South Korean History - Page 3

Significance of the Liberation Day of Korea (August 15th)

A Paper by Ki-Won Rhew (Edited by Paul Noll)

American military leaders ignored the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence (CPKI) and thus lost an excellent opportunity to organize a truly indigenous Korean Government. The US and Russia divided the Korean Peninsula at the 38th parallel in the middle of Korea, They tried to put the northern half under the trusteeship of Russia and the southern half under the trusteeship of the USA, each for a term of five years until they could organize it under a unified government. Extreme rightists led by Syngman Rhee opposed the trusteeship to organize the government in the South alone. Thus they created a unified disaster that exists today. The majority of the north contained most of Korea's industry and the south contained most of Korea's agriculture. The US Army Military Government in Korea (USAGAK) did not have anyone who had an adequate knowledge about the Korean Independent Movement. Not a single person at USAGAK could even speak Korean. The US brought a well-educated and well-known Korean, Syngman Rhee from American and set him up to be the leader of the southern half of Korea.

Dr. Rhee, an arrogant man and did not have much support from the majority of the Koreans people. In order to organize his own party's government, he started using some Japanese collaborators and eventually labeled all of his political enemies as communists. Dr. Rhee organized a movement to oppose the trusteeship, but some popular leaders such as Kim Koo and Yeo Un-Hyung supported the trusteeship. Dr. Rhee won that battle in South Korea and eventually had many Korean leaders assassinated by his Japanese collaborators and Rhee supporters. The organization of the South Korean Government occurred on August 15, 1948.

Korea still struggles with the same issue of division of Korea, Millions of the Korean people have died in both the North and South including some 50,000 American military and soldiers of many other countries to protect the integrity of South Korea. The whole world need to know that the Korean race is one and a peace loving people, even though divided by external force and technically still at war in the continuing Korean War. Let us teach the children of Korea that our generation can achieve the unification of Korea and real independence, for which our parents fought to the death.