Republic of Korea: Difference between revisions

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===US Occupation===
===US Occupation===
After [[Kim Il-sung]] liberated Korea from the [[Japan|Japanese Empire]], Korea was divided across the 38th parallel by two American officers who had never been to Korea.<ref>{{Citation|author=Don Oberdorfer, Robert Carlin|year=2014|title=The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History|chapter=|section=|page=5|quote=|pdf=|city=|publisher=|isbn=9780465031238|doi=|lg=|mia=|title-url=|chapter-url=|trans-title=|trans-lang=}}</ref> The South was occupied by the United States and a [[Fascism|fascist]] dictatorship led by Harvard graduate [[Syngman Rhee]] was installed.<ref>{{News citation|journalist=|date=|title=Syngman Rhee|url=https://www.doopedia.co.kr/doopedia/master/master.do?_method=view&MAS_IDX=101013000746262|newspaper=Doopedia|archive-url=|archive-date=|retrieved=}}</ref>
After [[Kim Il-sung]] liberated Korea from the [[Japan|Japanese Empire]], Korea was divided across the 38th parallel by two American officers who had never been to Korea.<ref>{{Citation|author=Don Oberdorfer, Robert Carlin|year=2014|title=The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History|chapter=|section=|page=5|quote=|pdf=|city=|publisher=|isbn=9780465031238|doi=|lg=|mia=|title-url=|chapter-url=|trans-title=|trans-lang=}}</ref> The South was occupied by the United States and a [[Fascism|fascist]] dictatorship led by Harvard graduate [[Syngman Rhee]] was installed.<ref>{{News citation|journalist=|date=|title=Syngman Rhee|url=https://www.doopedia.co.kr/doopedia/master/master.do?_method=view&MAS_IDX=101013000746262|newspaper=Doopedia|archive-url=|archive-date=|retrieved=}}</ref>
The U.S. occupation of the southern half of Korea was announced in Proclamation No. 1 by General of the Army Douglas MacArthur on Sept. 7, 1945: “All powers of Government over the territory of Korea south of 38 degrees north latitude and the people thereof will be for the present exercised under my authority.”<ref>{{News citation|newspaper=Jeju 4.3 Peace Foundation|title=Liberation from Japan in 1945|date=2018|url=http://jeju43peace.org/historytruth/fact-truth/factstruth_article2/}}</ref>
Following the Proclamation, the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) was the official ruling body for three years until the establishment of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) on Aug. 15, 1948.


===First Republic ===
===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.<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>
The First Republic was the government of South Korea from August 1948 to April 1960. Syngman Rhee ruled for the entire existence of the first republic. The first republic was characterized by Rhee's authoritarianism and corruption, limited economic development, strong anti-communism, and by the late 1950s, by growing political instability and public opposition to Rhee.
 
==== Jeju Uprising and Massacre ====
In 1948, in a series of events known variously as the Jeju Uprising, the Jeju 4.3 Incident, and the Jeju Massacre, an uprising occurred on Jeju Island. Many Jeju islanders had resisted the division of the Korean Peninsula and strongly protested the first election that was scheduled for May 10, 1948, that would confirm the formation of the Republic of Korea south of the 38th parallel. Approximately 30,000 people, or one in every 10 Jeju residents at the time, lost their lives during this period,<ref>{{News citation|newspaper=Jeju 4.3 Peace Foundation|title=Background to the Jeju 4·3 Uprising and Massacre|date=2018|url=http://jeju43peace.org/historytruth/fact-truth/factstruth-article1/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220723024308/http://jeju43peace.org/historytruth/fact-truth/factstruth-article1/|archive-date=2022-07-23}}</ref> and according to some estimates, as many as 60,000 people were killed by the end of these events.<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>  
 
==== Resistance to Southern regime, support for North among South Koreans ====
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 a 1950 CIA memorandum, after the Northern Army had taken over Seoul, Central Intelligence Director and U.S. Navy Rear Admiral R.H. Hillenkoeter reported that "over 50% of Seoul's students are actively aiding the Communist invaders, with many voluntarily enlisting in the Northern Army" and that among Seoul's population, "the working class generally supports the Northern Koreans, while merchants are neutral and the intelligentsia continue to be pro-Southern," adding that the streets of Seoul were "crowded [...] with youths engaging in Communist demonstrations.<ref>{{News citation|author=R.H. Hillenkoeter, Director of Central Intelligence|newspaper=CIA Memorandum|title=The Korean Situation|date=1950-7-19|url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/1950-07-19b.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220723030500/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/1950-07-19b.pdf|archive-date=2022-07-23|quote=Past failure of the Republic of Korea to win the support of its restless student class may lie behind reports that over 50% of Seoul's students are actively aiding the Communist invaders, with many voluntarily enlisting in the Northern Army. Apparently attracted by the glamor of a winning army, the morale of these recruits may suffer rapidly if the going gets tough. Among others elements of Seoul's population, the working class generally supports the Northern Koreans, while merchants are neutral and the intelligentsia continue to be pro-Southern. A former Seoul policeman reports that North Korean troops and police are rather inconspicuous in Seoul. Commercially, the city is nearly "dead"; stores are closed except for two department stores and some greengrocers. The streets, however, are crowded, especially with youths engaging in Communist demonstrations.}}</ref>
 
According to Kim Sin Gyu, a North Korean correspondent present in Seoul at the time, speaking in an interview: "When the city was first liberated, the citizens of Seoul welcomed the Korean People's Army. I remember hearing people say, 'We heard the North Korean communist soldiers were a monstrous rabble, with the horns of devils and red faces. But seeing them now, they are the same as us. The soldiers are young and brave and handsome.'"<ref>''Korea: The Unknown War.'' TV Documentary Series. Episode 1: "Many Roads to War." Thames Television, 1998. (URL:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVCuku3Ldi0)</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===

Revision as of 03:21, 23 July 2022

South Korea
대한민국
Flag of South Korea
Flag
CapitalSeoul
Official languagesKorean
Dominant mode of productionCapitalism
GovernmentUnitary Corporatocratic Republic
• 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]

The U.S. occupation of the southern half of Korea was announced in Proclamation No. 1 by General of the Army Douglas MacArthur on Sept. 7, 1945: “All powers of Government over the territory of Korea south of 38 degrees north latitude and the people thereof will be for the present exercised under my authority.”[8]

Following the Proclamation, the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) was the official ruling body for three years until the establishment of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) on Aug. 15, 1948.

First Republic

The First Republic was the government of South Korea from August 1948 to April 1960. Syngman Rhee ruled for the entire existence of the first republic. The first republic was characterized by Rhee's authoritarianism and corruption, limited economic development, strong anti-communism, and by the late 1950s, by growing political instability and public opposition to Rhee.

Jeju Uprising and Massacre

In 1948, in a series of events known variously as the Jeju Uprising, the Jeju 4.3 Incident, and the Jeju Massacre, an uprising occurred on Jeju Island. Many Jeju islanders had resisted the division of the Korean Peninsula and strongly protested the first election that was scheduled for May 10, 1948, that would confirm the formation of the Republic of Korea south of the 38th parallel. Approximately 30,000 people, or one in every 10 Jeju residents at the time, lost their lives during this period,[9] and according to some estimates, as many as 60,000 people were killed by the end of these events.[10]

Resistance to Southern regime, support for North among South Koreans

In 1950, when the DPRK attempted to reunify the country, Rhee's forces retreated and killed at least another 60,000 supposed communist sympathizers.[11]

In a 1950 CIA memorandum, after the Northern Army had taken over Seoul, Central Intelligence Director and U.S. Navy Rear Admiral R.H. Hillenkoeter reported that "over 50% of Seoul's students are actively aiding the Communist invaders, with many voluntarily enlisting in the Northern Army" and that among Seoul's population, "the working class generally supports the Northern Koreans, while merchants are neutral and the intelligentsia continue to be pro-Southern," adding that the streets of Seoul were "crowded [...] with youths engaging in Communist demonstrations.[12]

According to Kim Sin Gyu, a North Korean correspondent present in Seoul at the time, speaking in an interview: "When the city was first liberated, the citizens of Seoul welcomed the Korean People's Army. I remember hearing people say, 'We heard the North Korean communist soldiers were a monstrous rabble, with the horns of devils and red faces. But seeing them now, they are the same as us. The soldiers are young and brave and handsome.'"[13]

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.[14]

Military rule

After Rhee's resignation, bourgeois democracy was briefly restored under president Yun Bo-seon.[15] 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.[16]

Politics

NATO alliance

In June 2022, the South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol declared he will participate in the 3rd NATO Summit of 2022.[17] The director of the National Security Office Kim Sung-han declared not much later that South Korea will establish a "diplomatic mission" to NATO in Brussels to coincide with President Yoon Suk-yeol's participation in the Summit. According to Sung-han, this mission will make South Korea "able to increase information sharing and strengthen our networks with NATO allies and partners and establish a Europe platform that is worthy of our [global] status".[18]

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.[19][20]

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)[21] and Parasite (2019)[22] and the popular TV show Squid Game (2021)[23][24][25]

With increasing economic stratification, social alienation, and lack of opportunity among young people entering the work force, South Korea has a rate of mental health issues and suicide that is among the highest in the developed world.[26] This undoubtedly is resulting in the development of class consciousness.

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.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "South Korea's troubling history of jailing ex-presidents" (2018-10-09). American Enterprise Institute.
  2. ↑ "Former South Korean president sentenced to prison" (2021-02-10). Deutsche Welle.
  3. ↑ Ex-president Roh Tae-woo to pay remainder of massive fine (2013-08-22). The Chosunilbo.
  4. ↑ "South Korea: President's impeachment on a background of political scandal" (2017-02-07). Perspective Monde.
  5. ↑ "South Korea ex-leader jailed for 15 years" (2018-10-05). BBC News.
  6. ↑ Don Oberdorfer, Robert Carlin (2014). The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History (p. 5). ISBN 9780465031238
  7. ↑ "Syngman Rhee". Doopedia.
  8. ↑ "Liberation from Japan in 1945" (2018). Jeju 4.3 Peace Foundation.
  9. ↑ "Background to the Jeju 4·3 Uprising and Massacre" (2018). Jeju 4.3 Peace Foundation. Archived from the original on 2022-07-23.
  10. ↑ Ghosts of Cheju (2000-06-18). Newsweek. Archived from the original. Retrieved 2021-21-30.
  11. ↑ Kim Dong-Choon (2004). Forgotten war, forgotten massacres--the Korean War (1950-1953) as licensed mass killings. [PDF] Journal of Genocide Research.
  12. ↑
    “Past failure of the Republic of Korea to win the support of its restless student class may lie behind reports that over 50% of Seoul's students are actively aiding the Communist invaders, with many voluntarily enlisting in the Northern Army. Apparently attracted by the glamor of a winning army, the morale of these recruits may suffer rapidly if the going gets tough. Among others elements of Seoul's population, the working class generally supports the Northern Koreans, while merchants are neutral and the intelligentsia continue to be pro-Southern. A former Seoul policeman reports that North Korean troops and police are rather inconspicuous in Seoul. Commercially, the city is nearly "dead"; stores are closed except for two department stores and some greengrocers. The streets, however, are crowded, especially with youths engaging in Communist demonstrations.”

    R.H. Hillenkoeter, Director of Central Intelligence (1950-7-19). "The Korean Situation" CIA Memorandum. Archived from the original on 2022-07-23.
  13. ↑ Korea: The Unknown War. TV Documentary Series. Episode 1: "Many Roads to War." Thames Television, 1998. (URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVCuku3Ldi0)
  14. ↑ Cause of the 4.19 Revolution.
  15. ↑ "The Democratic Interlude". Library of Congress.
  16. ↑ 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.
  17. ↑ "Yoon to attend NATO summit, 1st time for S. Korean president" (2022-06-22). Kyodo News.
  18. ↑ "Korea to open diplomatic mission to NATO" (2022-06-22). Korea JoongAng Daily.
  19. ↑ Lashing out at “Hell Joseon”, young’uns drive ruling party’s election beatdown
  20. ↑ Young South Koreans call their country ‘hell’ and look for ways out by the Washington Post
  21. ↑ THE TRAIN IS CAPITALISM- SNOWPIERCER AND CLASS CONSCIOUNESS
  22. ↑ Parasite and Capitalism: What the Film Says About the Pursuit of Wealth
  23. ↑ Squid Game & The Rise Of Anti-Capitalist Entertainment
  24. ↑ “The Squid Game”: Anti-Capitalism and Netflix
  25. ↑ “Squid Game” Works Because Capitalism Is A Global Scourge
  26. ↑ Katrin Park (2021-10-5). "South Korea Is No Country for Young People" Foreign Policy.
  27. ↑ HALF A MILLION SOUTH KOREAN WORKERS WALK OFF JOBS IN GENERAL STRIKE on The Real News Network
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