Brief Korean History - Chosun dynasty to 1950

Dear Mom and Dad,

                Korean history.  Wow.  Where to start…

                I supposed what most people at home would be interested in is the modern history, although that should in no way dismiss the thousands of years of fascinating history of the Korean peninsula.  However, I understand that what most people outside of Korea know anything about, is a mere spattering of its modern history.  Sadly, we in the West often dismiss history that is not directly related to the West.  Why sadly?  I guess that is a personal opinion, because I am fascinated with history.  The life and times of people are not really so drastically different.  We all eat, sleep, love, marry, have children, work, live.  The rest of living, while it identifies us as unique cultures, is in reality superficial- surface differences, but that is what we see first.  And that is what we, with all of our superficial human nature, take exception to when we are searching for division.  But enough of the personal philosophy!  Woo-hoo, heavy!!

              Back to history.  The Korean peninsula/people have a long (I mean looong) history and so traditions and culture identity runs very deep.  5,000 years deep.  And because of its unique positioning, it is often caught smack-dab in the middle of several major powerful enemies/neutrals/tense-allies at any given time.  It has learned to be wary of its neighbors.  They’ve paid that price over and over and over… Over 1,000 times have they been attacked or invaded by surrounding countries or large marauding bands of pirates etc.  Which works out to be about once every five years or so, if you go by straight statistics.  Obviously, there were times that the invasion lasted longer, and there were long stretches of peace and prosperity.  But there has always been an expectation of “Where’s it coming from next?” 

             So then comes modern day Korea, which we will say for sake of understanding begins at the end of the 1890s.  The previous Chosun dynasty lasted from the 1300’s to 1897.  This was the period of unification for the Korean peninsula.  So, yes, division in Korea is not new or unprecedented, it has just become virtually impossible to move between the states now.  During prior divisions, there was still trade and travel, etc. but the Chosun dynasty was kind of the Golden Era for the Korean peninsula.  At least it may have been in the beginning of that era.   The Korean alphabet, hangul, was created by King Sejong ( a HUGE source of patriotic pride) effectively eliminating illiteracy (and enraging the aristocracy, of course.  Everything enrages them).  Crops produced almost more than people could consume and with very little effort.  Pictures of restaurants show heaping bowls of rice and side dishes for one person that would feed entire families today.   And then 1910 rolled around.

           Remember the 1,000 invasions?  Well, China and even Russia were sometimes the cause.  But usually it was Japan in some form or other.  Previously just before the abrupt end of the Chosun dynasty, there was infighting between Korean peasants and some of the ruling yangban (aristocracy)  which led to Qing (Chinese) intervention, which angered the Japanese ( not necessarily just because of that) and led to the first Sino-Japanese war, between China and Japan.  Most of which was fought in Korea…  All in all, a real big mess.  Not long after the Japanese assassinated the Korean Empress, the Qing admitted defeat giving Korea independence from the Chinese.  Except, Japan gained control of the peninsula, which was both good and bad, since the Russians were being a bother and the Japanese fought them off too in 1905, 7 years after the Chosun dynasty changed its name. Technically it was still the Chosun dynasty but no one called it that any more.  The bad came at the same time and of course later as well.  Whew - complicted, eh?

           When are we getting to the part about the 38^th parallel?  Soon, I promise.  We’ll get there.

Meanwhile, a lot of ‘stuff’ happened, including the assassination of the Japanese Prince Ito, Japan’s Resident-General of Korea, in 1909 which Japan took exception to and then eventually annexed Korea to Japan in 1910.  In short.  A lot of other stuff happened too.

            Now, Korea and Japan have long had serious tensions and animosity over the centuries, and with some very good reasons.  Perhaps we in the West look at it a little lightly, simply because we don’t really know the history.  It’s just not our history, so it doesn’t impact us and some might think it’s funny, that intense dislike and distrust, especially since they are allies now (of a sort).  But here is a little sample of the most recent animosity that lives on very vividly in the memories of the elders here and passed on to their children and grand-children.  

           1910, Japan took full control of Korea.  Yeah, little more than 100 years ago.  Well, they slowly began to create a mini Japan within Korea.  Korean children went to Japanese school.  They learned Japanese in school.  They could be punished for speaking Korean.  Korean adults were pressed into serving the Japanese in homes and even (sometimes) forced into Japanese military service, and foreign affairs, to forward the policies of Japanese rule in Korea.  Koreans were often forced to give up their own Korean names and take on Japanese names.  And then there were the Comfort Women.  Although there is some debate between various nations over this issue, nevertheless, it remains a serious issue. A huge, make no mistake, a HUGE source of Korean anger and hatred toward the Japanese.  Especially in more recent years.  For 35 years, Korean people had to ‘become’ Japanese without ever becoming Japanese, without ever being treated as fully human to their occupiers.  The backlash today:  old Japanese infrastructure is totally abandoned.  Japanese style/supplied housing sits empty and untouched.  Old Japanese bridges are closed off and in disrepair.  That, of course, is not all.

           Then there was World War II, and V-J day (Victory over Japan day) after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the signing of Japan’s surrender on September 2, 1945.  This is when the US and its allies first drew a division line at the 38^th parallel, where the US held the southern half and the Soviet Union took over the northern half of the peninsula.  

Wikipedia- Seoul street combat

            1948, Korea failed to hold their free elections between the north and the south (slightly different at that time period. It was not yet North and South).  The north, under the dictates of the Soviet Union established a communist government with General Kim Il-Sung as the leader and the south a democratic (of sorts) government with Syngman Rhee under the protection of the US.    Also important to note:  the Russians pulled out in 1948 and the US pulled out in 1949. China was still fighting its own civil war in China, Stalin didn’t want to engage the US in war while it was cleaning up from the German invasion and Eastern Europe occupation.   This left the 2 fledgling Koreas, still not entirely separated, on their own. Meanwhile, during this period, the whole peninsula was seeing massive widespread poverty.

            Reunification efforts continued for the next couple of years and intensified even just months before the Korean War broke out in June of 1950.  However, negotiations ultimately failed, when Kim Il-Sung ordered his troops to move south and attack the south after convincing China to commit Korean ethnic troops and eventually supplies to support the north regime.  June 25 the north attacked, while the south technically knew that something was happening, but dismissed the possibility.  The south was badly outnumbered, outgunned, out-tanked, out-supplied, out-planed, and over-all just badly under-prepared.  

             And within the first few days they were badly beaten, and unfortunately made some disastrous decisions that led to the abandoning of several military units and killing thousands of civilians along the way.  The south had 95,000 troops before the war started, and within the first few days of battle, they had less 22,000. Eventually, the US joined in the battle in July, using the logic that Japan was in danger and was a key protectorate in the East and could not be put in danger by the encroaching communist forces.

             Long, long story a wee bit shorter.  After severe fighting on both sides of the 38^th parallel and three years of civil war and near defeat for the South and the US several times, along with Chinese forces entering soon after the US entered the fight.  Eventually the battle front stabilized just around the 38^th parallel, about an hour’s car ride north of Seoul, the capital city, which had changed hands at least twice during the war.  The only area of Korea that had not seen northern occupation during the war was the area immediately surrounding the port city of Busan, nearest major city to Japan.   Once the front stabilized the war was pretty much at a stalemate, neither side gaining or loosing much territory and neither really giving ground.   

Wikipedia - Orange northern troops movements, Green southern troops

            Eventually an armistice agreement, cease fire, was agreed upon, and the 38^th parallel became the new dividing line by UN Treaty Council.  And now, this is when it officially became North Korea and South Korea. It was to be a demilitarized zone; troops were to be pulled back 2 kilometers on either side of the border.  And the UN Treaty Council outlined exactly what and who were allowed inside, and when and how.  However, there was no peace treaty. It also effectively trapped people on both sides of the demarcation line who had family or just plain wanted to be on the other side, whichever side they happened to be on. More on all that later.

            For now that brings us up to 1953 on general modern Korean history.  I must admit that I had to do a little bit of research to find out all this information.  And unfortunately for expediency’s sake I resorted to Wikipedia.  I know, not the best source of information, but readily available.  I also included some anecdotal information as well from friends and teachers and other sources here.  If you are interested in anything, I highly recommend doing your own personal study.  It really is very fascinating!! 

            Really!!