Republic of Korea: Difference between revisions

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Syngman Rhee ruled for the entire existence of the first republic. In 1948, he crushed an uprising on Jeju Island, killing as many as 60,000 people.<ref>{{News citation|journalist=|date=2000-06-18|title=Ghosts of Cheju|url=|newspaper=Newsweek|archive-url=https://www.newsweek.com/ghosts-cheju-160665|archive-date=|retrieved=2021-21-30}}</ref> In 1950, when the DPRK attempted to reunify the country, Rhee's forces retreated and killed at least another 60,000 supposed communist sympathizers.<ref>{{Citation|author=Kim Dong-Choon|year=2004|title=Forgotten war, forgotten massacres--the Korean War (1950-1953) as licensed mass killings|chapter=|section=|page=|quote=|pdf=https://www.academia.edu/6417696|city=|publisher=Journal of Genocide Research|isbn=|doi=|lg=|mia=|title-url=|chapter-url=|trans-title=|trans-lang=}}</ref> In 1960, Rhee was forced to resign due to mass protests across the nation after the body of a student killed by police was found floating in the harbor.<ref>{{Citation|author=|year=|title=Cause of the 4.19 Revolution|chapter=|section=|page=|quote=|pdf=|city=|publisher=|isbn=|doi=|lg=|mia=|title-url=https://archive.ph/20120707225356/http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=726618|chapter-url=|trans-title=|trans-lang=}}</ref>
Syngman Rhee ruled for the entire existence of the first republic. In 1948, he crushed an uprising on Jeju Island, killing as many as 60,000 people.<ref>{{News citation|journalist=|date=2000-06-18|title=Ghosts of Cheju|url=|newspaper=Newsweek|archive-url=https://www.newsweek.com/ghosts-cheju-160665|archive-date=|retrieved=2021-21-30}}</ref> In 1950, when the DPRK attempted to reunify the country, Rhee's forces retreated and killed at least another 60,000 supposed communist sympathizers.<ref>{{Citation|author=Kim Dong-Choon|year=2004|title=Forgotten war, forgotten massacres--the Korean War (1950-1953) as licensed mass killings|chapter=|section=|page=|quote=|pdf=https://www.academia.edu/6417696|city=|publisher=Journal of Genocide Research|isbn=|doi=|lg=|mia=|title-url=|chapter-url=|trans-title=|trans-lang=}}</ref> In 1960, Rhee was forced to resign due to mass protests across the nation after the body of a student killed by police was found floating in the harbor.<ref>{{Citation|author=|year=|title=Cause of the 4.19 Revolution|chapter=|section=|page=|quote=|pdf=|city=|publisher=|isbn=|doi=|lg=|mia=|title-url=https://archive.ph/20120707225356/http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=726618|chapter-url=|trans-title=|trans-lang=}}</ref>


=== Military Rule ===
=== Military rule ===
After Rhee's resignation, bourgeois democracy was briefly restored under president Yun Bo-seon.<ref>{{News citation|journalist=|date=|title=The Democratic Interlude|url=http://countrystudies.us/south-korea/12.htm|newspaper=Library of Congress|archive-url=|archive-date=|retrieved=}}</ref> On May 16, 1961, there was a military coup led by [[Park Chung-hee]] (the father of future president [[Park Geun-hye]]), who ruled until his assassination in 1979.
After Rhee's resignation, bourgeois democracy was briefly restored under president [[Yun Bo-seon]].<ref>{{News citation|journalist=|date=|title=The Democratic Interlude|url=http://countrystudies.us/south-korea/12.htm|newspaper=Library of Congress|archive-url=|archive-date=|retrieved=}}</ref> On 1961 May 16, General [[Park Chung-hee]], the father of future president [[Park Geun-hye]] and former [[Empire of Japan (1868–1947)|Japanese]] collaborator, took power in a military coup. Park ruled as a military dictator for 18 years and sent 320,000 troops to support the [[Republic of Vietnam (1955–1975)|South Vietnamese]] puppet state in the [[Vietnam War]]. After Park's assassination on 26 October 1979, [[Chun Doo-hwan]] took power. In May 1980, protests against martial law began in [[Gwangju]], which were met with special warfare troops. Up to 2,300 civilians were killed in the [[May 18 uprising|Gwangju massacre]].<ref>{{News citation|author=K. J. Noh|newspaper=Hampton Institute|title=South Korean Dictator Dies, Western Media Resurrects a Myth|date=2020-12-02|url=https://www.hamptonthink.org/read/south-korean-dictator-dies-western-media-resurrects-a-myth|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519190752/https://www.hamptonthink.org/read/south-korean-dictator-dies-western-media-resurrects-a-myth|archive-date=2022-05-19|retrieved=2022-06-02}}</ref>


== Rising anti-capitalism ==
== Rising anti-capitalism ==

Revision as of 23:33, 2 June 2022

Some parts of this article were copied from external sources and may contain errors or lack of appropriate formatting. You can help improve this article by editing it and cleaning it up. (November 2021)
South Korea
대한민국
CapitalSeoul
Official languagesKorean
Dominant mode of productionCapitalism
GovernmentPlutocracy
• President
Moon Jae-in
• Prime Minister
Kim Boo-kyum
• Speaker of the National Assembly
Park Byeong-seug
History
• First Republic
1948 August 15th
Area
• Total
100,363 km²
Population
• 2019 estimate
51,709,098
CurrencyKorean Republic won

The Republic of Korea (ROK), commonly called South Korea, is a U.S. puppet state on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. The northern part of the peninsula is governed by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly called North Korea.

Since the ROK is a bourgeois republic (a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, in Marxist language) is is riddled with corruption and political scandals. All four living former South Korean presidents have been sentenced to prison for various crimes ranging from abuse of authority to bribery and embezzlement.[1][2][3][4][5]

History

US Occupation

After Kim Il-sung liberated Korea from the Japanese Empire, Korea was divided across the 38th parallel by two American officers who had never been to Korea.[6] The South was occupied by the United States and a fascist dictatorship led by Harvard graduate Syngman Rhee was installed.[7]

First Republic

Syngman Rhee ruled for the entire existence of the first republic. In 1948, he crushed an uprising on Jeju Island, killing as many as 60,000 people.[8] In 1950, when the DPRK attempted to reunify the country, Rhee's forces retreated and killed at least another 60,000 supposed communist sympathizers.[9] In 1960, Rhee was forced to resign due to mass protests across the nation after the body of a student killed by police was found floating in the harbor.[10]

Military rule

After Rhee's resignation, bourgeois democracy was briefly restored under president Yun Bo-seon.[11] On 1961 May 16, General Park Chung-hee, the father of future president Park Geun-hye and former Japanese collaborator, took power in a military coup. Park ruled as a military dictator for 18 years and sent 320,000 troops to support the South Vietnamese puppet state in the Vietnam War. After Park's assassination on 26 October 1979, Chun Doo-hwan took power. In May 1980, protests against martial law began in Gwangju, which were met with special warfare troops. Up to 2,300 civilians were killed in the Gwangju massacre.[12]

Rising anti-capitalism

In recent years, the term "Hell Joseon" or "Hell Korea" (Korean: 헬조선) has become popular to describe the social anxiety and discontent surrounding high unemployment and poor working conditions.[13][14]

South Korean media has also increasingly included narratives of class antagonism which have been poplar successes for Western audiences, with films such as Snowpiercer (2013)[15] and Parasite (2019)[16] and the popular TV show Squid Game (2021)[17][18][19]

The bourgeoisie media (in South Korea and in the US) carefully ensures that all criticism of capitalism stops just short of providing concrete solutions, lest people become interested in socialism and its various successes around the world.

Labor militancy is also on the rise as 500k South Korean workers walk off in a one-day general strike, protesting against rampant exploitation by the gig economy, high costs of housing, and the highest annual working hours in the OECD.[20]

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑
  3. ↑
  4. ↑
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ Don Oberdorfer, Robert Carlin (2014). The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History (p. 5). ISBN 9780465031238
  7. ↑ "Syngman Rhee". Doopedia.
  8. ↑ Ghosts of Cheju (2000-06-18). Newsweek. Archived from the original. Retrieved 2021-21-30.
  9. ↑ Kim Dong-Choon (2004). Forgotten war, forgotten massacres--the Korean War (1950-1953) as licensed mass killings. [PDF] Journal of Genocide Research.
  10. ↑ Cause of the 4.19 Revolution.
  11. ↑ "The Democratic Interlude". Library of Congress.
  12. ↑ K. J. Noh (2020-12-02). "South Korean Dictator Dies, Western Media Resurrects a Myth" Hampton Institute. Archived from the original on 2022-05-19. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
  13. ↑ Lashing out at “Hell Joseon”, young’uns drive ruling party’s election beatdown
  14. ↑ Young South Koreans call their country ‘hell’ and look for ways out by the Washington Post
  15. ↑ THE TRAIN IS CAPITALISM- SNOWPIERCER AND CLASS CONSCIOUNESS
  16. ↑ Parasite and Capitalism: What the Film Says About the Pursuit of Wealth
  17. ↑ Squid Game & The Rise Of Anti-Capitalist Entertainment
  18. ↑ “The Squid Game”: Anti-Capitalism and Netflix
  19. ↑ “Squid Game” Works Because Capitalism Is A Global Scourge
  20. ↑ HALF A MILLION SOUTH KOREAN WORKERS WALK OFF JOBS IN GENERAL STRIKE on The Real News Network
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