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| IX.THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF
KOREA AND MODERN CULTURE |
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| 1. Birth and Growth of the Republic
of Korea |
| (1) Birth of the Republic of Korea |
On August 15, 1945, Korea's independence was restored.
But before Korea could even take in all the joys of independence,
Koreans were confronted with the tragedy of a territorial
division. The United States and the Soviet Union, whose
roles were decisive in defeating the Japanese forces as
members of the Allied Forces, separately occupied the
territories south and north of the 38th parallel in Korea
for the purpose of disarming the Japanese Army.
Then, the Allied Forces, following the decision of the
Three Ministers' Conference in Moscow, planned to place
South and North Korea under the Trusteeship of the United
Nations for the next five years. |
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Ceremony commemorating
the establishment of the Government of the Republic
of Korea. |
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The U.S. and the Soviet Union proposed setting up a
U.S.-Soviet Joint Commitee Conference in Seoul for the
purpose of placing Korea under the trusteeship of the
U.N. The Koreans vehemently objected to the plan of placing
Korea under the U.S.-Soviet Trusteeship. Many social organizations
as well as political parties arranged their own program
to establish a new Korean nation. In South Korea, where
political freedoms were secured, confrontations between
the forces of the right and the left were acute.
Within this whirlpool, the U.S.-Soviet Joint Commitee
Conference broke down. The U.S. presented the matters
of Korea to the United Nations, upon which the United
Nations made a proposal for a general election to be held
in Korea and a unified independent government be set up.
However, North Korea, which was under the control of the
Soviet Army, rejected the activities of the U.N. Korean
Provisional Commitee and thus the general election took
place only in South Korea.
The result of this election was the establishment of a
new state standing for free democracy and capitalism in
South Korea on August 15, 1948. This is today's Republic
of Korea. |
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| (2) The Tragedy of War |
| As the Republic of Korea was established in South Korea,
North Korea's Kim Il-sung who had already set up a separate
government, established a government leading toward communism
under the support of the Soviet Union in September 1948.
Thus, within three years after casting off the chains
of Japanese imperialism, Korea faced its greatest historical
tragedy--the division of the nation. |
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Millions of North
Korean refugees flee south ahead of hordes of Chinese
troops who entered the War in October 1950. |
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This division of the South and North drove the Korean
peninsula into an extreme state of tension. Furthermore,
as the world political situation led by the U.S. and Soviet
Union rapidly rushed into a cold war structure, the Korean
peninsula became a region of instability, not knowing
when war might break out. Using this international political
situation, North Korea obtained tremendous military aid
from the Soviet Union and was soon equipped with a strong
military force.
After the establishment of the government of the Republic
of Korea, communist groups in North Korea attacked various
places in South Korea and after it reinforced its military
forces, it finally invaded South Korea on
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25, 1950. The Republic of Korea's army which was confronted
by this unforeseen attack fought courageously with its
inferior weaponry. Within three days, enemy forces captured
Seoul and the national army was forced to retreat temporarily
from the area.
The national army, which was pushed down to the Naktong
River, began to march northward again with the aid of
the U.N. forces. The United Nations had already branded
the North Korean communists as aggressors, and ordered
its forces, composed of the armies of the United States,
the United Kingdom and 14 other nations, to aid South
Korea. With the entry of the UN forces on the South Korean
side, the tables were turned again. As the national army
and the UN forces drove the enemy to the Amnok (Yalu)
River, it seemed that hopes for unification would be realized.
However, the Chinese Communist Army joined forces with
North Korea and launched a massive counter attack on the
south, the country entered a new phase in what was to
be a long, protracted war. Finally, after three years
of intense fighting, the UN forces accepted the Soviet
Union's proposal for a cease-fire and an Armistice Agreement
reached on July 27, 1953.
The Korean War left a deep scar on Korea. There were millions
of human casualties during the war. Countless homes and
factories were destroyed. Moreover, due to the war, mistrust
between North and South Korea deepened. |
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| (3) Tests of Political Development |
With the armistice, the Republic of Korea attempted
to reconstruct its devestated lands. The U.S. and other
free nations supported Korea's efforts. And Korea and
the U.S. concluded a mutual defense treaty in order to
prepare against any aggressions.
The disasters of war were for the most part, finally overcome
in the last 10 years due to the enthusiastic participation
of the people. However, ROK's first President. Rhee Syng-man
exercised dictatorial rule and because of his tight grip
on power, free democracy was impossible. The Liberal Party
led by Rhee Syng-man amended the Constitution as they
pleased, in order to extend their political power. Government
corruption was so great that the people's complaints could
no longer be suppressed. Thus, the Liberal Party government
finally crumbled with the April Revolution (April 19,
1960) of students and citizens (April 26,1960).
After the April Revolution but before the newly formed
Democratic Party government could take control of the
political situation, a group of soldiers under the command
of General Park Chung-hee carried out a coup d' tat and
established a military government on May 16, 1961. They
soon organized the Democratic Republican Party, revised
the constitution with a president-centered system and
formed a new government.
Under the slogan of "Modernization of Korea", the ruling
Republican Party under President Park Chung-hee launched
the Saemaul Movement and pushed for economic development
policies. The policies received strong support and cooperation
from the people and as a result, the standard of living
rose to the level of semi-developed countries. President
Park, in order to maintain long-term political power,
amended the Constitution and enforced the October Restoration
(Yusin) System to construct a one-man dictatorship structure
in 1972. |
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The prime Minister of South
and North Korea exchanging an intra-Korean agreement
on September 17. 1992.
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| With the strengthening of the Yusin System, the resistance
movement for democracy expanded. In this state of affairs,
President Park was assassinated and in order to cope with
the political unrest, another group of soldiers loyal
to General Chun Doo-hwan made their advance into politics.
They formed the Democratic Justice Party and promulgated
a revised Constitution and set forth a new government.
The efforts of people, who demanded political democracy,
continued to cast bright prospects for the realization
of a completely free country. This has been urged on for
the past 50 years since Korea's restoration. |
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| (4) Progress in North-South Dialogues |
The Korean War has separated the two Koreas for 50 years.
It seems this gulf cannot be bridged. But a truly meaningful
national happiness cannot be enjoyed without the peaceful
reunification of North and South Korea. For this reason,
proposals for a peaceful democratic unification of the
North and South have been cautiously sought between the
divided country.
In that sense, the North-South communique announced on
July 4, 1972 was seen as dramatic progress toward reunification.
In this communique, the North and South Korean authorities
declared national unity transcending structural or ideological
differences. Each has set up concrete programs to realize
this vision. As a step toward this, the North-South regulation
commissions installed a direct telephone line and shared
a number of dialogues between Seoul and P'yong'yang.
But these dialogues have been unilaterally cut off by
the North on the pretext of domestic political change.
However, efforts by both sides to reopen these dialogues
continue and have resulted in limited reunions between
separated families and art performance troupes in 1985.
It would be difficult for North and South Korea to achieve
peaceful unification at this very moment. However, recognizing
that only a peaceful reunification can guarantee a happy
life for Koreans, the two sides should not be closed to
continuing dialogues and abandoning the mutual distrust
which exists between the North and South. |
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