Korea – 1920’s to Present


Pre- 1920’s –

- 1876: Western-style trade agreements forced on Korea by Japan

King Kojong and King Sunjong
King Kojong and King Sunjong



- Taehan Empire: a so-called "independent Korea" led by King Kojong in 1897.

- 1876 – Kanghwa Treaty – Chosŏn and Meiji governments – forced Korea to open itself to “foreign trade and diplomatic representation (Robinson, 9)” – including Christian missionaries
- Triple Intervention of 1895 – paused Japanese advance into Korea due to ending of First Sino-Japanese War
- 1904-05: Russo-Japanese War
- 1905: Japan-Korea Protection Treaty
- 1907 – Japanese control of Korea
- 1910 - Korean proclamation announcing Japanese annexation
- Japanese Occupation – 1910-1945]
- Terauchi Masatake – Resident-General of Korea – Governor-General of Korea
- March 1st Movement – 1919 – Declaration of Independence – 46,948 arrested, 7,509 killed, 15,961 wounded (according to Korean records), Japanese records: 8,437 arrested, 553 killed and 1,409 wounded (Wagner, 1080)

Korean Peninsula, pre-DMZ
Korean Peninsula, pre-DMZ


1920’s – 1940’s

- Japanese annexation

- Post-March 1st Movement – freedom of press permitted, civilian police
- Choson Ilbo and Dong-a Ilbo published – 1920
- Dongnipgun (Liberation Army) in Manchuria – Japanese Invasion of Manchuria in 1932
- Gwangju Students Anti-Japanese Movement – November 3rd, 1929: led to strengthening of Japanese military in 1931 + freedom of press and expression limited even more so
- When one was suspected of hiding rebels, villages were driven into public buildings and burned (Wagner, 344)

1940’s – 1980’s

- December 9th, 1941: Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea declares war on Japan and Nazi Germany
- Korean Liberation Army + Provisional Government + Allied Forces
- Korean Volunteer Army – Communist, started in Yenan, China; eventually becomes Korean People’s Army of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
- Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki – surrender of Japan to Allied force on August 15th, 1945
- September 8th, 1945: American forces arrive in southern Korea, under General John R. Hodge
- Colonel Dean Rusk and Charles Bonesteel: suggest split of Korea at 38th Parallel – DMZ official in 1948
DMZ: left side belongs to South Korea, right to North Korea
DMZ: left side belongs to South Korea, right to North Korea

- June 15th, 1950: North Korean forces cross the parallel, starting the Korean War
- Korean War – 1950-1953
  • Tactics: armored warfare, aerial warfare
  • American and Chinese interventions
  • Bombing of North Korea by the UN
  • First "proxy war" of Cold War (1945-1991)
  • Total civilians killed/wounded: 2.5 million (est.)
  • South Korean civilians killed/wounded: 990,968
    • 373,599 killed
    • 229,625 wounded
    • 387,744 abducted/missing
  • North Korean civilians killed/wounded: 1,550,000 (est.)
Pablo Picasso's "Massacre in Korea"
Pablo Picasso's "Massacre in Korea"

- Kim Il-sung - North Korean commander
- Syngman Rhee -- South Korean president


Sources –

Lee, Ki-baik, Ki-baek Yi, and Edward W. Wagner. A New History of Korea. N.p.:
Ilchokak, Seoul; Harvard University Press (American edition), 1984.

Robinson, Michael E. Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey: a Short HIstory. N.p.:
University of Hawai'i Press, 2007. Google Book Search. Web. 22 Apr. 2010.

"History of Korea: Pre-20th Century." Life in Korea. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr.
2010. History of Korea

"Casualties of Korean War". Ministry of National Defense of Republic of Korea. http://www.withcountry.mil.kr/info/koreanwar/war3/20070214/1_-3722.jsp?menu=menu2. Retrieved 2007-02-14.

Outline from Book:

Chapter 12, Section; Chapter 14, Section 4 and Chapter 25, Section 1

I. Korea was annexed by Japan in 1910, leading to unrest throughout the nation.

A. 1910 wasn’t the first time that Japan had attacked and invaded Korea as in the 1590s, Japan invaded.
  1. Looting and burning across the peninsula
  2. Admiral Yi Sun-shin – “turtle ships”
  3. Six years later, Japanese armies withdrew

B. Japan and Korea, though very different, were in continuous contact with one another and shared similar technology and artistic techniques, as well as a shared second writing system from China.
  1. Yamato court claimed Korean ancestors
  2. Artisans and metalworkers from Korea shared technology
  3. Korea introduced Buddhism to Japan – Chinese writing system and Japanese interest in Chinese civ.

C. Due to constant attack from Japan in the late sixteenth century, and then Manchurian invasion in 1636, Korea chose isolation to keep themselves safe.

D. In the nineteenth century, as Japan grew more powerful, Korea faced pressure from both Russia and Japan and then China, and they were forced to accept the “unequal treaties.”

E. After the Japanese defeated the Russians in the Russo-Japanese War, they immediately set their sights on Korea and annexed them in 1910, imposing harsh rules and attempting to wipe out the Korean language by forcing them to take on Japanese names (soshi-kaimei). This started the March First Movement, which was unsuccessful, but became a rallying symbol for the hopeful (but frustrated) Korean nationalists.

Chapter 28. Section 3

II. After World War II freed Korea from Japanese rule, Korea separated between the North and South.

A. The Yalta Conference gave the Soviets an occupational zone in Korea and the two Koreas found themselves on opposing sides for the Cold War.
  1. Kim Il-sung – called for united Korea in 1950
  2. Pusan Perimeter – southeastern Korea
  3. 1950 UN troops land at Incheon – November, advanced to Yalu River by China
  4. Mao Zedong sends Chinese troops to help North Koreans – forced UN troops south of 38th Parallel
  5. DMZ – 1953

B. Differing economies have brought the two Koreas into very different current statuses, particularly in their economy.
  1. South Korea has recovered – 1960’s – middle-class and student protests for elections in 1987
  2. Cold War years- people still want a united Korea
  3. North Korea falters under Kim Il-sung
  4. Self-reliance – North Korea isolated and poor
  5. “Great Leader” in propaganda