KSIS: When war breaks out, point of no return

New special issue for the start of the school year, plunging us into the backstage of the war that tore the peninsula in two. How, and why, did the war break out?

While on August 6 and 9, 1945, the two atomic bombs were dropped, Japan capitulated and Korea was freed from a 35-year occupation. But as soon as the end of hostilities was declared, the US and the USSR decided to cut the peninsula in two, at the 38° parallel. Thus, the American military troops elect domicile in the South, and the Russian troops in the North. Those are the US who proposed to the USSR to cut equitably at the 38° parallel, although the Russian striking forces are stronger and could ask for more. But the USSR being more interested in acquiring Manchuria, it accepted the agreement. In August, following the two bombs, the Russians took possession of northern Korea, led by General IVAN CHISTYAKOV, and the Americans did the same in September, then conflicts began between North and South. Korea was freed from one occupation, to fall back under the choppers of another, cutting the country in two.

In the North, the adopted regime is socialo-communism, while in the South, capitalism, two regimes that are opposed by everything. The Koreans had, however, prepared the establishment of a new government with the prospect that one day they would be liberated from Japan. The CPKI was created on 15 August 1945 by LYUH WOONHYUNG, Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence. The day when Japan capitulated, 5,000 Koreans found themselves in a school, where LYUH declared:

« The day of the liberation of Korea has now arrived. Now that we have taken our first steps into freedom, we must forget the pain and resentment of the past to build a rational and ideal paradise in this country. We must walk towards the future in union and solidarity. »

But the US did not recognize the legitimacy of the provisional government in Shanghai led at the time by KIM GU, they proclaimed that only their government named USAMGIK (United States Army Military Government in Korea) was the only recognized government in the south of the peninsula. The goal of the US was then to use this part of the country to their advantage to possibly counter the USSR in case of conflict, and not the reconstruction of the country. Two years later, LYUH was assassinated. But before that, in December 1945, the foreign ministers of the US, UK and the USSR met in Moscow to discuss the future of Korea. The US proposed to place Korea under the protectorate of four countries, adding the UK as well as China, for five years, but the USSR voted in favor of establishing a provisional government.

A few years before the liberation of Japan, ROOSEVELT had proposed a 20 to 30-year period of trusteeship to govern Korea, considering that the country would not be able to do so once Japan was defeated. This proposal was accepted by STALIN, the two countries being interested in extending their sphere of influence, and the meeting in Moscow in December debunked the establishment of the provisional government as a trusteeship, which made mad with rage the Koreans who did not want to be controlled again. Anti-guardianship movements were born, those opposing it being considered as patriots, and those for as traitors. Four points were accepted at the Moscow conference:

1. A provisional democratic government must be established in Korea so that the country can rebuild into an independent state.
2. In order to assist in the establishment of the provisional government, a US representative from South Korea and a Russian representative from North Korea are to meet within an attached US-Russian commission.
3. The proposals of the joint commission, after being discussed with the Korean provisional government, will be submitted to the US, UK, USSR and China in accordance with the decided five-year trusteeship period.
4. The American and Russian representatives will have to hold a state of emergency meeting within two weeks to discuss urgent issues to be resolved between the North and the South.

The country begins to be torn between capitalists and socialists, the former pro-Japanese siding with the capitalists, fueled by the Cold War that will take place from 1947 to 1991. While they were allies during the Second World War, the US and the USSR turned their backs and became rivals due to their too distant policy. This pattern where two policies cut a country in two observed at the same moment in Germany and Vietnam, but these two countries managed to overcome the differences to be united again today, unlike Korea.

Three years after its liberation, Korea had still not succeeded in establishing an independent state, failing for example to create a National Assembly where the North and the South could vote their representatives. The provisional government was then governed by KIM GU, considered a well-respected independence activist, and was against elections only in the South, aware that it would split the country further. However, elections were eventually held in the South, resulting from the pressure observed by the US and the USSR, following the beginnings of the Cold War. With the end of trusteeship approaching in two years, both countries were each looking for a solution so that Korea would fall under their total governance. Since the conditions of the Moscow conference were not respected, the US warned the United Nations, and a temporary commission on Korea was created to oversee general elections in the North and South, with seats in the Assembly allocated proportionally to the number of inhabitants in each part of the peninsula.

The USSR then opposed the entry of United Nations troops into northern Korea, contrary to KIM GU’s request for assistance in establishing a government that would make Korea free, independent, and united. Faced with the Russian refusal, the US demanded elections in the South, approved by the interim committee of the United Nations General Assembly in February 1948. The first elections of the 20th century in Korea, in the South, were set for the date of May 10. In response, KIM GU made an announcement before going to the North, in front of his home, where he says:

«I’ll never cooperated with the establishment of a government for the South only, even though I am cut in two by the 38° parallel trying to create a unified homeland. My thirty million Korean brothers and sisters, this is the only thing I can say after being blinded with tears of regret. I urge you to consider our difficult situation with caution, and to think about the future of the country. »

Resolved to discuss with the politicians of the North, KIM GU sent them a letter through the intermediary of the UK and the USSR, where he proposed to hold a conference for the leaders of the South and the North to meet and decide on a joint election between the two countries. The North agreed, proposing a meeting on 14 April in Pyongyang. KIM crossed the 38° parallel a few days later, on April 19, with his secretary SEONU JIN and his son KIM SIN, then joined by KIM GYUSIK, the leader of an activist group. After meeting KIM ILSUNG in the North, they agreed on different points:

1. The US and USSR military troops must be withdrawn from the peninsula at the same time in the North and in the South.
2. A unified parliament must be created following democratic elections throughout the country.
3. A unified democratic government must be established with its constitution.
4. Rejection of the elections in the South on May 10, 1948, and if they were forced to pass, reject the results.

Back in the South on May 5, KIM GU asked for the withdrawal of American troops and the cancellation of the elections, but his requests were rejected. The Republic of Korea was then inaugurated in the South following the elections, where SYNGMAN RHEE officially became the very first president on 24 July 1948. In response, the North proclaimed the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on September 9 with KIM ILSUNG at its head, making the separation of the country into two definitive. SYNGMAN RHEE and KIM GU were both influential and respected activists, but SYNGMAN RHEE was preferred by the US. Some time before, on 3 April, a revolt broke out in Jeju, opposing the vote of 10 May, prohibiting access to two of the three polling stations present on the island. Once SYNGMAN RHEE president, the army was sent to Jeju to look for sympathizers of the North and the socialist-communist regime. The situation escaping their hands, many men, women and children were killed and two thirds of the villages of the island were reduced to ashes. A memorial has since been inaugurated.

KIM GU was born in 1876 in a small village under the name of KIM CHANGAM and fought within the peasant army during the Donghak peasant revolt. When Queen MIN was assassinated, he killed a Japanese pretending to be a Korean in a port, certain that he was the assassin. For lack of proof, KIM GU was arrested and sentenced to death, then was pardoned by King KOJONG. Upon his release from prison, he lived as a recluse monk in the Magoksa temple before joining an independent pro movement. He then left for Shanghai and became president of a provisional office for the liberation of Korea. SYNGMAN RHEE was born in Pyeongsan in 1875. While KIM GU was fighting within the peasant army, SYNGMAN RHEE was a student in a school offering English courses from foreign emissaries, and was a member of a company incorporating the codes of the Enlightenment and joined an independence club. He also ended up in prison, and was released thanks to the help of missionaries before traveling to the US. In 1910, he received a doctorate at Princeton University and moved to Hawaii where he worked as a journalist. For him, relations with the US were important to achieve independence in Korea through diplomacy. Upon the liberation of the peninsula, they both returned to Korea.

Upon his return, KIM GU published an autobiography that begins with the words: “Neither Washington nor Moscow can become our capital, and should be. All those who think they should be are no different from those who wished to become our capital in Tokyo before our liberation. Seoul is our only capital. We must find, establish and assert our own philosophy.” For his part, SYNGMAN RHEE declared in June 1946, almost a year after the liberation: “Even on his side, the South must create a kind of temporary government or committee and drive the USSR beyond the 38th parallel.” Although the two men wanted independence from Korea, SYNGMAN RHEE did not want to collaborate with the North, even if it meant that Korea could not be reunited. It is this deviance of ideology that made him preferred by the US to become president. KIM GU was assassinated at his home on June 26, 1949.

Two years after the establishment of the governments of the South and the North, war broke out. As tensions between the US and the USSR intensified, both parts of the peninsula did likewise. At dawn on Sunday, June 25, 1950, the tanks from the North crossed the 38° parallel towards Gaeseong, Uijeongbu, Chuncheon, Gangneung and the Ongjin peninsula. In denial, the South claimed to be superior to the North, even claiming that it would occupy Pyeongyang within three to five days. Yet, on June 27, SYNGMAN RHEE fled, and broadcast a message claiming that the US will help the South which will emerge victorious. But the North Korean army gained ground, and a crowd movement broke out on the Han River, only one bridge existed at the time to cross it. The bridge finally collapsed on the morning of the 28th and hundreds of people were swept away in the waters. According to the South, it was the North that had placed explosives to prevent the escape of the Koreans. Of all the Korean War, this act is still considered today as one of the most barbaric since it actively targeted innocent civilians seeking to flee. At 11:30 on the 28th, the North occupied Seoul, only three days after the start of hostilities.

The United Nations Security Council convened to deploy troops in Korea, with India opposing, fearing that the conflict would escalate with additional foreign military presence. But the United Nations Commandery (UNC) was created, led by the American General DOUGLAS MACARTHUR, with soldiers from sixteen different countries, including the US, UK, and France, but the US represented 98% of the air forces, 83.3% of the navy, and 88% of the land. Two months after the start of the conflict, the North occupied all of the South except for the Nakdonggang River, and the regions of Gyeongsangbuk-do and Gyeongsangnam-do. SYNGMAN RHEE then handed over full military powers to MACARTHUR, in order to protect the cities of Daegu and Busan at all costs. After the fall of Seoul, Busan had become the provisional capital. MACARTHUR sent troops to Incheon on September 15, and on the 28th, Seoul was liberated.

The South in turn crossed the 38° parallel and ascended all the North to China and the Amnokgang river. China feeling in danger, it sent troops, and MACARTHUR asked to use atomic bombs on Manchuria, which was prohibited and he was replaced by General MATTHEW RIDGWAY. At that moment, the USSR was still not involved in the conflict. Fearing a bomb, many North Koreans rushed into ports, hoping to escape by sea. On January 4th, Seoul fell again, and was liberated a month later, and the war became more serious around the 38th parallel. During the two years that followed, discussions between the two parts of the peninsula sought to achieve a ceasefire. The US bombarded the north, notably the city of Wonsan which undergoes aerial bombing for 861 days. It was not until 27 July 1953 that a compromise was reached: an armistice.

The armistice was signed by Lieutenant General WILLIAM HARRISON JR. as a representative of the South, and the General NAM IL as a representative of the North. Following the signing, a conference was held in Geneva between South and North Korea, the US, the USSR, China, and fourteen other countries to discuss the future of Korea, which resulted in no compromise or agreement. During the three years of war, the South counted 1 million deaths, while the North, 3 million. The two countries were reduced to ashes, as was the case during the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905. 200,000 women became widows, 100,000 orphaned children, 300,000 South Koreans ended up in the North, and between 500,000 and 1 million North Koreans in the South. Many Koreans have killed each other in cities that have several times been taken by the North or the South, because of changes in ideologies. Japan and the US took advantage of arms sales to enrich themselves during the war, with Japan earning nearly 1.3 billion dollars and becoming a powerful economic power without parallel. Today, the peace treaty being still not officially signed, the North and the South are still at war.

What do you think of the causes of this tragic war? Could it have been avoided? Was it necessary to separate Korea into two protectorates? Leave your opinion in the comment!

Journalist : Pillet Anaïs
Sources : KSTATION TV, under pictures