History of Korea

1910 – 1930 early Japanese rule

• Annexation treaty 1910/8/22
• Japanese Colonization of Korea (1910–1945)
  • Military Rule (1910–1919)
    • Suppression of Righteous armies, speech, press
      • No Korean language newspapers
        • Unless under control by Japanese government
    • March 1st Movement (1919)
      • Protest against suppressive govt
      • Desire for liberation
  • Cultural Rule (1920–1930)
    • Overt to indirect suppression
      • Pressure valve to avoid explosion of dissatisfaction
    • Cultural expressions and activities moderated
    • Opening of Korean language newspapers (1920)
    • Education increased
    • Self-strengthening movement
    • Direct action patriotic movements move to Manchuria

1931–1945 wartime mobilization

• Invasion of Manchuria (1931)
• Migration to Manchuria
• Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) $\subset$ World War II - September 1939 – September 1945
  • Marco Polo Bridge Incident (1937/7/7)
  • Great East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (1940)
  • Naisen Ittai Policy (1940)
    • Shinto shrine proliferation
    • Japanese only language policy
    • Soshi Kaimei (Japanese family names)
  • Closing of Korean language newspapers (1940)
  • Increase in wartime propaganda
  • Conscription of factory workers
  • Comfort women
• Suppression and desire for control
• Wipes out prior collective memory

divided Korea

• August 1945
• By US and USSR to deal with liberation post Japanese surrender
  • Assumed Japan wouldn’t surrender easily
  • Not as necessary but kept
  • Two areas became occupied
    • Entangled in ideologies of Cold War
• Attempts to create own government repressed by US until 1948, beginning of the Republic of Korea
• Protests against
  • Permanent division
  • Trusteeship by other nations
• → radicalization, contention, violence
• Syngman Rhee freedom fighter, fled to US, in charge
• North Korea
  • Clear action to kick Japanese out
    • Went South
  • Kicked Christians out
• South Korea
  • Favoritism toward those with ties to former colonial empire of Japan
    • → anger and frustration
  • Poverty
  • Mass migration back into Korea from Manchuria, Japan
  • Difficult to create law and order
    • → more and more brutal and suppressive
• Hard to label dissidence, out-group

1950–1953 Korean War

• 6.25 War
• Both civil and international
  • Unconventional
  • UN declared war
    • Troops from many nations
  • North Korea: Chinese and Soviet troops
• Increased fear in soldiers due to not being able to identify clear enemy
• Pushing back and forth, occupations, massacres and witch hunts in response to changing sides
  • Damned if you do, damned if you don’t
  • Starvation
  • Displacement
• {Action bias - look active, even if it achieves nothing, foreign meddling, making things worse for countries who cannot defend themselves}
• South Korea refused to sign armistice
• Cannot be major voice within own country
• No official peace treaty
• Agreement to end Korean War in principle (2021)

social impact

• 300,000 killed or missing soldiers, 2M South Korean deaths incl. civilians, 1.5M North Korea, 1M Chinese
• Deep-rooted anger and hatred
  • Solidifying anti-communism and support for US alliance
• Start of military conscription in both north and south
• Self-interest and family protection mentality
  • Fear mistakes could lead to death
    • Image, political status
• Destruction of Confucian hierarchy
  • Everything destroyed
  • Must start from scratch
  • Egalitarian — everyone is poor “great equalizer”
• Mass movement of people from North to South
  • Increase in anti-communists and Christians
• Consolidation of division of the country
  • Both sides use war to justify dictatorial rule

economic impact

• Destroyed Japanese infrastructure
• US pours aide into Korea
  • Showcase for capitalistic dvelopment
• South Korea/US and North Korea economic competition
• Rhee squeezes money from US
• Uplifts Japanese economy
  • War creates necessary export markets
  • $3B spent in Japan for war supplies
  • “Gift from the gods”
  • For South Korea, Vietnam War played similar role

1948–1960 First Republic of Korea under Syngman Rhee

• Yeosu-Sucheon rebellions/massacres (Oct. 1948)
• Escalation of Jeju uprising/massacre (Oct. 1949 – Feb. 1949)
• Korean War
• Establishment of DMZ (1953-07-27)
• Botch use of US aid
  • Failed economic policies
  • Bloated policies
  • Corruption
    • Rigs election to get VP candidate in power
      • e.g.
        • Ballot stuffing
        • Buried ballots
        • Thugs
      • → April Revolution (April 19, 1960)
        • Succeed in overthrowing government
  • Poverty
  • Anti-communism
• National Security Law (1948)
  • Suppression of free speech for national security
• Censorship
  • Limited speech
  • Harsh punishment
  • Post-publication censorship
  • Mass demonstrations at end

1960–1961 Second Republic of Korea under Yun Boseon

• Growth of union membership
• Opening of press
  • Censorship
    • Free speech
    • No censorship
    • Mass demonstrations
• Purging corrupt police
• Protests
• Speaking out about massacres
• Later characterized as “political chaos”
  • Rationale for military control
• Democratic junctures
  • Moving toward full democratization

1961–1963 military rule under Park Chung-hee

• Coup d’état 1961-05-16
• Martial law
• Creation of Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) (June 1961)
• Known for repression and economic development
• 1st Five Year Economic Development Plan (1962–1966)
• Ideology: democracy vs. economic stability
  • Dictator-like figures seen as more stable
  • Issue with democracy
    • Can elect someone who installs chaos
      • Potential for overturning international alliances
        • Thus US sometimes supports military dictatorships
• Censorship
  • No free speech
  • Harsh
  • Demonstrations not permitted

1963 – 1972 Third Republic under Park Chung-hee

• Free elections
  • US does not want to support military dictatorship on surface
  • Pressure and threat to withdraw aid
  • Barely wins
• More free in terms of political speech
• Before true dictatorship
• Japan Normalization Treaty (June 1965)
• 2nd Five Year Economic Development Plan (1967–1971)
• Vietnam War (1964–1973)
  • Send troops
    • Money they receive helps economic development
    • Jointly contributed atrocities
• Blue House Raid (1968-01-21): North Korea attempt to assassinate Park
  • Turning point toward dictatorial leadership
• New Village Movement (1971–mid 1980s)
  • Cornerstone of economic policies
    • Supporting big industries
      • Shipbuilding
      • Iron
  • Develop local villages
• Censorship at the beginning
  • Intermittent free speech
  • Limited censorship
  • Mass demonstrations for Korea-Japan Normalization Treaty
• After constitutional revision in 1969
  • Limited speech
  • Pre-publication censorship
  • Minor demonstrations

1972–1979 Fourth Republic under Park Chung-hee

• Yushin Constitution (authoritarian rule) (Oct 1972)
  • Amends constitution for indefinite power
• 3rd Five Year Economic Development Plan (1972–1976) and 4th (1977–1981)
• Labor and student unrest
  • Violent repression of protests/leaders
• Strict censorship
  • No free speech
  • Strict pre-censorship
  • Violent repression of protests and speech
• Economic development takes off
• Assassinated by KCIA director Kim Jae-gyu (1979-10-26)

1980–1984

• Censorship
  • No free speech
  • Harsh pre-censorship
  • Violent repression of protests, speech

1985–1987

• Democratization
• Asian games
  • Olympics 1988
  • Desire for image projected