Korean Political History : 1900 - 1955

Japanese colonization of Korea
Japan wanted to join in the colonization of Eastern nations like the bigger powerhouse of the West (England, the United States, France) were doing, so they looked towards Korea. So by 1905 Japan had thwarted Chinese and Russian bids for influence over the Korean Peninsula and felt comfortable in demanding of Korea a relationship to its benefit. The 1905 Taft-Katsura agreement in effect gave tacit U.S. approval to the Japanese colonization of the peninsula in exchange for Japanese recognition of U.S. influence over the Philippines. Without opposition in Korea, in November 1905 Japan concluded a treaty with King Kojong, making Korea a protectorate and giving itself control over Korea's foreign relations and external matters. The Japanese resident general also slowly took over internal affairs. With the forced abdication of the king in 1907, his son Sukjong took the throne. Japan pressured him to abdicate three years later and formally annexed the country in April 1910.

In May 1910, the Minister of War of Japan, Terauchi Masatake, was given a mission to finalize Japanese control over Korea after previous treaties from the earlier First Sino-Japanese War and other conflicts between the two nations throughout the 1800s that had made Korea a protectorate of Japan and had established Japanese hegemony over Korean domestic politics.

On August 22, 1910, Japan effectively annexed Korea with the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty signed by Lee Wan-Yong, Prime Minister of Korea, and Terauchi Masatake, who became the first Japanese Governor-General of Korea. In it, Korea surrendered all of Korean lands to and power to rule over them completely to Japan. The new Japanese administration in Korea defined its task as “developing Korean potential to assume position of equality with Japanese imperial subjects” (Caprio 118). In order to do this, they controlled all forms of media, law, and government with strict regulations as well as physical power.

Reforming Korean Culture
In order to control Korea and “make it equal” to Japan, the government felt that the best solution would be to totally root out all elements of Korean culture from society, including the erasure of the Korean language. Broadly speaking, the first decade of colonial rule was one of stern military rule and suppression. Koreans were not permitted to participate politically and they were disenfranchised from nearly all aspects of economic, social, and political life.

People adopted Japanese names, converted to Shinto (a native Japanese religion), and outlawed the use of Korean language from schools, business, and all forms of public communication and media (such as radio or newspaper). Japan also removed much of Korean historical and cultural artifacts by either destroying them or taking them to Japan (Newsweek estimates that 80% of all Korean Buddhist paintings are now in Japan).

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Japan’s Use of Korea for its military
Millions of Koreans were conscripted for labor and the Japanese military as soldiers. They were generally filed into their own units and were described as those who volunteered to serve the Japanese military (although it remains unclear how much coercion went into “volunteering”). This was used especially in World War II and early fighting (late 1930s) in Manchuria.

With the Japanese push into China in the late '30s, Korea was used as a staging point for military activities. Crops were taken to feed troops and Korean boys were drafted. Others were taken to serve in fields and factories in other parts of the growing Japanese empire.

Comfort Women
Parts of this describe sexual assault and rape

Comfort women were women who were forced into prostitution and sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers who were stationed throughout the large Japanese empire throughout World War II. It is believed that there were around 200,00 mainly Korean (although there were some Chinese and Filipino women) women ranging in ages (it is unclear how young and how old the women were, but it is clear that more often than not they were on the younger side of the scale).

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The practice started in 1925 with Japan ratifying the Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in Women and Children, with reservations as to the application of the Convention to its colonies (Korea, Taiwan and Kwantung).

The women lived in “comfort stations” which were set up wherever Japanese sent their troops starting in WWII. The women would be lured with the promise of jobs by the Japanese military but would then be kidnapped and sent to one of these many places. Here, they would be brutally raped and beaten with terrible living conditions and lack of personal care for the women. If the women became sick or were no longer “of use” to the soldiers, they would be discarded. And as Japan began losing WWII, many women were abandoned or murdered by the retreating soldiers.

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The Independence Movement on March 1, 1919
Starting in March of 1919, there were large movements across Korea against Japanese occupation after the Korean delegation failed to gain the rights of self-determination at the Versailles Conference following WWI. A Declaration of Independence was written, demanding that Japan release such tight control over Korea and to allow them to be their own free nation again. This declaration was read aloud at one of the rallies by students, which lead to demonstrations across Korea. The resistance ranged from large cities to rural villages with young and old men and women being involved with demonstrations (estimates of around 2 million people involved).

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The Japanese brutally shut this down with military and police force. They burned places of worship as well as villages and people’s homes. The Japanese military tried thousands of people and executed 7,000 men and women.

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Although the Movement was ruthlessly put down, it did result in a lessening of Japanese brutality and strength in Korea (but not a total depletion). The police force was reduced from military police to civilian and limited freedom of press was restored to the Koreans

The Korean War
The Korean War can really be coined as the war that never ended. It is an "unresolved conflict,” where even over sixty years later there is the current issue of whether the North Koreans torpedoed a South Korean warship which caused many deaths. In his documentary film, The Korean War in Color, Christopher Cassell said of the Korean war: “It is remembered for being forgotten.” There was never any ceasefire besides an armistice agreed after the “peace village” of Panmunjom, but no peace treaty has ever been signed.

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History
Tensions in the Korean peninsular in 1950 had their roots in the nineteenth century. Since 1392, the Yi Dynasty had been ruling the country continuously. However, in the sixteenth century the country was invaded twice by Japan, and thereafter Korea, known then as Chosun, only managed independence as the “Hermit Kingdom” by deferring all power to China. Then, in 1876, Japan invaded Korea to force the Koreans to sign a military treaty which gave the Japanese commercial advantage of Korea. On the advice the Chinese, Korea also signed treaties with other major powers which led to Korea being at the center of a “web of intrigue.” China ultimately considered itself the owner of Korea, however, which alienated the Koreans who began to look more favorably on Japan. The Japanese saw fit to take advantage of this situation and landed an army on Korea whereafter Korea became a Japanese protectorate in November 1905.
 * WWII
 * After Japan was defeated in the Second World War, the Allies quickly divided up Korea in the form of a “trusteeship” consisting of the major powers: the US, the USSR, and China. The idea was to provide an intermediate period for which to educate the Koreans in democracy until they could be self-sustaining. When Americans arrived in August 1945 to fulfill their part of the trusteeship, they found confusion politically with different groups claiming to represent the country’s political views, yet none could speak English well enough to communicate these views. This led American generals to believe the most suitable group to run the country to be made up of professionals educated in the States because their English would allow for greater communication with the American officers. This group essentially wanted a return to a provisional government for South Korea under the leadership of Dr. Syngman Rhee. What the Americans didn’t realize was the rise of a growing communist sentiment in Southern Korea. The Korean conservatives supporting the Americans actually had no interest in democracy and individual freedom, rather they knew the only way to attain power was with the aid of American insurgents.
 * The UN involvement
 * The UN was involved in 1947 with the result being an election which took place on November 14th. The Russians and the North Koreans rejected any UN participation. Thus, if the election were to be held at all, it would only be south of the 38th parallel. Rhee set up a presidential-style government with himself as its head. He very quickly established a ruthless dictatorship, dismissing all ministers who revealed evidence of independence of thought, and taking direct personal command of the police force. On September 9th, 1948, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was proclaimed in the North. Syngman Rhee's most highly respected rival, Kim Ku, now revered as a national hero in South Korea, was assassinated in June, 1949.

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 * Withdrawal
 * Since the Russians had withdrawn from the North, the Americans also withdrew from the South. The Americans, however, only provided Rhee’s government with armaments for a defensive whereas the Russians left North Korea under the leadership of the well-disciplined Kim Il Sung. In August 1949, the North Korean “Supreme People’s Assembly” announced its intention to establish the “People’s Democratic Republic,” which would include both North and South Korea, but the South was not convinced.
 * Re-election and Vulnerability
 * The UN ordered for a re-election to take place in South Korea in May 1950, this time with UN presence. The right-wing parties won only 49 of 223 seats. With Rhee’s stranglehold unquestionably shaken, North Korea sensed vulnerability and invaded.

Onset
It was the policy of Harry S. Truman’s administration to “wage a limited war in Korea” in the hopes of avoiding a third world war. However, the Korean War was arguably a global war rather than a civil war. From 1950-1953, it involved a large number of countries in all parts of the globe: on the Communist side there was North Korea, the USSR and the China; while on the side of the South Koreans was the United States, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Turkey and the Philippines; and Columbia, Cuba and Costa Rica also became involved later. On June 24th, 1950, the North Koreans broke the peace of the Land of the Morning Calm with an artillery and mortar barrage of the South along the 38th parallel. After the barrage, North Korean infantry divisions moved South across the parallel. The invasion force included Russian-built 7-34 tanks and 90,000 men. Their opposition was only parts of 4 South Korean divisions and one brigade. With little capability in stopping the enemy, Rhee was soon calling for aid to the Americans all the while trying to sound collected. However, he was quickly on his own retreat south to Seoul.
 * American Involvement
 * The American decision to become involved militarily was made by Secretary of State Dean Acheson before notifying the President and before consulting the United Nations to seek approval. When the UN Secretary-General Trygve Lie, summoned a meeting of the Security Council, the UN would essentially be moving to ratify a decision the US had already made. At 6 pm on the 25th, the UN passed a resolution condemning the North Korean attack and demanded that Kim Il Sung, the North Korean leader, withdraw his troops back behind the 38th parallel.

War
Despite the UN decision, President Truman was of the opinion that the invasion by North Korea posed an imminent threat by communist forces on non-communist territories. Even with having the lowest rate of military readiness since WWII, MacArthur was told to evacuate the estimated 2,000 Americans still on the Korean islands MacArthur as Supreme Commander Allied Powers (SCAP) was also to supply South Korea with all available arms and equipment, which were to be dispatched immediately from Japan. On Tuesday June 27, UN Security Council passed a resolution, which changed the event from a localized crisis with material American support into a more widely based international conflict. This caused Britain along with other members of the Commonwealth to enter the fight under the command of MacArthur.
 * The British Invasion
 * The British did not believe in the same Communist conspiracies as the Americans, however; specifically, they did not give any agency to collusion between Moscow and Beijing. They suspected instead that the Soviet Union was supporting North Korean aggression to divert attention from their own intentions in Europe.The first British units arrived at Pusan on August 28th, 1950. At its highest the British troop strength was 14,198. Altogether 1,078 British soldiers were killed in action and 2,692 wounded. The last British troops left Korea in July 1957.

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 * The Fighting Commences
 * The first major fighting between North Korean and American forces took place north of Osan on July 5th. North Korea advanced with little difficulty against the American Task Force Smith, a battalion under the command of Lieutenant Colonel 'Brad' Smith. On July 10th, MacArthur was appointed the Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Command; this meant that the Korean War was essentially an American War. The Communist advance South was quick with them reaching Masan, only 30 miles from the important south-east port of Pusan, by August 1st. The only chance the Americans had to prevent themselves from being forced to the sea was to defend the high ground along the Naktong River. This lead to the Battle of the Pusan Perimeter. Although the communists had the UN soldiers surrounded, the UN forces greatly outnumbered them and had greater reserves of arms and ammunition. By August 17 the communists were successfully driven back across the river. The next great triumph of the UN forces was MacArthur’s amphibious landing of Inchon on September 15th. On the morning of September 16 the 1st and 5th Marines began to drive westwards towards the capital, Seoul, leaving Inchon in the hands of the ROK (Republic of Korea) army.
 * The End
 * The 5th Marines reached the badly damaged Capitol building in Seoul on September 27, and on the 29th MacArthur presided over the ceremony which formally celebrated the liberation of Seoul and the reinstatement of Syngman Rhee's government

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Post War Korea
After the Korean war the two new divided countries were left in a state of semi-desolation which took years and decades to recover from. For many, the war never ended. The communist and isolationist North Korea and the pro-Western South remain estranged, with relations between them tense to this day.

"On July 27, 1953, there was a final burst of firing along the line, then the hills were quiet. Both armies withdrew 2 kilometers, leaving a four kilometer wide DMZ. The Korean War was over. An official peace treaty, however, was never signed, and the two Koreas have technically been at war since 1950. North Korea had suffered an estimated 500,000 casualties and the country was devastated by American bombings. The North inherited a more industrialized country than the South, as the Japanese had located many industries in the North to help with the war effort. While many of these facilities were destroyed in the war, the basic groundwork remained. While the Chinese stayed out of internal domestic politics,they demanded management of the war. Peng Dehuai was reported to have said that the war was between him and MacArthur, and Kim  Il Song had no part in it. This of course irked the supreme North Korean leader, and in the Revolutionary museum in Pyongyang today there is not a single picture of  the Chinese contribution to the Korean War. The Chinese occupation force did not depart North Korea till 1958. American forces are still in South Korea till this day." (CIA Fact Book)

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The Economy in the South
The economy in Korea initially suffered greatly upon loosing the boon of the Japanese Economy. In the years of the Japanese occupation, Koreans became very dependent on the Japanese to manage the economy. In addition, South Korea relied on North Korea for more than ninety percent of the country's power generation. Manufacturing power was declining, and famine was spreading throughout South Korea in spite of the United States' efforts to import food for the Korean people. Inflation was also rampant, as often comes with the aftermath of war. In spite of all this, industrial production rebounded fairly rapidly, and significant economic growth was beginning to be seen in South Korea after only three years. Exports and imports increased by more than thirty-two percent between the years of 1949 and 1953. With foreign assistance, the South Korean economy continued to increase through 1957. (Frank, Kim, Westphal) South Korea has prospered into recent times and is now a fully modern country

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Post War Economy and Politics in North Korea
Modern North Korea owes much of it's current status in the world to its immediate post-war leader, Kim Il-Sung, Modern North Korea is a totalitarian state with communist leaders. Many countries in the world are concerned about human rights violations perpetrated by the North Korean government. While not much information reaches the Western world from inside North Korea, it is estimated that since the 1990's more than 2 million people have died of starvation and malnutrition, and there are currently over two hundred thousand political prisoners being held there (BBC news). North Korea is still considered to be a developing country.

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