 - President Truman orders ground forces
into Korea and authorizes Air Force to bomb North
Korea
5 - Near Osan, Task Force Smith troops fight for
the first time and suffer heavy casualties 18 -
US Cavalry lands at Pohangdong - US aircraft
destroy key oil refinery in Wonsan 22 - Battle
for Taejon ends with heavy US losses and retreat
4 - Pusan perimeter established in southeastern
Korea 13 - First UN counterattack collapses 15 -
Four-day battle of "the Bowling Alley" - UN
forces hold back North Korean offensive

• 15 - Inchon landing of UN forces
• 29 - UN troops complete recapture of Seoul

22
November
December
October
11 - End of Chinese strike against marine and
army divisions at Chosin Reservoir - marines
retreat
7 - UN forces cross 38th parallel - UN sanctions
defeat of North Korea and attempted
reunification 14 - Chinese Communist troops
cross Yalu River into Korea 19 - UN captures
P'yongyang, the North Korean capital

• 1 - Chinese attack in force near Unsan
• - General Douglas MacArthur's final "Home by
  Christmas" offensive begins

1951
January
February
March
April
4 - Seoul captured by Chinese 25 - UN forces
resume offensive f
11- Chinese counteroffensive begins north of
Hoengsong
1 - UN line reaches between the 37th and 38th
Parallels 18 - UN forces retake Seoul
11 - MacArthur recalled - General Matthew Ridgway
given command
23
September
November
June
July
27 - Truce talks resume at Panmunjom
13 - UN forces dig in on the 38th Parallel
f
10 - Truce talks begin at Kaesong - Communists
break off talks six weeks later
f
23 - UN forces take Heartbreak Ridge after 18-day
battle d
1953
June
March
April
28 - North Korean and Chinese leaders agree to
POW exchange
s
18 - Three-day battle of Pork Chop Hill ends in
victory for UN forces 26 - Full peace talks
resume at Panmunjom f
14 - Communist offensive pushes Republic of
Korea troops south 18 - South Koreans release
27,000 North Korean POWs, who refuse
repatriation 25 - "Little Truce Talks" secure
Republic of Korea's acceptance of armistice.
Chinese launch massive attacks against South
Korean divisions.
24
September
July
4 - Processing of POWs for repatriation begins at
Freedom Village, Panmunjom
10 - Communists return to negotiations 27 -
Cease fire signed - fighting ends 12 hours later
Bibliography

• Alexander, Bevin, Korea, The First War We Lost.
  New York, New York. Hippocrene Books, 1986.
  Fehrenbach, T. R., This Kind of War, A Study in
  Unpreparedness, New York, New York.
• Presidio Press, 1990. Paschall, Rod, Witness to
  War, Korea, New York, New York.
• Bruce Cumings' "The Origins of the Korean War"
  Volumes I 2.
• "Political Change in South Korea" edited by
  Ilpyong J. Kim and Young Whan Kihl.
• "The Failure of Democracy in South Korea" by the
  former Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea,
  Han Sung Joo.
• George E. Ogle's "SOUTH KOREA-Dissent Within The
  Economic Miracle"

Korean War maps