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History of East Asia > The Division of the Koreas 1945-1953 > Flashcards

The Division of the Koreas 1945-1953 Flashcards

1
Q

East Asia: From Cold War to Hot War

A

From 1946/7
- Increasing confrontation:
– US works with conservatives in Japan to make country into Cold War ally
– USSR begins supporting CCP in Chinese Civil War
– Both sides build state in their part of Korea: entrench division North/South

From 1948
- Actual conflict:
– Division of Korea in 1948 in two hostile states
– Establishment of PRC in 1949 changes the power balance
– Korean War 1950-53 hot conflict in Cold War: PRC and US square off
– Japan now US main ally in region: economic boost

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2
Q

Chinese Civil War 1946-1949

A
  • Fighting between KMT and CCP broke out in Manchuria in April 1946
  • KMT lost Manchuria in October 1948
  • KMT lost succession military campaigns in central and south China in 1948-49
  • KMT Retreat to Taiwan 1949
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3
Q

Reasons for Civil War Outcome

A
  • KMT Failure:
    – Inability to control hyperinflation and restore economic production
    – Heavy-handed control of dissidents
    – Alienated local administrators (hiring outsiders for government jobs)
    – Corrupt soldiers & bureaucrats
    – Increasing unpopularity among ordinary people
    – Conclusion: Lost support, legitimacy, and personnel
  • CCP Success:
    – Unofficial Soviet assistance
    – Cunning military strategy
    – Restored economic stability
    – Mobilized disenfranchised classes to implement land reforms
    – Disciplined party members and soldiers
    – Strategic recruitment of enemy personnel
    – Conclusion: Won hearts and minds of people
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4
Q

Taiwan as a province of the ROC 1945-1949

A
  • KMT leaders from mainland seen as outsiders
  • Local Taiwanese excluded from provincial government
  • De-Japanization campaign alienates locals
  • Rise of corruption and poverty
  • Increasing tension mainlanders (ROC regime) and locals
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5
Q

1947: February 28 Massacre

A
  • In Taiwan known as “ererba” 228
  • Anti-government uprising against KMT/ROC regime
  • Crackdown: estimated 10k-30k deaths
  • Beginning of “White Terror”
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6
Q

1949: Retreat of ROC government to Taiwan

A
  • When Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist government lose the Civil War, they flee to Taiwan
  • With ROC government 2 million people flee to Taiwan in 1945-1949 “temporarily”
  • “Project National Glory”: officially KMT plans to retake mainland China after regrouping
  • This serves as excuse to oppress locals, instate martial law, and “delay” democratisation
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7
Q

Chiang Kai-shek and the ROC 1949-1975: White Terror

A
  • 1950-1953: worst period of oppression
  • But, broad meaning: 1947-1987
  • Martial Law: May 1949-July 1987
  • For opposing KMT:
    – 140k people imprisoned; around 4k executed
    – Victims: Taiwan’s intellectual elite, independence activists, democracy activists, indigenous leaders
    – But also a surprising number of mainlanders who had come with Chiang Kai-shek
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8
Q

1 October 1949: People’s Republic of China

A
  • “The Chinese people have stood up”
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9
Q

Geopolitical Significance of 1949

A
  • 1948: USSR disadvantaged
    – Berlin blockade
    – Domestic tension: Stalin obsessed with “rootless cosmopolitans” (Jews)
  • 1949: Two big breakthroughs for USSR
    – Atomic bomb
    – New ally in East (PRC)
  • Stalin’s conclusion: US had not intervened in Chinese Civil War so they will not intervene in East Asia from now on
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10
Q

The Division of Korea 1945-1953

A
  • “For Americans, the war began with a thunderclap in 1950. For Koreans, it had already started in 1945.”
  • 1945: Joint Trusteeship between US and USSR
  • Influx of returning pro-independence leaders; as well as a rise of domestic political groups
  • Critical question for US and USSR: which Koreans to work with
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11
Q

Committee for the Preparation of Korean independence (CPKI)

A

First steps towards Korean self-government, independence, and democracy in generations

  • Founded in last days of Empire by members of independence movement already in Korea
  • Local self-government: “People’s Committees”
  • Great variation according to local needs:
    – New experiments with democratic decision-making
    – Aimed at removing Japanese and pro-Japanese Koreans from power
    – Land reforms
    – Ensure smooth and orderly transition of power
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12
Q

Yo Un-hyung (1886-1947)

A
  • Central figure in Korean independence movement
  • Involved with founding Provisional Government in Shanghai 1919
  • Unifying figure: between left and right
  • Personal views very progressive
  • Leader of independence movement within Korea by the early 1940s: founder of CPKI
  • Only modern leader revered in both North and South Korea today
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13
Q

People’s Republic of Korea (PRK) 12 September 1945

A
  • Provisional government rooted in network of the “People’s Committees
  • Not a state
  • Not communist!
  • Program: land reform, democratization, gender equality, universal suffrage, labour rights, true independence, and non-alliance USSR/US
  • Central question: what is US/USSR attitude towards grassroots Korean democratisation and independence?
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14
Q

People’s Republic of Korea (PRK) in Southern Korea

A
  • Southern Korea
    – US refuses to recognize PRK and “People’s Committees”: threat to their control of the region
    – Refusal to meet Yo Un-hyung for first month
    – US has no interest in aligning with leaders of Korean independence movement
    – 12 December 1945: US outlaws the PRK

– “One of our missions was to break down this Communist government”

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15
Q

People’s Republic of Korea (PRK) in Northern Korea

A
  • Northern Korea
    – USSR works with “People’s Committees” at start (not PRK)
    – Similar goals
    – But, slow co-optation of the “People’s Committees” by communists
    – By February 1946: “Provisional People’s Committee for North Korea” dominated by North Korean Workers’ Party
    – Slowly non-communist independence activists in north arrested and killed
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16
Q

If not the “People’s Committees”, then who?

A
  • Southern Korea
    – Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea?
    – “President” Kim Gu returns to Seoul in August 1945
    – Important centre-right figure; rare among exiled leaders, he is well-known in Korea
    – Great reputation among people because of history of violent resistance to Japanese
    – But General Hodge refuses to meet with him, due to Kim’s opposition to joint trusteeship
17
Q

If not the “People’s Committees”, then who in Southern Korea?

A
  • Conservative elites
  • Pro-Japanese collaborators
  • Colonial-era National Police
  • Right-wing refugees from the North
  • Leader transplanted from US: Syngman Rhee
18
Q

Syngman Rhee (1875-1965): ROK President July 1948-April 1960

A
  • Compromise candidate between different conservatives factions, as well as US
  • Clear backing from US military government meant that other conservatives fell in line behind him
  • Abroad for 30+ years
  • Chosen for English ability and years in the US
  • For US: easier to deal with Rhee than to try and understand Korea
  • Not well-known in Korea
  • Unimaginative, uninspiring, rigid, reactionary
  • Opposed to left/right and north/south cooperation from start
19
Q

Syngman Rhee (1875-1965)

A
  • Rhee’s promise: he will not touch elites and pro-Japanese Koreans in return for their support
  • Oppression of all progressives and leftists
  • Excludes them from political decision making
  • Lobbies US for establishment of state in south
  • February 1946: “Representative Democratic Council” with Rhee as head
  • Neither representative nor democratic
  • US almost loses patience with Rhee around 1947
20
Q

Pak Hon-yong (1900-1956)

A
  • Founder of Korean Communist Party in 1925
  • In USSR 1926-1940
  • Leader of communists in colonial era
  • Communist power base in southern Korea
  • 1945: Most communists in south
  • From 1946: South Korean Workers’ Party (SKWP)
  • 1948: DPRK foreign minister and Deputy Prime Minister
21
Q

Kim Il-Sung (1912-1994)

A
  • Selected as Korean leader by the USSR
  • Had not been in Korea for 26 years
  • Did not speak perfect Korean
  • Guerilla fighter against Japanese in Manchuria
  • Power base among these guerillas
  • No power base within Korea
  • February 1946: Head of “Provisional People’s Committee of North Korea”
  • Leader of North Korean Workers’ Party
22
Q

Kim Il-Sung (1912-1994)

A
  • Why him?
    – Selected by Lavrentiy Beria (Stalin’s right-hand man and secret police chief)
    – Probably: his lack of connections within Korea made him easy to control (= mistake)
    – In 1945 most Korean communists are in south so there were few communists in north to work with
23
Q

Northern Korea (1945-1948)

A
  • Very successful land reform managed by Soviets: popular among people
  • Labour reform, industry nationalisation, women’s rights, etc.
  • Those opposed often move to south
  • Slow establishment of communist political structures
  • Kim Il-Sung established the Korean People’s Army (KPA): slow militarisation
  • Strong Soviet support makes Kim Il-Sung more powerful than other leftist leaders in independence movement: but there is factional struggle
24
Q

From 1947: Increasing State Formation in both North and South

A
25
Q

Yo Un-hyung Unification Attempts

A
  • May 1946: “Left-right cooperation movement”
  • Coalition government to bring together right/left in southern Korea and eventually north and south
  • Yo Un-hyung to Pyongyang 1946-47
  • Several assassination attempts against him
  • Americans refuse to protect him
  • Assassination on 19 July 1947:
    – By right-wing extremist probably linked to Syngman Rhee
26
Q

Jeju Uprising (April 1948-May 1949)

A
  • To oppose separate elections in southern Korea in May 1948
  • Led by South Korean Worker’s Party
  • Jeju Massacre
    – Brutal crackdown: 14k-30k dead (30% of island)
    – 40k flee to Japan
  • Large communist insurgency in whole ROK from 1948-1950
27
Q

Republic of Korea (ROK) 15 August 1948

A
  • Immediate economic problems and instability
  • Most industry based in north
  • Reliance on American aid
  • President Rhee very authoritarian
  • National Security Law to oppress dissent
  • Regime has legitimacy issues from start due to reliance on pro-Japanese collaborators
  • Prevalence of right-wing violent groups
  • 400k refugees from north
  • US forces retreat soon after founding of ROK
28
Q

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) 9 September 1948

A
  • Kim Il-Sung and Korean Workers Party had undisputed control
  • Much more stable than south
  • Sweeping reforms: adult literacy, nationalisation of industry, de-Japanisation, etc.
  • Two-year economic plan very successful
  • Pre-1948 land reform success in countryside and formed backbone of regime’s legitimacy
  • Anti-Japanese guerilla legacy of leaders means no legitimacy issues like in south
  • Korean People’s Army quickly develops into formidable fighting force
  • Kim Il-Sung aware that he is in a powerful position to unify the country (both Kim and Rhee desire liberation/unification)
29
Q

Early 1950: Stalin approves war

A
  • Conditions:
    1. Mao must approve
    2. Must appear defensive
    3. When in trouble: don’t call us, call the Chinese
  • Mid-May: Mao approves reluctantly
  • 25 June 1950: Attack
30
Q

Two tactical mistakes of Korean People’s Army

A
  1. One week halt after taking Seoul in July
  2. Incheon poorly defended (2k men) and no mines!
31
Q

October 1950: PRC enters the Korean War

A
  • 200k People’s Volunteer Army (PVA) soldiers enter North Korea on 25 October
  • US intelligence had considered Chinese intervention unlikely
  • Late Nov-Late Dec: Major PVA/KPA offensive
  • UN troops have to retreat back to south quickly
  • Inside the US pressure build to extend war to China
  • Allies move to restrain the US: worried that long US war against PRC would give USSR free hand in western Europe
32
Q

Four Phases of the Korean War

A
  • Pusan perimeter
  • Incheon landing
  • PRC enters war
  • Armistice line (DMZ)
33
Q

The Destruction of North Korea

A
  • 635k tons of bombs (including 32k tons of napalm) on Korea: more bombs than in entire Pacific War
  • 85% of buildings in North Korea destroyed
  • Roughly 25% of the North’s population believed to have been killed in the war
  • After South Vietnam and Laos, most bombed country in absolute terms
  • In 1953, dams also become target
  • Use of atomic bomb “always under active consideration” President Truman
  • Essential for trying to understand North Korea today
34
Q

July 1951-July 1953: Stalemate

A
  • Fighting continues but no major territorial shifts
  • Armistice negotiations in deadlock: main issue is Prisoners of War
  • Stalin wants to tie down the Americans?
  • 20 January 1953: Eisenhower inaugurated
  • 5 March 1953: The death of Stalin
  • Korean Armistice Agreement signed on 27 July 1953.
35
Q

Geopolitical Significance 1950-1953

A
  • All US allies richer (Marshall Plan; Japan economic boost)
  • From 1953 great unrest USSR allies: Berlin uprising 1953; Hungary 1956
  • End of USSR’s postwar popularity boost?
  • East Asian nations enter trajectory that continues until today
    – Japan (US ally)
    – ROC in Taiwan
    – PRC in Mainland China
    – DPRK in North Korea
    – ROK in South Korea

History of East Asia (6 decks)

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