Period under consideration
- Japanese occupation (1910–1945)
- World War Two (1939-1945)
- The U.S. occupation of Korea (1945-1948)
- Korean War (1950 – 1953)
- The Second American Occupation (1950)
- Cold War (1947-1991)
Important dates and key events for the entire unit
- In the 1943 Cairo Declaration, adopted by the United States, China, and Britain, it was outlined that Korea would gain independence “in due course,” which implied its gradual transition from being part of the Japanese Empire to an independent existence.
- Korea’s Liberation from Japanese colonial rule on August 15, 1945.
- Division of the Korean Peninsula into two hostile states supported by two opposing blocs, Soviet and American, in August 1945.
- American troops entered Korea in September 1945 under the command of Lieutenant General Hodge.
- Adoption of the constitution at a special session of the National Assembly on July 12, 1948.
- Proclamation of the Republic of Korea on August 15, 1948.
- The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was proclaimed on September 9, 1948.
- Guerilla movement from 1948 to 1950.
Major historical figures discussed for the entire unit
- Yi Wan-Yong (1858-1926): the last Prime Minister of Korea, who signed the Treaty of Annexation and placed Korea under Japanese rule in 1910.
- Syngman Rhee (1875-1965): was a South Korean politician who served as the first President of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was the most influential fighter for Korean independence and the leading member in the founding of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai in 1919.
- Kim II Sung (1912-1944): with the full support of the Soviet military command, seized power in the Communist Party and the North Korean government. In 1950, on his orders, North Korean troops attacked South Korea, unleashing the Korean War. After the war, he eliminated all opposition groups in the country’s leadership and established a sole power regime.
- Kim Ku (1876-1949): a prominent nationalist and leader in the Korean Independence Movement. The founder of the Korean Patriotic Corps and the Korean Liberation Army. Kim was assassinated by Korean lieutenant Ahn Doo-hee in 1949.
- John R. Hodge (1893-1963): Lieutenant General leading American troops in September 1945, who refused to treat Koreans as an independent nation. He accepted the surrender from the last governor-general of Korea and became the American military government commander in Korea in 1948.
- Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964): a General who played a significant role in constructing a post-war Japan. He assumed command of the U.N. forces, developed the Incheon Landing Operation, which resulted in the North Korean army’s defeat.
Historical sources used for the entire unit
- Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty
- Cairo Declaration
- Korean Declaration of Independence
- U.S. – Japan Administrative Agreement
- Constitution of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
- Korean Armistice Agreement
Key concepts or arguments
Stueck and Yi’s reading: First, the Korean War’s impact on the US-Korean relationship since September 1945 is considered by the author. Second, the author underlines American troops’ incompetence, low morale, lack of culture, and language knowledge. Many of its actions at first had a destabilizing effect due to ignorance of the situation in Korea.
Cummings’ reading: First, the author consistently analyzes the processes taking place on the Korean Peninsula after the liberation from Japanese colonialism while taking a comparatively critical stance about the United States’ Korean policy, which played a decisive role in the political fate of South Korea. Second, according to the author, the Republic of Korea and the DPRK, today, appear as little-known and weak states in the foreign policy arena for Korea’s divided nation.
Chon’s Reading: First, the story depicts a Korean’s conflict of self-identification in the difficult period of Colonial rule with the examples and motives of the hero’s opportunistic behavior considering it as a defense mechanism. Second, the author shows how, for more than fifty years, the Korean nation’s identity has been suppressed.
Notable quotes or scenes
Hodge lacked experience in administration and politics, knowledge of Korea, and detailed guidance from Washington or his immediate superior, General Douglas A. MacArthur, the U.S. Far Eastern Commander and head of the occupation of Japan. (STUECK & Y.I., 182)
A period from 1943 to 1947 represented an internationalist phase in high U.S. diplomacy, reflected in the trusteeship policy and Washington’s desire to place a still-united Korea under temporary multilateral administration. (CUMINGS, 189)
Hmm, I’ve lived among those warty Japanese, made it out of the grasp of the brutish Russians, and now the Yankees – could they be much different? Revolution may come, and nations change hands, but the way out has never been blocked for Yi Inguk. There used to be so many who seemed to outdo me, from time to time. I’ve made it through, but what about them? (CHON, 83)
A paragraph summarizing how the materials for two weeks relate to one another
The two weeks’ reading was concentrated on an issue of the internal colonized Korean Peninsula. According to Stueck and Yi, if we look for the reasons for the Korean War, it is external factors as Japanese colonial rule and the separate occupation of Korea by the U.S. and USSR troops. Cummings highlights that Japanese aggression gradually developed into a war with China, the United States, and the USSR, and, in the end, led to Korea’s separate occupation. That led to the emergence of individual governments in the south and north of Korea, which caused the Korean War. Chon gives precise insight into what the Korean people had to undergo in their history’s harsh times.