Korean Political History 1900-present

=Korea Before Japanese Occupation= During the Joseon Period (1392-1910), Korea was considered the “Hermit Kingdom” because of its adherence to an isolationist policy, aimed at resisting Western imperialism and Western trade. Yet by the late 19th century, colonial interest in Korea peaked, and Japan slowly emerged as the leader in these pursuits. Japan ultimately achieved annexation of Korea by winning the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), assassinating Empress Myeonseong (1895), winning the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), gaining approval from the United States with the Taft-Katsura Agreement (1905), signing the Eulsa Agreement, forcing the abdication of Korea’s Emperor Gojong (1907), and finally, by officially annexing Korea with the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty of 1910

"Pre-20th Century." Life in Korea. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Nov 2010. .

=Korea During Japanese Occupation= From August 1910-1945, the Japanese invaded, occupied, and persecuted Korea.

March 1st Movement of 1919 or the Samil Independence Movement
The March 1st Movement involved a series of Korean uprisings against colonial Japanese regulation, that kicked off on March 1st, 1919 in Seoul. The protests lasted throughout the year with around 1,500 demonstrations all around Korea. Of the 2,000,000 people who participated in the protests, many were arrested, injured, and killed by the Japanese military and police. The following is a table that represents the differences between Korean and Japanese records of the movement: Korean Records vs. Japanese Records of the Suppression of the March 1st Movement

Information compiled using www.servinghistory.com

The Movement began following a number of key events including Woodrow Wilson’s speech at the Paris Peace Convention, the death of Emperor Gojong, and the writing of the “Proclamation of Independence”.

President Wilson’s speech detailed his “Fourteen Points” and most importantly the right of nations to self-determination, or to choose their own sovereignty. In addition to this motivation, the speculation that the former Emperor Gojong was poisoned by Japanese officials, which led to his death on January 21, 1919, also helped trigger the protests.

Finally the meeting of 33 Korean religious and cultural leaders, to draw up a statement of independence, directly led to the demonstration on March 1, 1919. The masses showed up to commemorate the death of Emperor Gojong and to bring national attention to the issue of Japanese colonial rule. The previous ten years of suppressed Japanese resentment reached a frenzy in the largest national protest against foreign domination in Korean history.

March 1st, 1919 Demonstrators http://hanopolis.com/media/2010/03/march1_3.JPG

photo courtesy of: hanopolis.com

Though the Movement failed at achieving its ultimate goal of independence from Japan, the rebellion helped to establish countrywide unity, and it effected change concerning Japanese rule in Korea. For Instance, the militarized Japanese police were substituted for a civilian force. Also, limited press freedom was permitted after the uprising, resulting in the creation of two of Korea’s major daily newspapers today- the Dong-a Ilbo and the Chosun Ilbo. Finally, the fact that the Movement flopped influenced the rise of a national Communist Party in Korea. Today, March 1st is a national independence day for North Korea and South Korea.

"Japanese Occupation Of Korea: Annexation Of Korea." Serving History. N.p., 2010. Web. 6 Nov 2010. .

Lee, Ki-Baik. A New History of Korea. Seoul, Korea: Edward W. Wagner, 1984. 344. Print.

"March First Movement." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 09 Nov. 2010 .

The Dongnipgun
The Dongnipgun, or the Liberation Army, was a Korean guerilla resistance group stationed in Manchuria. Comprised of the soldiers, volunteers, and nationalists who fled Korea when the Japanese invaded, this army crossed the border into Korea to implement guerilla warfare tactics. The Japanese put a stop to many of these insurgencies with their invasion of Manchuria in 1932, thus removing their operation locations and their supplies.

"Dongnipgun: Ideologies And Concerns." Museum of Learning. N.p., 2010. Web. 6 Nov 2010. .

Gwangju Students Anti-Japanese Movement and the Effects of Protests
This movement occurred on November 3, 1929, with the participation of 194 schools and roughly 54,000 students. It resulted in the opposite of what it wanted to accomplish because military rule was strengthened in 1931, and the freedom of the press was once again restrained.

The Japanese military dealt with protesters and suspected rebels very harshly. One example references the village of Jeam-ni, Hwaseong, where 29 people were congregated into a church and then set on fire. The village was suspected of hosting rebels, so this was the retaliation of the Japanese military.

"Gwangju Student Independence Movement Memorial Hall." Gwangju CityStory. N.p., 2010. Web. 6 Nov 2010. .

Economic Development
Some critics argue that the Japanese had a positive economic effect on Korea because the country was modernized throughout Japanese rule. For instance, after the Japanese were forced out of Korea in August 1945, Korea was determined to be the second most industrialized country in Asia, next to Japan itself.

Others contend that Japan followed the traditional colonizer role, exploiting agricultural production to suit the homeland and negatively effecting Korean economic interests.

Armstrong, Charles. "Korean History and Political Geography." Asia Society. N.p., 19 AUG 2008. Web. 6 Nov 2010. .

Rice
http://dragons.new21.net/bbs/data/notice/793015_1189215903.jpg

photo courtesy of: www.koreanmedicine.net

In South Korea: A Country Study, Andrea Matles Savada says, "Japan's initial colonial policy was to increase agricultural production in Korea to meet Japan's growing need for rice.” Much of Korean rice production was exported to Japan during the time of Japanese colonial rule. As can be seen by the "Korean rice production and rice exports to Japan" chart, the quantity of rice exportation to Japan grew fairly steadily, eventually reaching the point that Korea was exporting over half of their rice produced in 1933.

At the beginning of the 1920’s, Japan needed the importation of rice from Korea to supplement their shortage. As a result, in the late 1920’s, the price of rice in Japan dropped significantly because of the excess of rice imports from Korea. The Japanese Ministry of Farming and Forestry suggested that rice importing from Korea should be halted to allow for Japanese farmers to regain the market. Yet if this were done, it would prove detrimental to Korea’s main cash crop. The Korean Governor-General with the support of the Japanese Imperial Army defended Korean rice exportation and halted Japan’s import control attempts.

"Rice export to Japan and Famine in Korea." Order and prosperity in Korea increased during Japanese annexation. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Nov 2010. .

Savada, Andrea Matles; Shaw, William, eds (1990). "Korea Under Japanese Rule". Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. http://countrystudies.us/south-korea/7.htm.

Factories and Transportation
The 1920’s witnessed an industrial revolution within Korea. Under the Japanese Governor-General of Korea, Kazushige Ugaki, a push was made to increase heavy industry within fields such as chemical plants, steel mills, and munitions production. The manufacturing sector of Korea’s economic production equaled 29 percent from 1939-1941.

Andrea Matles Savada wrote, “Japan had also begun to build large-scale industries in Korea in the 1930s as part of the empire-wide program of economic self-sufficiency and war preparation.” The Japanese decided it would be more efficient to cut out the middle man by placing production resources closer to the raw materials and potentially closer to Japanese enemies, namely China.

To expedite the process of production, the Japanese created an extensive transportation infrastructure. Raw materials, food, and mineral resources traveled across the country via a railway system and port. This system was also created to allow troops and materials to assemble and move quickly.

Savada, Andrea Matles. South Korea: A Country Study. 4th. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress Cataloging, 1992. 21-22. Print.

Japanese Migration
At the time the Japanese annexed Korea, in 1910, there were 170,000 Japanese living in Korea, making it the largest community of Japanese outside of their home country. By the end of the Second World War, there were over 850,000 Japanese in Korea. Many Japanese were interested in obtaining land in Korea, and by 1910, 7-8 percent of all usable farmland was owned by Japanese settlers. The following chart plots the percentage of landownership for 1916, 1920, and 1932.

Percentage of Japanese and Korean Landownership

Information compiled using information from tripatlas.com

The decrease in Korean landownership can be attributed to the fact that many former Korean landowners lost their land when they were unable to prove that it was their possession. These former Korean landowners became tenant farmers for the Japanese, and were forced to pay over half of their crops for the use of the land. The Japanese who owned land included both corporations as well as private residents. As World War II finished, the majority of Japanese settlers returned to Japan.

"Korea under Japanese rule." Tripatlas. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Nov 2010. .

Lee, Ki-Baik. A New History of Korea. Seoul, Korea: Edward W. Wagner, 1984. 350-354. Print.

Cultural Suppression
Many methods were used by the Japanese to try to eradicate a Korean cultural identity. Temples, monuments, and palaces were defaced. Poetry and songs were revised to praise Japanese themes and cultural leaders. Education was focused on Japanese history, and by the 1930’s classes were even taught in Japanese. Koreans were coerced into changing their names. Korean cultural artifacts were stolen and traded. National history books were burned. Some have even labeled this suppression as a cultural genocide

WWII
Throughout the war, the Japanese used their colonies to supplement any lack of resources.

Labor Conscription during World War II
The Japanese conscripted over five million Koreans to work towards the war effort, beginning in 1939. There were labor shortages in Japan because of men going off to war, so around 670,000 Koreans were recruited to complete civilian labor on mainland Japan. The conditions were reportedly horrible, and nearly 60,000 of these laborers died from 1939-1945.

Many of these Korean workers were also sent to work in factories in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which were later bombed in 1945. It is estimated that 20,000 Koreans died in Hiroshima and about 2,000 died in Nagasaki.

Forced military conscription of Korean men began in 1944, and about 240,000 Korean males were inducted into the Japanese Imperial Army by the end of the war. Around 22,000 of those conscripted were killed, and 148 of them were convicted of war crimes by the end of WWII. Twenty-three of those convicted were sentenced to death. The death rates of Koreans forced into labor on mainland Japan during the war equaled about 450,000.

"Japan compensates Korean A-bomb victim." BBC News 01 JUN 2001:Web. 09 Nov 2010. < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1364728.stm>

Rummel, R.J. "Statistics Of Japanese Democide Estimates, Calculations, And Sources." Statistics of Democide 1997: nWeb. 09 Nov 2010. .

Comfort Women
The Japanese military set up comfort stations throughout Asia before and during World War II, subjugating over 200,000 girls and women to sexual slavery. Testimonies show that the Japanese began recruiting Comfort Women in May 1942, under the pretense that the girls would be working within military hospitals or factories. The recruiters lured these young, predominantly uneducated girls with promises of money and the appeal of travelling abroad. Other women were simply kidnapped. Comfort women were usually Korean or Chinese, and they were sent to army camps all over Asia, including locations in Japan, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Burma.

Sometimes the living conditions were not poor---some women had their own rooms, food was provided, and many were deemed healthy by Army doctors, yet it is estimated that only 25 percent of these women survived. Many died from being brutally raped multiple times or from contracting a venereal disease. Violence and torture of these women was also common.

The work schedule of the Comfort Women was intense. The Army regulated and enforced these women’s work agendas, and in more congested locations, the army set strict guidelines for pay and lists of priority gentleman. The average scheduling and pricing for a Central Burma comfort station are as follows:

- Officers were also permitted to stay overnight for 20 yen

The women would make about 1500 yen a month, but they were expected to hand over 50-60 percent of their pay to the “house master,” or the person who ran the establishment. In a 30 day month, making 1500 yen, each woman would have to sleep with ten officers or 33 soldiers a day. Contraceptives were often provided to both the Comfort Women and the Japanese soldiers, and a Japanese Army doctor was sent to the comfort houses about once a week to make sure there were no diseases or sicknesses.

Many of the women after the war were unable to speak to their families about their experiences as Comfort Women and, many could not have children. To this day, Japan will not make a formal, legal apology or pay restitution to these women and their families. The following is a news clip covering the testimony of a Korean Comfort Woman:

V-UwU1-RVWs Courtesy of YouTube.com

"The Korean Council Purpose." The Korean Council for the Women. N.p., 2004. Web. 09 Nov 2010. . http://www.exordio.com/1939-1945/codex/Documentos/report-49-USA-orig.html

"Report No. 49: Japanese Prisoners of War Interrogation on Prostitution." Exordio. N.p., 09 NOV 2001. Web. 10 Nov 2010. .

=The Roots of the Korean War=

At the Potsdam conference following the surrender of Japan in World War II in 1945, Allied forces divided the Korean peninsula into the US-governed South and the Soviet Union-governed North along the 38th parallel, without the approval of provisional Korean governments. In 1948, South Korean efforts to establish national elections led by nationalist Syngman Rhee were first opposed and then boycotted by the North, who established their own Communist government headed by Kim Il-sung. As reunification movements quickly waned, tensions grew alongside the increasingly politicized border zone through raids and skirmishes. These tensions erupted on June 25, 1950 in the first significant act of the Cold War when North Korean forces invaded South Korea, resulting in a proxy war of Cold War-era world powers between a United States-supported South Korea and a North Korea backed by China and the Soviet Union. http://cdn.wn.com/pd/e7/ba/f0ae116b78a5b03b1c7c673bd4f2_grande.jpg photo courtesy of worldnews.com

Citation: "The Korean War, The US and Soviet Union in Korea". MacroHistory. http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/ch24kor.html

=United States Military Army Government in Korea=

From September 8, 1945 to August 15, 1948, USMAGIK was the official government of the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. During this time, the country was beset with political turmoil and violence resulting from the USMAGIK’s support of the previous Japanese colonial government and their forced disbanding of the popular People’s Republic of Korea. The USMAGIK, commanded by Lt. General John R. Hodge, declared martial law in an attempt to contain this violence by banning strikes and outlawing locally-operating provisional governments until the United Nations-supported national elections in 1948.

Here, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur embraces Korean nationalist leader and future President of the Republic of Korea Syngman Rhee: http://www.japanfocus.org/data/3.rhee.macarthur.jpg photo courtesy of amti.wordpress.com

Citation: http://www.history.army.mil/books/korea/20-2-1/Sn01.htm

=The Division of Korea=

South Korean General Election, 1948
Supported by the United Nations and supervised by the USMAGIK, South Korea’s first general election was intended to be held throughout the Korean peninsula, but due to differences over electoral procedure between U.S. and Soviet forces, the election was held only in U.S. governed territory in the South. As a consequence, the majority of the population did not support the election held on May 10, 1948, the government that it established, known as the First Republic of South Korea, or the ensuing division of Korea.

Here, a dissenting populace holds a demonstration in protest against the 1948 UN elections in Seoul: http://koreanhistory.info/electriot.jpg image courtesy of koreanhistory.info

Citation: The Korean War, 1950-1953, Carter Malkasian, Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2001, ISBN 1579583644, p.13

First Republic of South Korea
Led by President Syngman Rhee, The First Republic of South Korea—like many other future iterations of South Korean government—claimed sovereignty over the entire Korean Peninsula, despite only actually controlling the territory south of the 38th parallel. The government continued many of the repressive anti-communist practices of the USMAGIK, including violent military-backed atrocities against vocal dissenters of the government.

http://www.state.gov/cms_images/southkorea_map_2007-worldfactbook2.jpg

image courtesy of state.gov

Citation: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2800.htm

Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Formed in response to the United Nations-supervised national election of 1948, which failed to unify the Korean peninsula and instead divided the country into two separately governed occupation zones, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea claimed governance of the territories north of the 38th Parallel. After years of escalating tensions and skirmishes along the 38th parallel, the government, led by President Kim Il-Sung, ordered the Korean People's Army into South Korea on June 25, 1950, triggering the involvement of several Cold War superpowers into a proxy war that would become known as the Korean War.

http://www.state.gov/cms_images/northkorea_map_2007-worldfactbook2.jpg

image courtesy of state.gov

Citation: Richard W. Stewart, ed (2005). "The Korean War, 1950–1953 url = http://www.history.army.mil/books/AMH-V2/AMH%20V2/index.htm".

=Warfare Tactics=

Unlike World War II, where the tank proved to be an important weapon, the mountainous terrain of the Korean peninsula rendered them mostly ineffective during the Korean War. As a result, the Korean War became the first military conflict in which aerial warfare played a central role. Replacing the propeller-driven fighters of World War II, both United Nations and Soviet forces utilized newer, faster jet-powered fighters to assist the ground forces of the KPA and the ROA. By gaining air superiority early in the war, UN forces were able to attack deep into the North and often prevent Chinese intervention.

Here is a video clip of some of the aircraft used in the Korean War, with some audio commentary and some ominous sounding music:

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Citation: Sewell, Stephen L. "FEAF/U.N. Aircraft Used in Korea and Losses by Type". Korean-War.com. http://korean-war.com/AirWar/AircraftType-LossList.html.

=The Korean People's Army=

First formed as the Korean Volunteer Army in 1939, the Korean People's Army is the combined military forces of North Korea. Before the KPA initiated the Korean War by invading South Korea, the Soviet Union outfitted the KPA with a sizeable amount of military equipment, including modern tanks, trucks, artillery, and small arms, which initially provided the army with a considerable advantage over the underequipped ROA. At the beginning of the Korean War, KPA forces included 231,000 soldiers, 274 tanks, some 150 fighter jets, 110 attack bombers, 200 artillery pieces, and 35 reconnaissance aircraft. In addition to this invasion force, they also had 114 fighters, 78 bombers, 105 tanks, and some 30,000 soldiers stationed in reserve. Consequently, the KPA was able to advance far below the 38th parallel, even capturing Seoul, only to be driven back when United Nations forces lent their support to the ROA.

A propaganda poster for the KPA that reads: "There’s glory to the heroic North Korean people’s army!"

http://www.mstrum.com/onmywaytokorea/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/north-korean-propaganda-other-5.jpg

image courtesy of mstrum.com

Citation: United States Department of Defense Virtual Information Center, merln.ndu.edu/merln/mipal/reports/NorthKoreaPrimer03Nov05.doc

=Republic of Korea Army=

At the start of the Korean War, the South's ROK Army was vastly unprepared to defend against the KPA invasion and failed to convince American military officials of the gravity of the North's military capabilities. At that time, the ROK Army had only 98,000 soldiers (65,000 combat, 33,000 support), no tanks and a 22–piece air force. Only after receiving support from United States and United Nations' forces after the initial KPA invasion, was the ROK able to push the North back to the 38th parallel.

A piece of anti-Chinese ROK propaganda that reads: "The Chinese Army controls the North Korean railroad."

http://www.mstrum.com/onmywaytokorea/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/south-korean-propaganda-21.jpg

image courtesy of mstrum.com

Citation: Appleman, Roy E (1998) [1961]. South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu. United States Army Center of Military History. pp. 3, 15, 381, 545, 771, 719. ISBN 0160019184. http://www.history.army.mil/books/korea/20-2-1/toc.htm.

=Stalemate and Armistice =

Beginning in July 1951, armistice negotiations dragged on for several years while both sides negotiated prisoner of war repatriation. A central problem of the negotiations hinged around the refusal of many KPA soldiers to move back North, a condition that was considered unacceptable to the North Korean military. Finally, following the acceptance of India's proposed armistice in 1953, all sides agreed to a cease fire, with a border line drawn at the 38th parallel.

A map of the border line drawn up by the 1953 armistice:

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/willow/korean-war4.gif

image courtesy of howstuffworks.com

Citation: Boose, Donald W., Jr. (Spring 2000). "Fighting While Talking: The Korean War Truce Talks". OAH Magazine of History. Organization of American Historians. http://www.oah.org/pubs/magazine/korea/boose.html.

=Political War Crimes=

The North
In occupied areas south of the 38th parallel, North Korean political officers ordered troops to systematically purge towns of their educated members of various academic, governmental and religious bodies in order to prevent resistance against the North. Throughout the war, the KPA constricted roughly 400,000 South Korean citizens into the military. KPA soldiers also often masqueraded as refugees in order to safely approach U.S. soldiers, who quickly implemented a "shoot-first-ask-questions-later" policy that resulted in many civilian deaths. According to a U.S. Congress war crimes investigation, two-thirds of all American prisoners of war in Korea died as a result of maltreatment by the North Korean government.

North Korean prisoners of war:

http://www.trumanlibrary.org/photographs/nr0710_0_small.jpg

image courtesy of trumanlibrary.com

Citation: Van Zandt, James E (February 2003). "'You are about to die a horrible death'—Korean War — the atrocities committed by the North Koreans during the Korean War". VFW Magazine. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0LIY/is_6_90/ai_97756107.

The South
Fearing a Communist uprising in the South, President Syngman Rhee eradicated "enemies of the state," or communist sympathizers, through political re-education in the Gukmin Bodo Ryeonmaeng (National Rehabilitation and Guidance League, also known as the Bodo League). In actuality, the result of the Bodo League was the assassination of anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 "enemies of the state," who were dumped in trenches during the war.

Here is an image of the trenches, taken by U.S. military officials: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/South_Korean_soldiers_walk_among_dead_political_prisoners%2C_Taejon%2C_South_Korea.jpg

image courtesy of wikimedia.org

Here is an image of ROK anti-communist propaganda for schoolchildren that reads: "Confiscated books: those who touch these will be censured." http://www.mstrum.com/onmywaytokorea/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/south-korean-propaganda-13.jpg

image courtesy of mstrum.com

Citation: Kim Dong‐choon (March 5, 2010). "The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Korea : Uncovering the Hidden Korean War". www.jinsil.go.kr. http://www.jinsil.go.kr/English/Information/notice/read.asp?num=500&pageno=&stype=&sval=&data_years=&data_month=.

The Jeju Uprising
On April 3, 1948, military officials opened fire on a celebration of the communist Workers Party of South Korea commemorating the Korean struggle against Japanese rule. In response, the party attacked 12 police stations on the island of Jeju, looted polling stations for the upcoming election and called upon the Korean people to rebel against the ROA, who in response to the crisis, deployed 3,000 soldiers to the island, leading to skirmishes and escalating tensions. During the Korean War, the South Korean Military deported suspected communist sympathizers to the island, where in 1950, South Korean police forces began executing them in front of American military officials, who turned a blind eye to the violence.

Citation: http://www.newsweek.com/2000/06/18/ghosts-of-cheju.html

=Political Significance of the War's Name=

In the United States, the Korean War is officially recognized not as a war but as a "police conflict" due to the lack of a declaration of war by Congress, and consequently has often been referred to as "The Unknown War" or "The Forgotten War." In South Korea, the war is known as "The 6-2-5 War," in reference to June 25, the day it began. In North Korea, the war is known as "The Fatherland Liberation War." In China, the war is known as both "The Korean War" as well as "The War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea."

Citation: http://www.history.navy.mil/ac/korea/korea1.htm

Citation: http://english.cri.cn/2946/2008/10/25/195s417906.htm

=The Division Between North and South Korea= Due to the tensions between North Korea, occupied by the Soviet Union, and South Korea, occupied by the United States, the Korean Peninsula declared separate governments in 1948. North Korea became the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and South Korea established itself as the People’s Republic of Korea. As a result of the Korean War, North and South Korea are divided at the 38th parallel and this border is known as the DMZ or the Demilitarized Zone.

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Travel/Pix/pictures/2008/06/06/DMZ4.jpg

Photo Courtesy of static.guim.co.uk

Citation: “Welcome to North Korea.” Dir. Peter Petteroo and Raymond Fedderma. 2001

North Korea
North Korea is known as the “most isolated country in the world.” Its current dictator, Kim Jong-il, was the son of the Korea’s “eternal president,” Kim Il-sung. To this day Kim Il-sung is a worshipped leader in North Korea. His birthday, April 15, is a national holiday. People pay respect to his statue and thank him for his eternal care. http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01736/korea-kim-jung-il_1736522i.jpg Photo Courtesy of Telegraph.co

After Kim Il-sung’s death in 1994, Kim Jong-il follows his father’s regime. North Korea still follows Kim Il-sungs philosophy of Junche, the idea of self sufficiency without foreign aid. Due to this ideaology, North Korea is run on strict government propaganda and foreigners are unwelcome. Below is a picture of citizens bowing to pay their respects to their "Great Leader." http://koreanhistory.info/cult.jpg

Photo Courtesy of koreanhistory.info

Communist North Korea set in a land reform, like the People’s Republic of China. Three social classes were established: Workers, Peasants, and Intellectuals. These classes were seen as equal but received drastically different treatment by the government. In 1996, North Korea underwent a widespread famine, known as the Arduous March, that killed nearly 3 million people due to several severe natural disasters and government mismanagement.

Due to the strict regime and widespread famine, many North Korean citizens have tried to escape to South Korea or China. Refugees most often escape to China because the border is less guarded than the DMZ. Many of these refugees are caught by the North Korean guards or Chinese guards and must endure severe punishment, such as being sent to concentration camps. China does not welcome refugees and sends them back if they are caught. This graph shows the drastic increases of Korean defectors every year into China. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/North_Korean_defectors_en.svg/500px-North_Korean_defectors_en.svg.png

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia

Many North Korean refugees are forced to remain invisible until they can escape to South Korea or other countries. Below is a documentary that goes into detail about the hardships and sorrows these refugees face trying to achieve freedom. The punishment for North Korean defectors are harsh. Some are sent to concentration camps. This documentary below is called "Korea Out of the North" hosted by BBC News and it provides an in depth persepective on North Korean refugees who crossed into China's territory. fm0CVpP8ss0&feature=related Video Courtesy of ypixel

Citation: “National Geographic Documentary: Inside Undercover In North Korea.” Dir. Peter Yost. 2006

South Korea
South Korea, or the People’s Republic of Korea, is a democratic country whose current president is Lee Myung-bak of the Sixth Republic. South Korea’s government history is marked by numbered republics. The First Republic of Korea was lead by Syngman Rhee, who was appointed after the split of North and South Korea in 1948. Syngman Rhee was forced to resign after the April 19th Revolution, the student uprising of 1960.

http://blogs.newamericamedia.org/images/547.jpg Syngman Rhee and General Douglas MacArthur

Photo Courtesy of New America Media Blog

General Park Chung-hee took over until his assassination in 1979. General Chun Doo-hwan assumed presidency after the General Park’s death, but his despotic rule ended after the Gwangju Democratization Movement. Democratic Justice Party leader, Roh Tae-woo became the new president after the June 29th Declaration.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ndiP3fDD-mY/ShfpBYY5pvI/AAAAAAAABD0/5TDH_dDqF-0/s320/roh+and+kji.jpeg

Roh Tae-woo and Kim Il-sung

Photo Courtesy of quertertothree.com

Citation: Savada, Andrea and Shaw, William, editors. “South Korea: A Country Study.” Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1990. < http://countrystudies.us/south-korea/>

North and South Korea Today
North and South Korea have a long history of tension due to the fact that an armistice was never signed after the Korean War. The link is to an online timeline by "The Telegraph" that points out recent public conflicts between the two countries. Both North and South Korea claim sovereignty over the Korean Peninsula and islands. On October 4, 2007, South Korea’s president Roh Moo-Hyun and Kim Jong-il signed an eight-point agreement on the issues of permanent peace. These efforts for reconciliation were complicated when North Korea started its missile tests in the twentieth century. North Korea declared that the Ceasefire Treaty signed post Korean War was no longer valid due to the South Korean government’s pledge to join the Proliferation Security Initiative. The link is to a more detailed look at what the Proliferation Security Initiative was supposed to accomplish during the nuclear missile era.

On March 2010, South Korea’s warship, Cheonan, sank. The link is to an article by BBC News that highlights the occurence of the Cheonan incident. South Korea claimed that North Korea torpedoed the ship but North Korea denies this. North Korea is one of the last communist and totalitarian countries of the world. Their tension with South Korea has caused thousands of families to be separated. Recently many people have been reunited with their loved ones after decades of separation. Today, North and South Korea are technically still at war and the UN and many other organizations are committed to helping the victims and displaced families of Korea. The link is to an MSNBC article that discusses the reunification of separated families of Korea after decades.

Citations:

Ruff, Abdul. “South-North Korea Conflict: Recent Trends in Korean Peninsula.” A Blog on Nepal & World Matters. 7 Janurary 2009. 

“Timeline: a history of clashes between North and South Korea.” The Telegraph 10 November 2009. 

“Q&A: Inter-Korean Crisis.” BBC News. 29 October 2010. 

Kim, Kwang-tae. “Skoreans cross into Nkorea to see war-split family.” Associated Press 30 October 2010. 

works cited