KIM WOODS
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jin.docxo Cultural History of Korea : Since 1876
o Choson Dynasty(1392-1910)
o Agrarian bureaucratic society
o Social status system
o Yangban (civil and military)
o Chungin (“middle people”)
o Sangmin(peasants, craftsmen, and merchants)
o Lowburn(slaves, butchers, entertainers, etc)
Social relations through Confucian virtues
o 5 Relationships: Righteousness, Affection, Distinction, Order, Trust
o Foreign relations through tributary system
o Confucian worldview: “Civilization” and “Barbarism”
o China as the “center of the world”; Japan as “equal at best”; the West as “barbarian”
o “inconsequential hierarchy” and real independence(Cumings, 95)
o Internal Disorder, External Calamities
o Weak kings and strong in-law families
o King sunjo(1800-1834) : ascended as 10-year old boy; Andong Kim clan
o King Honjong(1834-1849): ascended as 8-year old; P’ungyang Cho clan
o King Cholchong(1849-1863): “kanghwa Boy” ; Andong Kim clan
o King Kojong(1864-1907): ascended as 11-year old boy; Taewongun acting as regent; Queen Min as “the most capable female politician in Korea’s history”
o Social discontent and popular uprisings
o Decline in agricultural productivity; institutional corruption; growing desire for upward mobility and increasing social marginalization
o Hong Kyongnae Rebllion
o Marginalized yangban; discrimination against the northwestern region
o The Spread of Catholicism
o Equality and promise of afterlife appealed to chungin, commoners, and women
o Tonghak Movement(1860s onward)
o “Eastern Learning” against “Western Learning”; founder Ch’oe
o Che-u(1824-1864); Korean alternative to Catholicism; social movement calling for better living conditions ; popular among secondary social status and peasants
o Chinju Uprising(1862)
o Peasant uprising against corrupt local officials began in the southern city of Chinju, and spread throughout the southern provinces
o Choson in 1800s: Internal Disorder, External Calamities
o The Era of Imperialism
o - Capitalism searching for oversea markets
o -East Asia opened by Western imperialism
o China by the Opium War with Great Britain in 1842
o Japan by Commodore Perry’s Black Ships from the US in 1853
o Vietnam by the Treaty of Saigon with France in 1862
o New Urban Culture and Desire
o Department stores
o - Distribution of goods, fashions, and trends
o - Entertainment centers and urban amusement parks
o - Because a popular destination for the urban middle-class to indulge
o Korea’s First Encounter with the West
Multiple foreign incursions
- French Disturbance of 1866
Taewon persecuted 8000 Korean converts and 9 French missionaries
7French warships attacked Kanghwa island and attempted to enter Seoul
Choson troops succeeded in forcing the French to withdraw
- German Vandalism in 1868
German adventurer, Ernst Oppert, attempted to trade with Korea
Oppert raided the tomb the Taewon gun’s father and stole his
o bones for ransom
o - American Disturbance of 1871
o The US trading ship, General Sherman, sailed to Pyonyang for
trading, but set on fire “Little War with the Heathen “ in the
New York Herald Americans sent 5 warships in 18671, but Koreans
fought back
Taewongun’s Seclusion Policy
Anti-foreign sentiment among Confucian scholars intensified
Taewonguns seclusion policy
- Fully aware of the fall of China to foreign powers
- Distasteful of Japan’s adoption of Western customs
- In 1871 Taewongun erected stone tablets with an inscription of:
“Western barbarians are invading.
Failure to fight amounts to appeasement.
Appeasement is treason”
The Opening of Korea
Japan’s opening of Korea
- 1868: Meiji Restoration
- 1875: Unyo incident
- 1876: Treaty of Kanghwa
Treaty provisions
- Korea as an “autonomous nation”
- Opening of three ports: Pusan, Inchon, Wonsan
- Surveying Korean waters, conducting business and trade without
interference
- Japanese settlers under extraterritoriality
More Treaties with Western Nations
Japan’s growing presence and China’s counterbalancing strategy
- Li Hung-chang :a politician and diplomat of the late Qing Empire
- Li urged Korea to enter treaties with Western powers balance
increasing Japanese influence in Korea
- Tactic of “using barbarians to control barbarians”
- Korea signed treaties with the US(1882), Britain(1883),
Germany(1883) Italy(1884), Russia(1884), France(1886), and
Austria-Hungary(1889)
China’s first interference in Korea’s political affairs
- A departure from Qing’s traditional policy of distance and
nonintervention
o - China’s effort to reassert its position and interests in Korea
o - Qing turnig itself into an imperial power
Self-Strengthening Movement in Korea
Kojong began to rule in 1873
- Taewongun-kojong-Queen Min
From the “seclusion policy” to the “self-strengthening policy”
- Most government officials in the Choson court and Queen Min
- “Eastern Way, Western Technology” (Chinese style; Gradual reforms)
- Reforms through the Office for the Management of State Affairs(1881)
First new government organ to handle foreign relations and reforms
- Sent observation missions to Japan(1881), China(1881), and the
US(1883)
- Created ‘Special Skills Force”(1881) with Japanese military advisors
Different Political Reactions
Taewongun and Confucian scholars
“Defend Orthodoxy and Reject Heterodoxy”
Anti-foreign policy
Gradualists
- “Eastern way, Western Technology”(Chinese Style)
- Most government officials in the Choson court and Queen Min
- Limited reforms through the Office for the Management of State Affairs(1881)
- Sent observation missions to Japan(1881), China(1881), and the US(1883)
Progressives
o “Enlightenment Party”( Japanese style)
o Mostly young elites who went to Japan and the US through observation missions
o Kim Okkyun, Pak Yonghyo, Yu Kilchun, Yun Ch’iho, and So Chaep’il
Soldier’s Riot of 1882
Background
o Choson court’s favorable treatment of Special Skills Forces
o Discord between the old and new military units
o 13-months overdue pay turned out to be rice mixed with sand
Soldier’s Riot of 1882
o Resentment against the Min family and the Japanese
o Soldiers attacked the Korean royal palace and Japanese legation
o Kojong invested Taewongun with full authority to quell the riot
Taewongun back in power
- Taewongun tried to reestablish the seclusion policy
- Intervention from both Japan and China
Chinese interference
o Qing China dispatched troops with three war ships
o Qing took the kidnapped Taewongun to China for plotting the riot
o Pro-Chinese Min family back in power
o China increased interference in Korea’s political affairs
o China’s efforts to reassert its position in Korea
Week 2.2
“Civilization and Enlightnment” and Disciplining Korean Bodies and Minds
Lecture review:
o The relationships amongdt Korea, China, Japan, and Russia
o Important historical events in Korea at the time
Lecture overview
o The concept of ”Civilization and Enlightenment”
o Its impacts on society, culture, and daily life of modernizing Korea
”Civilization and Enlightenment”
”Civilization and Enlightenment”(Munmyong kaehwa)
One of the most popular slogans in modernizing Korea
o Its origin
The term coined by Fukuzawa Yukichi (183501901) in Meiji Japan
Perceived as the key to creating a “rich country and strong military”
capable of assuring national independence
Western “Civilization” and the European ”Enlightenment”
Western values and practices adopted actively
“Modernization”=”Westernization”
“Civilization and Enlightnment”
A Conceptual framework for the Enlightenment Party in Korea
o First introduced in Korea by Yu Kilchun in his Soyu Kyonmun
(Observations on a Journey to the West; 1895)
Yu went to Japan as a member of the first Korean delegation in 1881; studied at Keio Academy under Fukuzawa Yukichi until 1882; traveled to the US as the first official delegation; studied at Dummer Academy at Massachusetts in 1884; traveled to Europe before returning to Korea.
After his return, Yu participated in implementing various reform measures, including the Haircutting Decree
Soyu Kronmun: forst book introducing the West and Western practces
According to Yu Kilchun,
“Enlightenment is what leads the thousand affairs and ten thousands matters of humanity to reach the stage of greatest good and beauty”
“There are various types of enlightenment, the enlightenment of government, the enlightenment of commodities, the enlightenment of law, the enlightenment of behavior…”
“Although no nation has attained the ultimate state of enlightenment, there are basically only three levels: the enlightened,
the semi - enlightened, and the unenlightened”
“Civilization and Enlightnment”
Progress as the narrative
o All nations ranked into hierarchies of civilization with a linear vision of historical development and progress
The West as the measure
o All nations toward the same direction to achieve Western ways
Its claim to universality
o Idealized vision of the West rather than the social reality of the West
The potential for catching up to the West in theory
The impossibility of catching up in reality
The Shifting Notion of Civilization
Before the Sino-Japanese War
o China (the Middle Kingdom): the locus of civilization
o The West and Japan : barbaric
Japan’s victory in the Sino-Japanese War
o A shift in the East Asian regional order: its center from China to Japan
o A shift in the definition of civilization its locus from China to the West
o China became an example of a nation lacking civilization; “barbarous”
o The West and Japan on the top rungs of the civilizing hierachy
A turbulent time for Korea
“ in the past what one said was right, today is felt to wrong; and what in the past felt to be wrong, today is understood to be right” (In Capital Gazette; Hwangsong sinmun)
Consensus on something needs to be done; but precisely what?
For Korean Enlightenment thinkers,
o A break with the East Asian culture and practices in necessary
o A dire need to realign Korea with the shifting notion of civilization
o New Knowledge about the Western institution, values, and lifestyles
The Independence Club’s Reform Movement
o Political reform in itself not sufficient; social and cultural reforms necessary to establish with other powers
o New emphasis on the body and health
The individual’s health directly connected to the nation’s strength
Health and hygiene as one of the keys of the Western power
After 1895, health-related reforms became an important state policy
¨ Reforms in every aspects of daily life
Food, clothing. Housing, water supply, and personal habits
By disciplining the population into certain(Western) modes of behaviors
è Bringing individuals and the nation in line with international standards
è Strengthening the nation
Editorial on Seoul’s water supply
“One thing that should take a prominent place in the minds of those who wish well for Korea and are interested in her physical as well as moral well-being is the matter of water supply for the city of Seoul. It is of more value than railroads for it saves life instead of saving money…..You can estimate the grade of civilization of any people by the amount of water they use. Paris heads the list with seven gallons a day for each individual. It is probable that a quarter a day would suffice for the average Korean, while a pint would be oceans for the ordinary Chinese.”
Article on personal habits
“Koreans always walk on the street with their mouths open. Not only does this make them look stupid, but also it id harmful for their health’
The people in uncivilized countries all walk with their mouths closed all the time, whereas the people in civilized countries never walk with their mouths open. Koreans should not walk with their mouths open”
Modern Schools with New Curriculum
A heavy emphasis on education for new knowledge and disciplines
Traditional schools and education system in the Choson dynasty
- To prepare students for government service
- To teach Confucian virtues
- Confucian classics as the main texts
- No emphasis on physical strength or practical skills
New schools to improve Korean minds through knowledge, and Korean bodies through physical education(cheyuk)
Physical education to build healthy subjects strong military, and ultimately competitive nation
Exercise drills and sporting events(undongoe) held periodically
1895 Haircutting Decree
One of the best examples of the state program to regulate the body
How it started
- In December 30,1895: Kojong and the prince had their hair cut
- “We are setting an example to our subjects…. To accomplish the great work of establishing equality with the nations in the world”
- Carried out as part of a self-strengthening reform program to dress along international standards
- In January 1, 1896, the government enforced the haircutting to passersby in and around Seoul
Resistance against the Haircutting Decree
- Adult males regardless of their social class
- Merchants; storeowners; soldiers è Seoul in turmoil
- Some even committed suicide from humiliation
- Nationwide Righteous Army Movement
“You can cut off my head, but never my hear”
Why did the haircutting matter so much?
- Personally, a violation of filial piety
- Nationally, the assassination of Queen Min by a sword
- Epistemologically, a breaking traditional world order
The symbolic meanings of hairstyle
- Traditional Korean hairstyle and clothing
- Topknot, hairband, and horsehair hat
- A symbol of adulthood and masculinity
- Hair, body, filial piety, and Confucian world order
Images of the Yangban
For reform thinkers
- Inconvenient, unhygienic, uncivilized, and backward
The yangban and its images
- White robes and black horsehair hat
- Emerged as metaphorical personification of the Choson dynasty
o 1895 Haircutting Decree
A moment of contracts between different civilizations
A clash between the old orders and new orders
Much tensions and contestations
What you wear: Self-expression; social norms and acceptance; larger political, social, and cultural identities
What is Colonialism?
Colonialism is
“the establishment, exploitation, maintenance, acquisition, and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a set of unequal relationships between the colonial power and the colony and often between the colonists and the indigenous population”
The End of the Choson Dynasty
Annexation Treaty
- August 22,1910
- Prime Minister Yi Wan-yong signed
- Emperor Sunjong announced the treaty, August 29,1910
- End of the 518 year rule of Choson
Korean Responses and Japanese Repression
Korean Intellectuals appealing to foreign legations
Righteous Armies(Uibyong)
- 1907: Disband of Korea army
- 1907-1910: 17,600 guerillas killed(Japanese record)
- Moved into Manchuria
Suspension of freedom of speech, press, assembly
- 1907: Newspaper Law
- 1907: Peace Preservation Law
- Disbanded all political organization and illegalized any public gathering without police permission
- 1909: Publication Law
- Suspended all Korean newspapers and most magazines
1911: ‘The Case of the One Hundred Five”
- 1909: An Chunggun assassination of Japanese PM Ito Hirobumi
- 1911: An Myonggun arrested for collecting war funds in the northern province and later accused of plotting to assassinate Terauchi
- Over 600 Korean intellectuals and leaders arrested, many of whom were Christians
- Proved to be a fabrication to repress Korean nationalist movement
Aftermath
- All nationalist organization went underground
Korea Under Japanese Rule(1910-1945)
The Period of “Military Rule”(1910-1919)
- The “Dark Period” of harsh military rule
- March First Movement of 1919
The Period of “Cultural Rule”(1920-1930)
- More Freedom, More Police
- The strategy of “divide and conquer”
The Period of Wartime Mobilization(1931-1945)
- Manchurian incident(1931)
- Forced assimilation policies
The Period of Military Rule
1910-1919: Budan seiji/Military rule
Government-General
- Large military bureaucracy military officers
- 246,000 Japanese: 23 million officers
- 2,920 French: 17 million Vietnamese
- The most intrusive state in Korea’s history
- “There was not one aspect of Korean life unaffected by the pervasiveness and will of Japanese rule”
Governor-General
- Military officer
- Directly under the Japanese Emperor
- Embedded within Japanese power structure
- Terauchi Masakake(1910-1916)
Assimilation Policy
Justifying Japanese colonialism in Korea
- Racial, linguistic, religious similarities
- “A return to the historical and natural relationship between the Korean and Japanese peoples”
- Japan’s “Civilizing Mission”
- Korea’s current “stagnation” due to the incompetent government
- To bring “enlightenment” to the “backwards” Koreans
- Japanese version of “the white man’s burden”
The contradictions of Japanese assimilation policy
Assimilation and Discrimination
Dual systems of law
- Pervasive legal discrimination against Koreans
Japanese – Japanese Law
- Enjoyed rights afforded by the Meiji Constitution
Koreans – Japanese Law plus Colonial Government Law
- Rights of the Meiji Constitution not extended to Koreans
- Ambivalence of assimilation policy
Nationwide Land Survey
Land= the most important source of wealth
1910-1918: Land Survey by Government-General
- “Modern” system of land ownership and taxation, and categorization of Korean land based on documentary “proof”
- Major Korean landowners kept their land
- Many smaller owners lots their land because they didn’t understand how to register their land or didn't have the proper documents
Results
- Japanese Land Companies
- Government- General became the largest landowner in Korea
- Widening the gap between the landed and the landless
- Strengthening rights of landlords(both Korean and Japanese)
Development of Infrastructure
Japanese systematically developed infrastructure
- Telecommunications, ports and harbors, especially railroads
“…a design calculated to best serve Japan’s economic needs and strategic interest in northeast Asia”
The 1915 Exposition and the Politics of Civilizations
The 1915 Korean products Competitive Exposition
- From September 11 to October 30 (50 days)
- To commemorate the first five years of colonial rule; to justify Japanese colonial rule by showing the industrial and cultural progress of Korea
- Almost 1,200,000 visited the exposition( nearly 7.5% of total population)
- The first cultural event organized by the Japanese colonial government
- The first grand cultural event open to the public in Korean history that exhibited modern technologies, industrial products, and cultural objects
- More than a simple display of economic growth; a display of Japan’s superiority over Korea; the mission of “civilizing” Korea
World Expositions
- The Great Exhibition of 1851 in London (=the Crystal Palace Exhibition)
- A stage for countries to display their achievements
- For Great Britain to prove its superiority as an industrial leader
- A symbol of capitalist civilization in the 19th century
Colonial Expositions
Meant to present colonialism as fundamental to the progress of the metro pole and the colony
The narrative of “progress” as the underlying logic
For domestic audience to further develop their industries, and to justify their colonial expansion
For colonial subjects to accept colonial rule as necessary to the development of the colony, and that they could benefit from colonial rule
The 1915 Exposition and the Politics of Civilization
In the Japanese colonial government’s report:
“Since the decline of Korea from ancient times…. Koreans had been suffering, its industry had deteriorated, and its land had been ruined. In 1910, the Japanese Empire set up the Government-General of Korea, and… for the first time, the spirit of the country [Korea] was restored.
However, it is not easy to awaken people from a hundred years of slumber… By the order of the Emperor, the Government-General has accomplished its colonial mission for the last five years…. It is worthwhile to compare the present achievement with the past for the difference is now self-evident. Therefore, the Government-General has organized the Korean Industrial Exposition”
What is the underlying narrative here?
Most explicit in the exposition’s spatial and architectural organization
Location
- In the frontcourt of the former royal palace(Kyongbok Palace)
- Nearly 4,000 buildings inside the palace were destroyed
- Symbolically dislodging the authority of Choson
Stark visual contrast
- No recognizable Japanese architectural style
- Instead European architectural style intended to present “modern”
Japan
- Juxtaposition of the traditional Korean buildings with modern European buildings
- Dominating Western style buildings blocked visitors’ view of the palace buildings
- “Old” and “traditional” Korea versus “new” and “modern” Korea under Japanese rule
- The palace grounds turned into a stage to promote Japan’s material superiority
Visual contrast repeated inside the exhibition space
The main exhibition hall
- Divided into 17 rooms, including an art room, railroad exhibition room, forestry exhibition room, industrial products room, and education curriculum room
- Designed to make all kinds of colonial products available to the public
Visualizing colonial “progress”
- Displayed 40,000 industrial and cultural objects produced by Koreans and Japanese
- Products labeled and displayed side-by-side to set up a visual comparison
- The Reference Building for products from Japan and Taiwan
- The Machinery Building for the most advanced machines made in Japan
- Oppressive and unproductive pre-colonial Korean past
- Liberating and productive Japanese colonial present and future
Other recreational facilities
- Entertainment as an integral part of the exhibition
- Performance hall, music hall, theatrical hall, and playground
“If people, as a reward for working hard, do not comfort their tired minds and tried bodies with recreation in a carefree and leisure way, they cannot perform real labor”
(Matsuoka Koki, Agricultural and Commercial Affairs Minister)
- Aimed to convince colonized visitors to accept Japan by allowing them to benefit from Japanese colonial rule
Various strategies to boost attendance
- Advertisement via media outlets
- Various organization were mobilized
- Government organizations, local cooperative committees
- Free giveaways: free cosmetics and picture postcards
- Recreational attractions: dancing and theatrical performances; free tea and sweets; water fountain; and aquarium- festival – like mood
- Discounts on transportation and free admission
- Even the poorest viewed the exhibition
Especially local elites were encouraged to visit
- 70% of the total admission by individuals residing outside Seoul
- To lure Korea’s agricultural population into colonial industry
- One visitor from a countryside said:
“When we return to the countryside, we must be the voice of advancement and effectively implement what we have seen this time,
leading the many farmers of the village and creating a model for them”
- Spreading the ideological message to the villages in the countryside
Uneven Development of Colonial Economy
Colonial development only privileged Japanese entrepreneurs and a small number of Korean capitalists
“Japan sought to make the land a show place. Elaborate public buildings were erected, railroads opened…. far in excess of the economic strength of the nation. To pay for extravagant improvements, taxation and personal service were made to bear heavily on the people. Many of the improvements were of no possible service to the Koreans themselves.
They were made to benefit Japanese or to impress strangers”
(McKenzie in “Korea’s Fight for Freedom” in 1920)
March First Movement in 1919: Domestic
Harsh colonial repression during the Military Rule
King Kojong’s sudden death(January21,1919)
- Rumor that Kojong was poisoned by the Japanese
For many Koreans, Kojong’s death symbolized the end of both a dynasty and a sovereign Korean identity associated with the imperial lineage
Kojong’s public funeral on March 3, 1919
- Growing anti-Japanese sentiment
- Large number of mourners coming to Seoul
- Opportunity to stage the independence movement
- Kojong’s death and subsequent funeral proved a catalyst
March First Movement in 1919: International
Woodrow Wilson’s Self-Determination(February 11,1918)
- State is said to have the right of “self-determination” in the sense of having the right to choose freely its political, economic, social, and cultural systems.
- The right to self-determination is defined as the right of a people to constitute itself in a state or otherwise freely determine the form of its association with an existing state
Korean leader abroad inspired by Wilson’s speech
In the US
- Syngman Rhee planned to go to Paris in 1918 on make an appeal for Korean independence ;his travel abroad not permitted by the us government
In Japan
- Korean Student Association held a rally in Hibiya Park in February 1919, staging demonstrations for Korean independence
In China
- New Korean Youth Party sent Kim Kyusil to Paris; made it to Paris with a Chinese passport and under a Chinese name: blocked from official participation due to the status of Korea as a Japanese colony
March First Movement in 1919
Declaration of Independence (March 1, 1919)
“We hereby declare that Korea is an independent state and that Koreas are a self-governing people. We proclaim it to the nations of the world in affirmation of the principle of the equality of all nations, and we proclaim it to our posterity, preserving in perpetuity the right of national survival.”
Declaration of independence(March 1, 1919)
- 33 Religious leaders drafted the Declaration of independence
- Methodist(9), Protestants(7), Chondogyo(15), and Buddhist(2)
- After presenting, the leaders called the police and were arrested
- After this point, the campaign for independence had not primary leader
- lgnited a nationwide movement
- Voluntary protestors from all regions, occupations, education levels, and social backgrounds
- Protesting continued into mid-April
- Most massive demonstration of nationalism in the modern Korean history
Ruthless suppression by the Japanese
- Jeam-ri incident(April,1919)
- Canadian missionary Scofield transmitted a repot on the incident to Canada and the US through his ”Flame Not Extinguished” to bring Japanese brutalities into worldwide publicity and criticism
- Japanese source
- 8,437 arrested; 553 killed; 1,409 wounded
- Korean source
- 46,948 arrested; 7,509 killed; 15,961 wounded
Strategic Change in Colonial Policy
1919-1937:Second phase of Japanese Colonial Rule in Korea
Bunkai seiji: “cultural rule”
- Response to March 1 independence Mvmt
- International Criticism of Harsh Colonial Rule
Saito Makoto appointed Governor General
- Navy Admiral, Prime Minister(1932-1934)
<Week 4: The Colonial Experience II>
Colonial Experience II
Week 4-1 : New Tastes, New Desires, and New Women
The Period of “Cultural Rule” (1919-1937): New Tastes, New Desires, and New Women
Kang Hyang-nan (1900-?)
-A former kisoeng
- Left her profession to pursue education, but attempted suicide after breaking up with her lover
-In June 1922, Kang attempted to disguise herself as a man in order to attend the Training School.
-First Korean Woman with bobbed hair
-Cropped her hair to “live like a man”
-Created much controversy regarding women’s love, education, gender role.
March First Movement in 1919
-Domestic context
Harsh colonial repression during the “dark period”
King kojong’s sudden death and public funeral (March 3, 1919)
-International context
End of the WWI (1918)
Woodrow Wilson’s principle of “self-determination”
“A state has the right of self-determination in the sense of having the right to choose freely its political, economic, social and cultural systems.”
Changes in Colonial Policy
-Cultural Rule (Bunkai seiji; 1919-1937)
Harsh enforcement proved to be counter productive
International criticism of harsh colonial rule
-New Governor-General Saito Makoto (1919-1927, 1929-1931)
Changes in Colonial Policy
-Relaxed controls in economic and cultural activities
The ban on newspapers, magazines and organizations lifted
Mass-circulation magazines and books permitted (409 in 1920)
Various organizations registered (5,728 by 1922)
Vernacular Press established in 1920
-New Company Law (1920)
No need of permission for establishing companies
Encouraged Korean entrepreneurs
Selected Korean companies received subsidies
Aimed at “cooperative capitalist development”
Cultural Nationalism
-National development within the confines of the colonial system
Korean elites, with no political outlets, turned to cultural projects
As preparation for the creation of a modern Korean nation
Addressed specific Japanese colonial policies and attempted to expand on announced reforms to carve out a broader sphere of cultural autonomy
Focused on cultural autonomy and economic development
Korean University Movement
-High Korean education aspirations
Education reforms after the 1919 movementà expansion of education facilities
Still a large gap in enrollment between Korean and Japanese
|
|
Elementary |
Vocational |
University |
|
Ratio |
1:6 |
1:21 |
1:109 |
Many Korean Students left Korea to Japan and the US for higher education
-Society for the creation of a National University (1922)
Modern education as a key to Korean survival
Emphasis on a university to produce national leaders
Raised funds for establishing a Korean university
Started with tremendous enthusiasm among nationalist organization
Failed due to insufficient funds; and the founding of Keijo Imperial University (1924)
Korean Production Movement
New Company Law (1920)
-No need of permission for establishing companiesà encouraged Korean merchants and landowners turned into Korean entrepreneursà selected Korean companies received subsidies à aimed at “cooperative capitalist development”
-Tariffs between Korea further strengthenedà Korean products too meager to compete with Japanese products
Society for the promotion of a Native Production (1923)
-The largest movement after the March First Movement
-Slogan: “My household with my goods,” “Korean goods for Korean People”
-Supported Korean Produced goods, and boycotted Japanese and imported goods
-Nationalistic goals to stimulate national unity and capitalist development
Rise of Korean entrepreneurs: Kim Song-su
-Kim Song-su and Kyongsong Textile Company
A large landowner in Cholla province
Established Kyongsong Textile company (1919)
Launched the Donggo ilbo (1920)
Opened Posbng College (now Korea University)
Second vice-president of South Korea (1951)
New Urban Culture and Desire
-Distribution of goods, fashions, and trends
-Entertainment centers and urban amusement parks
-Became a popular destination for the urban middle-class to indulge their fantasies in modern urban life
-Café, restaurants, and theaters
Day laborer’s wage 60-80 cents; coffee 10 cents; beer 40 cents
The increasing number of the theaters
11(1916); 25(1924); 43(1934); 74(1942)
-The “Golden Age of Silent Films”
Arirang by Na Un’gyu (1926)
Major American studios distributed films in colonial Korea
The stardom of American actor and actress
New trend of emulating their hairstyle, fashion, and gestures
Charlie Chaplin’s moustache, Gary Cooper’s overcoat, Greta Garbo’s face
Envisioning New Roles Korean Women
-Nationalist reformers agreed to the need to redefine women’s role as a “wise mother and good wife”
-A goal to contain “new women” within their traditional gender boundaries yet to create a stronger nation through the reform of marriage and family
Competing Views on Bobbed Hair
-Haircutting Decree in 1894
Only applied to men; women expected to adhere to tradition
-Haircutting for new women in 1920s
For hygiene, beauty, and economies
Rebellion against traditional gender norms imposed on Korean women
A symbolic action of women’s liberation
-Haircutting for male nationalist reformers
New fashion and hairstyle viewed as a promiscuous affront to domesticity
Women’s liberation as selfish action
Blurring traditional gender roles and identities
Considered women’s role mainly as mother and wife
Birth of Modern Korean Culture
-Cultural construction during the colonial Korea did not come in a vacuum; rather it was created in a complex system and shaped by both Japanese colonialism and Korean response
-Competing visions and interests surrounding cultural construction and identity formation in colonial Korea
The use of radio
Women’s new gender role
Week 4-2 : Forced Assimilation and Wartime Mobilization
1929: World Depression
Reduced Japanese export economy
1931: Manchurian Incident
For rich resource in Manchuria
Established Manchukuo as puppet state
Marked a shift in Japanese foreign policy
Military assumed greater influence in Japan’s government
1937: Marco Polo Bridge Incident
Beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War and Pacific War
Total war and wartime mobilization
Industrialization
-Industrialization before 1931
Korean wealth remained concentrated in agriculture
Korea was to serve as a rice granary for Japanese consumption and as a market for Japanese manufactured goods
-Japan-Manchuria Bolc
Japan sought to integrate the economies of Japan, Choson, and Manchukuo
GGK encouraged Japanese capital flows to Korea with low tariffs and subsidies
Japanese companies came to Korea to exploit the Manchurian market
In colonial Korea, industrialization promoted as part of a larger military policy
-Industrialization for war
Korea as an “military supply base” for the Japanese army
Military-related industries developed
Metal, coal, gas, oil, chemicals, machines and mining equipment
Heavy industry in the north; light, industry in the south
Between 1937-1941, industrial production increased by 600%
-Socioeconomic changes
Koreans pulled out from the rice fields into the cities and factories
New professions: factory workers, technicians, and businessmen
Koreans moved up the labor hierarchy after a full conscription in Japan
Cultural Assimilation
-Japan sought more active support and participation from Korea
The ultimate eradication of all differences between Japanese and Koreans
Complete stripping of Korean culture identity, “both in both and in soul”
-Propaganda
Naissen ittal: “Japan and Korea as one body”
Nissen yuwa: “Harmony between Japan and Korea”
-Expansion of use of Japanese
In all schools, business, government records
Shut down Korean-language newspapers
-Mandatory Shinto Shrine worship
Korean protest led by Christmas
Expulsion of Western missionaries in 1942
-1939: Name Order
“Graciously allowed” Korean to change names to Japanese names
Kept Korean surname but added Japanese surname
Easy to identify Korean person from Japanese person
A strike at the most personal and cherished of identities
Over 84% complied with the Name Order
Discrimination maintained in public records
Combination of forced assimilation and discrimination
Contradictions in Assimilation policy
-Ethnic Discrimination
Banks, business, government posts, police, military etc.
Maintained nationality distinctions on public records
-Forced assimilation plus continuing discrimination
Japanese authorities insured the ultimate failure of their policies
Mobilization for the Total War
-1941: Japan attacked Pearl Harbor
http://www.youtube.com/wathch?v=it3nlEcpClw
-War efforts penetrated into the daily life in colonial Korea
Increased wartime shortage of material resources
Regulated household consumptions of the people
Labor Conscription
-Mass organizations to bring all Koreans in war effort
-National Mobilization Law (1942)
-Korean workers mobilized to work in factories, shipyards, and mines
-4,000,000 (16% of the population) were living outside of Korea by 1944
“Population hemorrhage”
-Completely disrupted the fabric of Korean society
Military Conscription
-1938: Voluntary military in Korea
-1943: Mandatory military draft
-In Taiwan, volunteers accepted from 1937, but not made mandatory GGK encouraged Koreans to die for the Japanese emperor to become “true Japanese”
-Blood plea writing in blood to show patriotism
-About 200,000 Koreans in the Japanese Army in 1944
Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere
-Propaganda of the “Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere”
“The basic aim of Japan’s national policy lies in the firm establishment of world peace… and in the construction of a new order in Greater East Asia, having for this foundation the solidarity of Japan, Manchukuo, and China”
(The International Situation and Japan’s Position, 1940)
-Aimed at creating a self-sufficient bloc of Asian nations led by the Japanese and free of Western powers
Military Sexual Slavery
-Terminology
Chongsindae (J.teishintai): Voluntary corps
“Comfort women” (J. ianful): misleading euphemism
-Background
1937-1938: Rape of Nanking (Nanking Massacre)
Estimated 200,000 killed in Nanking
Estimated 20-80,000 women raped in Nanking
-State’s systematizing of prostitution for military
To prevent rape crimes by military
To control spread of STDs
Divisions in Society
-In wartime colonial Korea
Forced assimilation and total mobilization affected everyday life
The hope of independence gradually faded away
Some Korean actively advocated the imperial propaganda
Yi Kwangsu and Choe Namson (March First Movement leaders)
Some sought to seize opportunities for advance their lives
Continued entrepreneurship under the Japanese system
Held high government official posts
Joined the Japanese Imperial Army
Targets of resentment; the issue of collaboration
Japan’s surrender
-August 1945
US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Japan surrender on August 15, 1945
American Occupation of Japan
US-USSR Joint Occupation of Korea
“Liberation” but not “Freedom”
Korean Independence Movement
-The provisional government of the Republic of Korea (1919)
Established in Shanghai on April 13, 1919
Considered as the representation of the Korean People throughout the Japanese rule
1940: Organized the “Korean Liberation Army”
1941: Declared war on Japan
August 18, 1945: Planned to retake Seoul with the Allied Forces
Colonial Legacies
-Fundamental transformation of Korea
-Suppression, exploitation, other traumatic experiences
-Political authoritarianism in South Korean politics
Top-down relationship from state to society
-Continuity of economic forms of development
Institutional structures of conglomerates
Pivotal role of government bureaucrats
Government-led economic policies and development
Poole Reading
-“Imperialization, or the Resolution of Crisis”
- Starting point
How could we understand some Korean elite in the late colonial period
Who actively supported Japan’s total mobilization?
-Poole says:
The 1940s: “Crisis of modernity”
Contradictions of capitalism, individualism, liberalism, moral decay
Conflicts of class and generations, “collapse of western civilization”
Japan’s promulgation of a “new East Asian order”
Korean elites saw it as a way to overcome this “crisis”
<Week 5 Liberation , Division and the Korean War (153)>
Week 5-1: Liberation and Occupation
Conferences of the Allies of WWII
-The Korean Question
Cairo Conference (November 1943)
United State, Great Britain, and China
President Roosevelt proposed the idea of trusteeship
Korea would become free and independent “in due course”
The idea of trusteeship to establish a capitalist order in Asia
Teheran Conference (November 1943)
Roosevelt proposed to place Korea under a trusteeship for 40 years
Stalin unofficially agreed to the idea but only for a shorter period
Yalta Conference (February 1945)
United States, Great Britain and Soviet Union
The US sought Soviet participation in the war against Japan
The US invited the USSR into a post war trusteeship
The USSR agreed to enter the war after Germany’s surrender
Potsdam Conference (July 1945)
Reaffirmed the Cairo Conference
No definite terms for Korean question
The Last Days of the Pacific war
August 6: Atomic bombing of Hiroshima
August 8: Soviet entry into the War
August 9: Atomic bombing of Nagasaki
August 10: Japan’s signal of surrender
August 11: GG Abe was informed
August 15: Japan’s surrender
North-South Military Division of Korea
-After August 10
American war planners rushed to arrange the Japanese surrender to limit Soviet involvement in Korea
-Midnight on August 10-11
US State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee was “given 30 minutes” to find an appropriate dividing line
Thirty-eighth parallel was chosen because it put the Korean Capital city of Seoul in the American Zone.
-Japanese surrender on August 15
The US issued the 38th parallel decision
The Soviet accepted it, although there was nothing to stop their complete occupation of the peninsula
-American and Soviet armies entered the Korean Peninsula as “occupation armies” to demilitarize Japanese armies
-A temporary dividing line made Korea’s division permanent, and became the most heavily militarized border in the world
American Occupation of Japan
-US-Soviet at start of Cold War tensions
-Demilitarization
Peace Constitution (Article 9)
-Democratization
MacArthur saw Japan ripe for communism
Emperor retained as “the symbol of the unity”
-Rebuilding Japan’s economy
Japan as an capitalist engine of East Asia to prevent communism from spreading
Japan became a key ally of the US
Korea became important for stability of Japan
Liberation
-Liberation from 35 years of Japanese colonial rule
-Raised hopes for freedom, social justice, and equality
-Democracy as the vocabulary of the time
-Massive movement of people
Exiled nationalist groups returned
Millions of repatriated laborers from Japan, Manchuria, China returned
-Political instability
Political groups representing the entire political spectrum
Many turned into homeless and unemployed
Political prisoners released (predominantly leftists)
Socialist drew tremendous support from landless and factory workers
Retribution against Japanese and Korean collaborators
Korean People’s Republic (KPR)
-The colonial government scrambled to find a Korean leader to preserve law and other (to guarantee the safety of Japanese citizens) until the arrival of Allied Forces (September 8)
-Yo Un-hyung (1886-1947)
A moderate leftist with nationalist credentials
Korean representative to the Paris Peace conference; a member of the Korean Provisional government in Shanghai
After his release from prison, Yo assumed the editorship of the chungang libo (central Daily)
-Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence (CPK)
Under the leadership of Yo Un-hyong to maintain law and order
Organized immediately after the Japanese surrender
-People’s Committees
Some organized as CPKI’s subsidiary organizations
Some set up spontaneously
Assumed the responsibility for local administration
Set up in all 13 provinces; 145 PCs by the end of August 1945
-CPKI established Korean People’s republic (KPR) on September 6
On the eve of the arrival of the American occupation force (September 6)
-KPR’s 27-point program
Land reform calling for confiscation and redistribution of land owned by the Japanese and collaborators
Nationalization of major industries
New labor law (8 hours work a day; prohibition of child labor; minimum wage)
Universal adult franchise for men and women
Program in “reflection of popular sentiment”
-A debate on the true nature of the KPR
Some view it as communist front
At least in its beginning, it encompassed right-left wings of political spectrum
Syngman Rhee (a staunch anti-communist) chosen as its chairman
Soviet Occupation of the North
-Arrived in Pyongyang on August 22, 1945
-Recognized and acknowledged People’s committees under the CPKI
-Stayed in the background at the local level; directed events at the center
-Sweeping economic and social reforms
Purged Korea collaborators
Overturned the colonial bureaucracy and police
Nationalized major industries
Carried out a through land reform in February 1946
Destroyed the base of landowner class
Most landlords and former collaborators fled to the South
The reforms solidified mass support for the PCs
American Occupation of the South
-Arrived in Inchon on September 8, 1945
General Hodge: Commanding general of the 24h Corps in Okinawa
No preparation to assume control of Korea
Japanese warned of Korean communists
The US was distrustful of Koreans even before arrival
-Hodge acknowledged neither KPR nor Shanghai Provisional
Government as a legitimate government of Korea
-Turned to conservative Koreans
Korean Democratic Party (KDP) was founded
Consisted of landlords and businessman
-Revived the colonial bureaucracy
First hired the Japanese; gave up
Then hired Korean collaborators
-Revived the colonial police
Highest-ranking police officials drawn from the conservative KDP; 80% drawn from the former members of the colonial police
-Long and violent process of eliminate the PCs
Korean Political Leaders and Parties
Kim il sung Yo Un-hyong Kim Ku Syngman Rhee
Left ß------------------------------------------------------------à Right
Kim il-Sung (1912-1944)
-Moved to Manchuria (1926)
-Joined Korean Communist Party and fought in anti-Japanese guerrilla war with the Chinese communists (1931)
-Arrived in Pyonyang with his Manchurian guerrillas in September 1945
-Became chairman of the North Korean branch of the Korean Community part with backing from the Soviets in December 1945
Yo Un-hyung (1886-1947)
-A moderate leftist
-Korean representative to the Paris Peace conference; a member of the Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai (1919)
-Captured by Japanese agents and sent to prison (1926) for anti-Japanese activities
-After his release, Yo assumed the editorship of the chungang ilbo (central Daily)
-Worked with groups on both sides
-Assassinated in 1947
Kim Ku (1876-1949)
-Participated in the Tonghak Movement
-President of the provisional government in Shanghai in 1940-1948
-Formed a Korean Restoration Army
-De facto leader of the Korean government in exile
-Anti-Communist
-Participated in the United Front
-Assassinated in 1949
Syngman Rhee (1875-1965)
-Member of Independence club
-Moved to the US in 1904
-Educated at George Washington (BA), Harvard (MA), and Princeton (PhD)
-Worked for Korea’s independence in the US using the diplomatic channel
-Forever anti-communist
-Best-known independence activist abroad
Moscow Conference
-Both occupation forces operated under the principle of granting full independence to Korea “in due course”
-Agreements in December 1945
1. Formation of a provisional Korean government
2. Establishment of the US-USSR Joint commission
3. A five-year trusteeship of Korea before full independence
-Right-Left tension intensified
: Communist party came forward in support of the agreement
: Anti-trusteeship became rallying point for the rightists
: Collaborators criticized communists as traitors
-American-Soviet tension intensified as well
The US-USSR joint commission met in Seoul to set up an interim government in 1946 and 1947
Both meetings failed due to the issue of which Korean individuals and organizations to include
-March 1947: Truman Doctrine
: From Roosevelt’s internationalism to Truman’s containment
: Beginning of the Cold War
: Joint Commission came to a deadlock
Toward Separate Regimes
-September 1947
: US took the Korean question to the UN
-November 1947
: UN approved an American proposal to hold general elections in 1948 under UN supervision
: Soviet rejected the proposal and refused UN entry to the North
United Front
-Bitter controversy within South Korea
: Rhee and the conservative KDP in favor of the separate election
“Korea should have its own government as an independent nation even if in the southern half only”
Most opposed and strove to avoid the separate election at all costs in fear of permanent division
-United Front
: Leftists (Yo Un-hyong) and Rightists (Kim Ku) formed a united front
: To establish one unified government in Korea
Toward Separate Regimes
-May 1948
: Elections proceeded only in the South
: August 15, 1948: Republic of Korea established (South)
: September 9, 1948: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North)
Establishment of Two Koreas
-No one had imagined two separate Korean States in 1945
-Radical polarization in a short three year (1945-1948)
Colonial legacies: a rift among Korean nationalists
Colonial divide-and-conquer strategy
No broad coalition of nationalists
Cultural nationalism (right) versus Radical nationalism (left)
-The Korean War (1950-1953) only solidified the division of Korea
Week 5-2: Establishing Separate Regimes and the Korean War
The Korean War (1950-1953)
-“Forgotten,” “Unknown” and “Unfinished”
à We don’t know much about the Korean War
-Seminal event overshadowed by WWII and the Vietnam War
First “Hot War” of the “Cold War”
First limited war in nuclear age (as opposed total war)
First UN sanctioned War
-Both “civil war” and “international war”
: International conflicts I Korea worsened by colonial rule and the Cold War
: Profound social and cultural consequences of Koreans
: Making Korea a postcolonial and postwar society
-Cuming says::
“The Korean War did not begin on June 25, 1950… and did not end on July 27, 1953…Civil wars do not start: they come. They orginatie in multiple causes. With blame enough to go around for everyone”
(Korean’s place in the sun)
Who and What is to blame?
-The general instability of the country after forty years of Japanese control
-Enervation and factionalism of the Korean nationalist movement
-The US and USSR for dividing Korea and building pro-US/USSR states
-Kim Il-Sung and Syngman Rhee for sweeping the moderate elements of Korean Politics with the connivance of their superpower partners
-The demoralizing experience of Koreans during the total war mobilization
1. Domestic Context: ROK (1948-1950)
-Rhee’s militant anti-Communism
The constitution vested enormous power in the presidency
National Police and National Security Law (1948)
“Any person who praises, incites, or propagates the activists of an antigovernment organization…with the knowledge of the fact that it may endanger the existence and security of the state or democratic fundamental order, shall be punished”
A product of the Cold War and National Division of Korea
-Rhee’s uneasy alliance with the KDP
Rhee needed a political base
The KDP needed protection for their collaborationist backgrounds
2. Domestic Context: DPRK (1948-1950)
-Social revolution in earnest without the civil unrest
-Before 1948: lad reform and nationalization of industry
-After 1948: Kim-Il su<Week 4: The Colonial Experience II>
Colonial Experience II
Week 4-1 : New Tastes, New Desires, and New Women
The Period of “Cultural Rule” (1919-1937): New Tastes, New Desires, and New Women
Kang Hyang-nan (1900-?)
-A former kisoeng
- Left her profession to pursue education, but attempted suicide after breaking up with her lover
-In June 1922, Kang attempted to disguise herself as a man in order to attend the Training School.
-First Korean Woman with bobbed hair
-Cropped her hair to “live like a man”
-Created much controversy regarding women’s love, education, gender role.
March First Movement in 1919
-Domestic context
Harsh colonial repression during the “dark period”
King kojong’s sudden death and public funeral (March 3, 1919)
-International context
End of the WWI (1918)
Woodrow Wilson’s principle of “self-determination”
“A state has the right of self-determination in the sense of having the right to choose freely its political, economic, social and cultural systems.”
Changes in Colonial Policy
-Cultural Rule (Bunkai seiji; 1919-1937)
Harsh enforcement proved to be counter productive
International criticism of harsh colonial rule
-New Governor-General Saito Makoto (1919-1927, 1929-1931)
Changes in Colonial Policy
-Relaxed controls in economic and cultural activities
The ban on newspapers, magazines and organizations lifted
Mass-circulation magazines and books permitted (409 in 1920)
Various organizations registered (5,728 by 1922)
Vernacular Press established in 1920
-New Company Law (1920)
No need of permission for establishing companies
Encouraged Korean entrepreneurs
Selected Korean companies received subsidies
Aimed at “cooperative capitalist development”
Cultural Nationalism
-National development within the confines of the colonial system
Korean elites, with no political outlets, turned to cultural projects
As preparation for the creation of a modern Korean nation
Addressed specific Japanese colonial policies and attempted to expand on announced reforms to carve out a broader sphere of cultural autonomy
Focused on cultural autonomy and economic development
Korean University Movement
-High Korean education aspirations
Education reforms after the 1919 movementà expansion of education facilities
Still a large gap in enrollment between Korean and Japanese
|
|
Elementary |
Vocational |
University |
|
Ratio |
1:6 |
1:21 |
1:109 |
Many Korean Students left Korea to Japan and the US for higher education
-Society for the creation of a National University (1922)
Modern education as a key to Korean survival
Emphasis on a university to produce national leaders
Raised funds for establishing a Korean university
Started with tremendous enthusiasm among nationalist organization
Failed due to insufficient funds; and the founding of Keijo Imperial University (1924)
Korean Production Movement
New Company Law (1920)
-No need of permission for establishing companiesà encouraged Korean merchants and landowners turned into Korean entrepreneursà selected Korean companies received subsidies à aimed at “cooperative capitalist development”
-Tariffs between Korea further strengthenedà Korean products too meager to compete with Japanese products
Society for the promotion of a Native Production (1923)
-The largest movement after the March First Movement
-Slogan: “My household with my goods,” “Korean goods for Korean People”
-Supported Korean Produced goods, and boycotted Japanese and imported goods
-Nationalistic goals to stimulate national unity and capitalist development
Rise of Korean entrepreneurs: Kim Song-su
-Kim Song-su and Kyongsong Textile Company
A large landowner in Cholla province
Established Kyongsong Textile company (1919)
Launched the Donggo ilbo (1920)
Opened Posbng College (now Korea University)
Second vice-president of South Korea (1951)
New Urban Culture and Desire
-Distribution of goods, fashions, and trends
-Entertainment centers and urban amusement parks
-Became a popular destination for the urban middle-class to indulge their fantasies in modern urban life
-Café, restaurants, and theaters
Day laborer’s wage 60-80 cents; coffee 10 cents; beer 40 cents
The increasing number of the theaters
11(1916); 25(1924); 43(1934); 74(1942)
-The “Golden Age of Silent Films”
Arirang by Na Un’gyu (1926)
Major American studios distributed films in colonial Korea
The stardom of American actor and actress
New trend of emulating their hairstyle, fashion, and gestures
Charlie Chaplin’s moustache, Gary Cooper’s overcoat, Greta Garbo’s face
Envisioning New Roles Korean Women
-Nationalist reformers agreed to the need to redefine women’s role as a “wise mother and good wife”
-A goal to contain “new women” within their traditional gender boundaries yet to create a stronger nation through the reform of marriage and family
Competing Views on Bobbed Hair
-Haircutting Decree in 1894
Only applied to men; women expected to adhere to tradition
-Haircutting for new women in 1920s
For hygiene, beauty, and economies
Rebellion against traditional gender norms imposed on Korean women
A symbolic action of women’s liberation
-Haircutting for male nationalist reformers
New fashion and hairstyle viewed as a promiscuous affront to domesticity
Women’s liberation as selfish action
Blurring traditional gender roles and identities
Considered women’s role mainly as mother and wife
Birth of Modern Korean Culture
-Cultural construction during the colonial Korea did not come in a vacuum; rather it was created in a complex system and shaped by both Japanese colonialism and Korean response
-Competing visions and interests surrounding cultural construction and identity formation in colonial Korea
The use of radio
Women’s new gender role
Week 4-2 : Forced Assimilation and Wartime Mobilization
1929: World Depression
Reduced Japanese export economy
1931: Manchurian Incident
For rich resource in Manchuria
Established Manchukuo as puppet state
Marked a shift in Japanese foreign policy
Military assumed greater influence in Japan’s government
1937: Marco Polo Bridge Incident
Beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War and Pacific War
Total war and wartime mobilization
Industrialization
-Industrialization before 1931
Korean wealth remained concentrated in agriculture
Korea was to serve as a rice granary for Japanese consumption and as a market for Japanese manufactured goods
-Japan-Manchuria Bolc
Japan sought to integrate the economies of Japan, Choson, and Manchukuo
GGK encouraged Japanese capital flows to Korea with low tariffs and subsidies
Japanese companies came to Korea to exploit the Manchurian market
In colonial Korea, industrialization promoted as part of a larger military policy
-Industrialization for war
Korea as an “military supply base” for the Japanese army
Military-related industries developed
Metal, coal, gas, oil, chemicals, machines and mining equipment
Heavy industry in the north; light, industry in the south
Between 1937-1941, industrial production increased by 600%
-Socioeconomic changes
Koreans pulled out from the rice fields into the cities and factories
New professions: factory workers, technicians, and businessmen
Koreans moved up the labor hierarchy after a full conscription in Japan
Cultural Assimilation
-Japan sought more active support and participation from Korea
The ultimate eradication of all differences between Japanese and Koreans
Complete stripping of Korean culture identity, “both in both and in soul”
-Propaganda
Naissen ittal: “Japan and Korea as one body”
Nissen yuwa: “Harmony between Japan and Korea”
-Expansion of use of Japanese
In all schools, business, government records
Shut down Korean-language newspapers
-Mandatory Shinto Shrine worship
Korean protest led by Christmas
Expulsion of Western missionaries in 1942
-1939: Name Order
“Graciously allowed” Korean to change names to Japanese names
Kept Korean surname but added Japanese surname
Easy to identify Korean person from Japanese person
A strike at the most personal and cherished of identities
Over 84% complied with the Name Order
Discrimination maintained in public records
Combination of forced assimilation and discrimination
Contradictions in Assimilation policy
-Ethnic Discrimination
Banks, business, government posts, police, military etc.
Maintained nationality distinctions on public records
-Forced assimilation plus continuing discrimination
Japanese authorities insured the ultimate failure of their policies
Mobilization for the Total War
-1941: Japan attacked Pearl Harbor
http://www.youtube.com/wathch?v=it3nlEcpClw
-War efforts penetrated into the daily life in colonial Korea
Increased wartime shortage of material resources
Regulated household consumptions of the people
Labor Conscription
-Mass organizations to bring all Koreans in war effort
-National Mobilization Law (1942)
-Korean workers mobilized to work in factories, shipyards, and mines
-4,000,000 (16% of the population) were living outside of Korea by 1944
“Population hemorrhage”
-Completely disrupted the fabric of Korean society
Military Conscription
-1938: Voluntary military in Korea
-1943: Mandatory military draft
-In Taiwan, volunteers accepted from 1937, but not made mandatory GGK encouraged Koreans to die for the Japanese emperor to become “true Japanese”
-Blood plea writing in blood to show patriotism
-About 200,000 Koreans in the Japanese Army in 1944
Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere
-Propaganda of the “Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere”
“The basic aim of Japan’s national policy lies in the firm establishment of world peace… and in the construction of a new order in Greater East Asia, having for this foundation the solidarity of Japan, Manchukuo, and China”
(The International Situation and Japan’s Position, 1940)
-Aimed at creating a self-sufficient bloc of Asian nations led by the Japanese and free of Western powers
Military Sexual Slavery
-Terminology
Chongsindae (J.teishintai): Voluntary corps
“Comfort women” (J. ianful): misleading euphemism
-Background
1937-1938: Rape of Nanking (Nanking Massacre)
Estimated 200,000 killed in Nanking
Estimated 20-80,000 women raped in Nanking
-State’s systematizing of prostitution for military
To prevent rape crimes by military
To control spread of STDs
Divisions in Society
-In wartime colonial Korea
Forced assimilation and total mobilization affected everyday life
The hope of independence gradually faded away
Some Korean actively advocated the imperial propaganda
Yi Kwangsu and Choe Namson (March First Movement leaders)
Some sought to seize opportunities for advance their lives
Continued entrepreneurship under the Japanese system
Held high government official posts
Joined the Japanese Imperial Army
Targets of resentment; the issue of collaboration
Japan’s surrender
-August 1945
US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Japan surrender on August 15, 1945
American Occupation of Japan
US-USSR Joint Occupation of Korea
“Liberation” but not “Freedom”
Korean Independence Movement
-The provisional government of the Republic of Korea (1919)
Established in Shanghai on April 13, 1919
Considered as the representation of the Korean People throughout the Japanese rule
1940: Organized the “Korean Liberation Army”
1941: Declared war on Japan
August 18, 1945: Planned to retake Seoul with the Allied Forces
Colonial Legacies
-Fundamental transformation of Korea
-Suppression, exploitation, other traumatic experiences
-Political authoritarianism in South Korean politics
Top-down relationship from state to society
-Continuity of economic forms of development
Institutional structures of conglomerates
Pivotal role of government bureaucrats
Government-led economic policies and development
Poole Reading
-“Imperialization, or the Resolution of Crisis”
- Starting point
How could we understand some Korean elite in the late colonial period
Who actively supported Japan’s total mobilization?
-Poole says:
The 1940s: “Crisis of modernity”
Contradictions of capitalism, individualism, liberalism, moral decay
Conflicts of class and generations, “collapse of western civilization”
Japan’s promulgation of a “new East Asian order”
Korean elites saw it as a way to overcome this “crisis”
<Week 5 Liberation , Division and the Korean War (153)>
Week 5-1: Liberation and Occupation
Conferences of the Allies of WWII
-The Korean Question
Cairo Conference (November 1943)
United State, Great Britain, and China
President Roosevelt proposed the idea of trusteeship
Korea would become free and independent “in due course”
The idea of trusteeship to establish a capitalist order in Asia
Teheran Conference (November 1943)
Roosevelt proposed to place Korea under a trusteeship for 40 years
Stalin unofficially agreed to the idea but only for a shorter period
Yalta Conference (February 1945)
United States, Great Britain and Soviet Union
The US sought Soviet participation in the war against Japan
The US invited the USSR into a post war trusteeship
The USSR agreed to enter the war after Germany’s surrender
Potsdam Conference (July 1945)
Reaffirmed the Cairo Conference
No definite terms for Korean question
The Last Days of the Pacific war
August 6: Atomic bombing of Hiroshima
August 8: Soviet entry into the War
August 9: Atomic bombing of Nagasaki
August 10: Japan’s signal of surrender
August 11: GG Abe was informed
August 15: Japan’s surrender
North-South Military Division of Korea
-After August 10
American war planners rushed to arrange the Japanese surrender to limit Soviet involvement in Korea
-Midnight on August 10-11
US State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee was “given 30 minutes” to find an appropriate dividing line
Thirty-eighth parallel was chosen because it put the Korean Capital city of Seoul in the American Zone.
-Japanese surrender on August 15
The US issued the 38th parallel decision
The Soviet accepted it, although there was nothing to stop their complete occupation of the peninsula
-American and Soviet armies entered the Korean Peninsula as “occupation armies” to demilitarize Japanese armies
-A temporary dividing line made Korea’s division permanent, and became the most heavily militarized border in the world
American Occupation of Japan
-US-Soviet at start of Cold War tensions
-Demilitarization
Peace Constitution (Article 9)
-Democratization
MacArthur saw Japan ripe for communism
Emperor retained as “the symbol of the unity”
-Rebuilding Japan’s economy
Japan as an capitalist engine of East Asia to prevent communism from spreading
Japan became a key ally of the US
Korea became important for stability of Japan
Liberation
-Liberation from 35 years of Japanese colonial rule
-Raised hopes for freedom, social justice, and equality
-Democracy as the vocabulary of the time
-Massive movement of people
Exiled nationalist groups returned
Millions of repatriated laborers from Japan, Manchuria, China returned
-Political instability
Political groups representing the entire political spectrum
Many turned into homeless and unemployed
Political prisoners released (predominantly leftists)
Socialist drew tremendous support from landless and factory workers
Retribution against Japanese and Korean collaborators
Korean People’s Republic (KPR)
-The colonial government scrambled to find a Korean leader to preserve law and other (to guarantee the safety of Japanese citizens) until the arrival of Allied Forces (September 8)
-Yo Un-hyung (1886-1947)
A moderate leftist with nationalist credentials
Korean representative to the Paris Peace conference; a member of the Korean Provisional government in Shanghai
After his release from prison, Yo assumed the editorship of the chungang libo (central Daily)
-Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence (CPK)
Under the leadership of Yo Un-hyong to maintain law and order
Organized immediately after the Japanese surrender
-People’s Committees
Some organized as CPKI’s subsidiary organizations
Some set up spontaneously
Assumed the responsibility for local administration
Set up in all 13 provinces; 145 PCs by the end of August 1945
-CPKI established Korean People’s republic (KPR) on September 6
On the eve of the arrival of the American occupation force (September 6)
-KPR’s 27-point program
Land reform calling for confiscation and redistribution of land owned by the Japanese and collaborators
Nationalization of major industries
New labor law (8 hours work a day; prohibition of child labor; minimum wage)
Universal adult franchise for men and women
Program in “reflection of popular sentiment”
-A debate on the true nature of the KPR
Some view it as communist front
At least in its beginning, it encompassed right-left wings of political spectrum
Syngman Rhee (a staunch anti-communist) chosen as its chairman
Soviet Occupation of the North
-Arrived in Pyongyang on August 22, 1945
-Recognized and acknowledged People’s committees under the CPKI
-Stayed in the background at the local level; directed events at the center
-Sweeping economic and social reforms
Purged Korea collaborators
Overturned the colonial bureaucracy and police
Nationalized major industries
Carried out a through land reform in February 1946
Destroyed the base of landowner class
Most landlords and former collaborators fled to the South
The reforms solidified mass support for the PCs
American Occupation of the South
-Arrived in Inchon on September 8, 1945
General Hodge: Commanding general of the 24h Corps in Okinawa
No preparation to assume control of Korea
Japanese warned of Korean communists
The US was distrustful of Koreans even before arrival
-Hodge acknowledged neither KPR nor Shanghai Provisional
Government as a legitimate government of Korea
-Turned to conservative Koreans
Korean Democratic Party (KDP) was founded
Consisted of landlords and businessman
-Revived the colonial bureaucracy
First hired the Japanese; gave up
Then hired Korean collaborators
-Revived the colonial police
Highest-ranking police officials drawn from the conservative KDP; 80% drawn from the former members of the colonial police
-Long and violent process of eliminate the PCs
Korean Political Leaders and Parties
Kim il sung Yo Un-hyong Kim Ku Syngman Rhee
Left ß------------------------------------------------------------à Right
Kim il-Sung (1912-1944)
-Moved to Manchuria (1926)
-Joined Korean Communist Party and fought in anti-Japanese guerrilla war with the Chinese communists (1931)
-Arrived in Pyonyang with his Manchurian guerrillas in September 1945
-Became chairman of the North Korean branch of the Korean Community part with backing from the Soviets in December 1945
Yo Un-hyung (1886-1947)
-A moderate leftist
-Korean representative to the Paris Peace conference; a member of the Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai (1919)
-Captured by Japanese agents and sent to prison (1926) for anti-Japanese activities
-After his release, Yo assumed the editorship of the chungang ilbo (central Daily)
-Worked with groups on both sides
-Assassinated in 1947
Kim Ku (1876-1949)
-Participated in the Tonghak Movement
-President of the provisional government in Shanghai in 1940-1948
-Formed a Korean Restoration Army
-De facto leader of the Korean government in exile
-Anti-Communist
-Participated in the United Front
-Assassinated in 1949
Syngman Rhee (1875-1965)
-Member of Independence club
-Moved to the US in 1904
-Educated at George Washington (BA), Harvard (MA), and Princeton (PhD)
-Worked for Korea’s independence in the US using the diplomatic channel
-Forever anti-communist
-Best-known independence activist abroad
Moscow Conference
-Both occupation forces operated under the principle of granting full independence to Korea “in due course”
-Agreements in December 1945
1. Formation of a provisional Korean government
2. Establishment of the US-USSR Joint commission
3. A five-year trusteeship of Korea before full independence
-Right-Left tension intensified
: Communist party came forward in support of the agreement
: Anti-trusteeship became rallying point for the rightists
: Collaborators criticized communists as traitors
-American-Soviet tension intensified as well
The US-USSR joint commission met in Seoul to set up an interim government in 1946 and 1947
Both meetings failed due to the issue of which Korean individuals and organizations to include
-March 1947: Truman Doctrine
: From Roosevelt’s internationalism to Truman’s containment
: Beginning of the Cold War
: Joint Commission came to a deadlock
Toward Separate Regimes
-September 1947
: US took the Korean question to the UN
-November 1947
: UN approved an American proposal to hold general elections in 1948 under UN supervision
: Soviet rejected the proposal and refused UN entry to the North
United Front
-Bitter controversy within South Korea
: Rhee and the conservative KDP in favor of the separate election
“Korea should have its own government as an independent nation even if in the southern half only”
Most opposed and strove to avoid the separate election at all costs in fear of permanent division
-United Front
: Leftists (Yo Un-hyong) and Rightists (Kim Ku) formed a united front
: To establish one unified government in Korea
Toward Separate Regimes
-May 1948
: Elections proceeded only in the South
: August 15, 1948: Republic of Korea established (South)
: September 9, 1948: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North)
Establishment of Two Koreas
-No one had imagined two separate Korean States in 1945
-Radical polarization in a short three year (1945-1948)
Colonial legacies: a rift among Korean nationalists
Colonial divide-and-conquer strategy
No broad coalition of nationalists
Cultural nationalism (right) versus Radical nationalism (left)
-The Korean War (1950-1953) only solidified the division of Korea
Week 5-2: Establishing Separate Regimes and the Korean War
The Korean War (1950-1953)
-“Forgotten,” “Unknown” and “Unfinished”
à We don’t know much about the Korean War
-Seminal event overshadowed by WWII and the Vietnam War
First “Hot War” of the “Cold War”
First limited war in nuclear age (as opposed total war)
First UN sanctioned War
-Both “civil war” and “international war”
: International conflicts I Korea worsened by colonial rule and the Cold War
: Profound social and cultural consequences of Koreans
: Making Korea a postcolonial and postwar society
-Cuming says::
“The Korean War did not begin on June 25, 1950… and did not end on July 27, 1953…Civil wars do not start: they come. They orginatie in multiple causes. With blame enough to go around for everyone”
(Korean’s place in the sun)
Who and What is to blame?
-The general instability of the country after forty years of Japanese control
-Enervation and factionalism of the Korean nationalist movement
-The US and USSR for dividing Korea and building pro-US/USSR states
-Kim Il-Sung and Syngman Rhee for sweeping the moderate elements of Korean Politics with the connivance of their superpower partners
-The demoralizing experience of Koreans during the total war mobilization
1. Domestic Context: ROK (1948-1950)
-Rhee’s militant anti-Communism
The constitution vested enormous power in the presidency
National Police and National Security Law (1948)
“Any person who praises, incites, or propagates the activists of an antigovernment organization…with the knowledge of the fact that it may endanger the existence and security of the state or democratic fundamental order, shall be punished”
A product of the Cold War and National Division of Korea
-Rhee’s uneasy alliance with the KDP
Rhee needed a political base
The KDP needed protection for their collaborationist backgrounds
2. Domestic Context: DPRK (1948-1950)
-Social revolution in earnest without the civil unrest
-Before 1948: lad reform and nationalization of industry
-After 1948: Kim-Il sung focused on consolidating the Korean Workers Party
Political groups in the North
-Right-wrong nationalist Cho Man-Sik(1883-1950)
-Pro-Chinese Communists
-Pro-Soviet Communists
-Kim Il-Sung’s Guerilla group
Eliminated “bourgeois” and moderate politicians
Opened its door to all ranks of society; served a central venue for reeducation
3. International Context (1948-1950)
-The end of occupation period
Soviet troops left (1948): American troops left (1949)
-Communist victory in Chinese Civil War (1946-1949)
: People’s republic of China established in October 1949
: Revolutionary momentum in Asia
: Thousands of North Korean soldiers returned to NK in 1949
-Dean Acheson Declaration (January 1950)
: United States Secretary of State in Truman administration
-To exclude Korea from American defensive perimeter in the Pacific
:Served to give Kim Il-Sung “the green light” to invade
Outbreak for the Korean War
-Who started the War? : North Korean assault over the 38th parallel in the dawn of June 25, 1950
-Prelude to the Korean War : Both Rhee and Kim wanted to reunify Korea under their rule
Rhee called for “March north for unification”
Kim sought support for a military campaign to unify Korea
-Both initiated border skirmishes and had contingency plans
Already in 1949, there were many battles along the 38th parallel
Brief Timeline of the Korean War
1951
-January 1: Seoul relation by NK-PRC Forces
-March 15: Seoul retaken by UN forces
-April 11: Mac Arthur resigned (for insubordination)
-Summer: fighting stabilized along 38th parallel
-July 10: truce talks begin in Kaesong
1953
-June 8: Pow issue settled
-July 27: Armistice signed
The impact of the War on Civilian Population
-Repeated reprisals when the territories were reoccupied
-Mass civilian killings and arrests by the retreating ROK and US troops
-DPRK troops also killed or abducted prominent SK politicians and intellectuals to the North
-Dramatic and traumatic experience for the villagers
Armistice
-Armistice signed on July 27, 1953
-By UN,DPRK, and PRC
“Stopping the War” not “ending the War”
“The tragedy was that the war solved nothing”
-The border in 1953 was, with some modification, the same as in 1950
-War devastation
1.5 million Casualties, 3million injuries, 5 million uprooted
Infrastructure destroyed SK: 1/3 of all industry, 1/3 of all homes, NK: “….only chimneys, no two story buildings…”
-Divided families, war orphans; hatred and hostilities; longing for unity
The legacy of the Korean War
-Korea left in ruins and poverty after the Korean War
American air forces dropped 635,000 tons of bombs in NK
503,000 tons of the bombs dropped in the entire Pacific during the WWII
-Traumatic war experiences
Mass killings of communists and suspected communist sympathizers
:A fratricidal war (Koreans killing Koreans); American war atrocities
-North Korea remains paranoid about threats from outside
:US becoming against NK continued during the truce negotiation
-South Korean politics dominated by Anti-Communism
: The litmus test for all in politics
: The major ideological justification for authoritarianism
: The reason for the 35-year intrusion of the ROK military into government
ng focused on consolidating the Korean Workers Party
Political groups in the North
-Right-wrong nationalist Cho Man-Sik(1883-1950)
-Pro-Chinese Communists
-Pro-Soviet Communists
-Kim Il-Sung’s Guerilla group
Eliminated “bourgeois” and moderate politicians
Opened its door to all ranks of society; served a central venue for reeducation
3. International Context (1948-1950)
-The end of occupation period
Soviet troops left (1948): American troops left (1949)
-Communist victory in Chinese Civil War (1946-1949)
: People’s republic of China established in October 1949
: Revolutionary momentum in Asia
: Thousands of North Korean soldiers returned to NK in 1949
-Dean Acheson Declaration (January 1950)
: United States Secretary of State in Truman administration
-To exclude Korea from American defensive perimeter in the Pacific
:Served to give Kim Il-Sung “the green light” to invade
Outbreak for the Korean War
-Who started the War? : North Korean assault over the 38th parallel in the dawn of June 25, 1950
-Prelude to the Korean War : Both Rhee and Kim wanted to reunify Korea under their rule
Rhee called for “March north for unification”
Kim sought support for a military campaign to unify Korea
-Both initiated border skirmishes and had contingency plans
Already in 1949, there were many battles along the 38th parallel
Brief Timeline of the Korean War
1951
-January 1: Seoul relation by NK-PRC Forces
-March 15: Seoul retaken by UN forces
-April 11: Mac Arthur resigned (for insubordination)
-Summer: fighting stabilized along 38th parallel
-July 10: truce talks begin in Kaesong
1953
-June 8: Pow issue settled
-July 27: Armistice signed
The impact of the War on Civilian Population
-Repeated reprisals when the territories were reoccupied
-Mass civilian killings and arrests by the retreating ROK and US troops
-DPRK troops also killed or abducted prominent SK politicians and intellectuals to the North
-Dramatic and traumatic experience for the villagers
Armistice
-Armistice signed on July 27, 1953
-By UN,DPRK, and PRC
“Stopping the War” not “ending the War”
“The tragedy was that the war solved nothing”
-The border in 1953 was, with some modification, the same as in 1950
-War devastation
1.5 million Casualties, 3million injuries, 5 million uprooted
Infrastructure destroyed SK: 1/3 of all industry, 1/3 of all homes, NK: “….only chimneys, no two story buildings…”
-Divided families, war orphans; hatred and hostilities; longing for unity
The legacy of the Korean War
-Korea left in ruins and poverty after the Korean War
American air forces dropped 635,000 tons of bombs in NK
503,000 tons of the bombs dropped in the entire Pacific during the WWII
-Traumatic war experiences
Mass killings of communists and suspected communist sympathizers
:A fratricidal war (Koreans killing Koreans); American war atrocities
-North Korea remains paranoid about threats from outside
:US becoming against NK continued during the truce negotiation
-South Korean politics dominated by Anti-Communism
: The litmus test for all in politics
: The major ideological justification for authoritarianism
: The reason for the 35-year intrusion of the ROK military into government
Week6
Housekeeping matters:
· First critical response paper returned (Avg. 25)
· Office hours: Mondays 2-4pm
Lecture review
· Debates on colonial past in Korean historiography
Colonial apologists: Korea benefited from Japanese colonial rule
Nationalist scholars: Korea suffered under Japanese colonial rule
New perspective: move away from the binaries
Lecture overview:
· What enabled South Korea’s economic development?
· What makes Park Chung Hee’s economic policies controversial?
Rising From the Ashes
Few would have predicted before about 1960 South Korea’s economic success (Cumings)
· “No capitalists, no Protestants, no merchants, no money, no market, no resources, and no get- up-and-go”
· Extreme poverty after the Korean War
· One of the poorest countries in the world
· In 1960, its gross domestic product per capital: $79
World’s Most Wired Country
82.7% internet penetration
78.5% of the entire population on smartphone (as of 2013)
- 97.7% among 18-24 years olds
How did South Korea rise from the destruction of the Korean War (1950-1953)
to the 13th largest economy in the world?
1. Development:1948-1960
First Republic and Syngman Rhee
· Colonial economic structure
· Dependence on empire japan
· Division and the Korean War
Economic Policy under Rhee
· Import Substitution Industrialization
· Significant foreign aid from US
· 1945-1965: 12$ billion of US and 75% of the SK military budget
· 50% of the SK civil budget
First Republic and Syngman Rhee
· More focus on political power than economic development
· National Security law (1948)
· Election Irregularities (1960)
· April Student Revolution (1960)
· Rhee’s resignation in April 1960 in exile in Hawaii
Second Republic under the parliamentary republican system
· Former Vice- President Chang Myon as Prime Minister
· Presidential post ceremonial and indirectly elected by National Assembly
Social and economic problems of the Second Republic
· Lack of commitment to revolutionary changes
· Bitter factionalism in the ruling Democratic party
· South Korean economy under heavy inflation and high unemployment
· Inability to curb student protests
2. Development:1961-1979
Military coup in May 1961
Park Chung Hee
· Economic Development = National Survival
· Park Chung Hee’s “Economy First” Policy
“In human life, economics precedes politics or culture. In this light, the economic situation of the Korean people was most urgent. Just as an individual, without ability to help himself financially, has to depend on others: so the hope for the wholeness of a nation without its economic independence was literally to look for fish in a forest.”
“When one has to worry about one’s stomach all the time, how can one think and plan anything? Korea’s customary greeting in the morning is, “Have you taken your breakfast?” This is a form of greeting in an environment where poverty is so common and so extreme that breakfast is a great event…Our country’s poverty is so severe that it even affects our everyday greetings. Without national support and all-out assistance, an enterprising spirit will not be fostered.”
Five-Year Plans
Three Five- Year Plans (1962;1967;1972)
State-led export-oriented industrialization
· Highly authoritarian and efficient bureaucratic control of economy
· Economic Planning Board (EPB)
Directing capical investment, production, and exports
A policy change from import substitution industrialization (ISI) to Export-Oriented industrialization (EOI)
· State → (National) Bank → Chaebols (financial clique)
State:
Setting economic goals
Selecting strategic industries and firms
Directing capital allocation
Banks:
Nationalized (1961-1982)
Multiple interest rates system
Favor on large/export-related firms
Chaebol
Favorable loans
Strategic industries: heavy industries
Beneficiaries of industrial rationalization policy
1963 Miners and Nurse to West Germany
Send miners and nurses to West Germany (first in 1963)
· To solve the unemployment and earn foreign currency
· 8,300 Koreans miners in 1963-1977
· 13,000 Korean nurses during the same time
· “Seed money” needed in achieving economic development
1965 ROK- Japan Normalization Treaty
Did Park “sell” the Korean people down the Han River, or was it unfortunate but inevitable for South Korea’s economic development?
Can such war crimes really be solved in such a treaty?
1966 Brown Memorandum
The Vietnam War (1955-1975)
US president Lyndon Johnson
· Sought an allied commitment
· Proposed South Korean participation
1966 Brown Memorandum
· $1 billion to ROK during 1965-1970
· ROK sent its combat troops in total 300,000
· The second-largest foreign troops after the US
Korean construction companies began to grow as suppliers to US Army
Third Five- Year Plan (1972-1976)
· To build an export- oriented industrial structure by promoting heavy and chemical industries
· Six key industries: steel, chemicals, automobiles, shipbuilding, machine tools, and electronics
· Construction boom in the Middle East in the mid-1970S
Second Five-Year Plan
· To build an export- oriented industrial structure to lay the foundation for a shift toward heavy industry
· POSCO (Pohang Iron and Steel Company)
A nationally- owned steel venture to supply the major industries of shipbuilding, auto manufacturing, and construction
· Kuro Industrial Park (in Seoul)
Producing everything from shoes, clothes, to machinery
Led to an exodus of rural youth to urban areas
Turning into a symbol of the sacrifices of the South Korean workers
Burg Khalifa Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The World’s tallest building Samsung Construction
“Dubal skyscraper, symbol of South Korea’s global heights”
New Village Movement
Saemaul (new village) movement
· Began in 1970
· Background
An exodus of rural youth to urban areas
Leaving the village adequate skills, creating population pressures in cities: growing rural urban disparity in development
· As a remedy
Improve and modernize the rural living standards
Replaced thatched roofs, built roads, end infrastructure
Successful in promoting local participation and cooperation
Socio- Cultural Legacies
Successful hosting without serious incident
· The success was widely acclaimed in the international press
· South Korea’s image began to change in a positive direction
· “We did it”: national pride with a sense of relief
· A new sense of the nation with national pride
· A new collective memory of the Korean people
· Shook off colonial and war memories
· The revival of Korean traditional culture
· Korean folk music (pungmul); dancing and art forms in a new light
Political-Diplomatic Breakthroughs
The largest Olympic Games ever at the time
· Some 160 nations including the Soviet Union, China, and the Eastern Bloc
· ROK entered into new trade and diplomatic relations with socialist states
· ROK isolated and overwhelmed DPRK
The last “Cold war” Olympics
· The collapse of the berlin wall (1989)
· The collapse of the soviet union (1991)
Democratic transition in 1987
- Growing demand for constitutional and democratic reforms
- Reached a peak in early 1987;june declaration of Roh Tae Woo
- Direct presidential election in 1987; brought an end to the Chun’s regime
- Marked the turning point in Korea’s democratization process
-Olympics impacts; South Korea’s long march to democracy
The Dark side of the Miracle
Limitations of Economic Strategy
· Political authoritarianism
· Dominance of big business → Chaebol
· Close tie between the state- business → corruption
· Labor repression
Low wage
Tight control over labor union
Lack of social welfare
· An export-oriented industrial structure → vulnerable to international market conditions
Chun Tae il and Labor Movement
Poor working conditions
· Young girls 12-15 years old
· Average 14-15 hours a day
· Amphetamines to keep sleep-deprived workers awake
Chun Tae-il (1948-1970)
· A tailor in the Seoul peace market
· His petitions ignored
· Chun burnt himself to death in November 1970 at the age of 22
· “We are not machines” and “observe the labor Standard act”
· Momentum for labor movement
Literary Resistance
Kim Chiha’s “Five Bandits” (1970)
Kim Chiha
· Outspoken critic of Park regime
· Born in Cholla province
· Regional discrimination during the Park regime
· Participated in the 1960 April Student
Revolution and the 1965 Anti- Normalization Treaty movement
· Arrested as an alleged north Korean agent in 1970, and sentenced to death for advocating rebellion in 1974, released due to heavy international pressure on the park regime
Week7
Housekeeping matters
· Highest scoring student papers as an example
Lecture review:
-Park Chung hee’s economic policies
The criticism against Park’s policies
Lecture Overview:
What role did the Seoul Olympics play in ROK’s development?
How did the cultural policy in the 1980s change the Korean society?
Syngman Rhee Regime (1948-1960)
First president of ROK
· Rhee elected in 1948,1952,1956,1960
· Anti-communism
· National Security Law
· Import substitution industrialization
· Massive amounts of foreign aid
· DPRK’s economy ahead of ROK’s economy before 1970
Park Chung Hee regime (1961-1979)
Military Coup in May 1961
· To bring back order to the country
Park’s “economic first policy”
· “To break the vicious circle of poverty”
· Rapid economic development
Authoritarian military government
· Anti- Communism
· National Security Law
· Civil rights repeatedly suspended
Assassination of Park Chung Hee (Oct 1979)
Chun Doo Hwan Regime (1980-1988)
Military Coup in December 1979
· Serious issues in political legitimacy
The Kwangju Uprising in May 1980
Heavy human-rights abuses
Chun’s “35” Cultural Policy
· Motivated to deflect attention away from politics
Chun’s regime as an “Olympic regime”
· Began with Seoul’s designation in 1981
· Ended with the Seoul Olympics in 1988
· Preparations for the Olympics was central to the Chun’s regime
The 3S cultural policy under Chun
· “3S” : Sex, Sports, and Screen
· Sports: professional sports league organized
Baseball (1982); soccer (1983); Korean folk wrestling (ssirum;1983)
Haitai tigers (kia tigers) began with 14 players
Spectator sports as a major leisure activity
Spread of color TVs and color broadcasting
· Sex and screen
Government relaxed censorship over films
Night curfew lifted for the first time since 1954
Madame Aema (1982)
· The first erotic film; a box-office hit
· An era of erotic films during the 1980s
-Mass entertainment and leisure industry
The 3S cultural policy under Chun
· Initially designed as measures to sooth the urban public
· To distract the people’s focus away from any charges of violence
· Outlets for the peasant farmers and factory workers
· Promoting orderly spectatorship and disciplined bodies
· Long term impacts on Korean society
Some view it as the structural precursor of the “Korean Wave” (Hallyu)
Peasant farmers and factory workers forced into the ideal national body
New leisure spaces and activities contributed to shaping and ideal subject for 21th century global, urbanized society
· Culminated in the 1988 Seoul Olympics
The Road to the Seoul Olympics
The Olympics as a highly “political project”
· At the international level: to use sports to perform political functions; to boost international image and prestige; to develop diplomatic links; to outmaneuver rivals
Challenges, skepticism, and doubt
· Security issues in the Cold war
1980 Moscow Olympics: US- led boycott with 61 countries
1984 LA Olympics: Soviet-led boycott with an eastern Bloc
Division in Korea
· DPRK objection: “an insecure city…dominated by a warlike atmosphere”
· Korean Airlines Flight 007 shot down by a Soviet jet in 1983
· North Korean bombing in Rangoon Myanmar in 1983
· Financial burdens of the Olympics
· Wide gap between the economic costing and the actual benefits
· 1976 Montreal Olympics as the “Bankrupt Olympics”
· ROK’s per capita gross national income less than US $3,000
The seven- Year Run- up to the 1988 Olympics
Seoul Olympic organizing Committee (SLOOC)
· Roh Tae Woo: President of the SLOOC
Chun’s number two and hand-picked presidential successor
· The necessary preparations used to keep people from challenging state authority or disrupting those preparations
“The World to Seoul, Seoul to the World”
· Tokyo Olympics as a model
· As a rite of passage for the Japanese economy and reintegration of japan in the international community after the WW2
· 1988 Seoul Olympics as a “coming-out party”
To be recognized as an accomplished economic power propagate new image, to accelerate economic growth; to force new national consciousness
Olympic construction and Seoul’s beautification
· Built a completely new Olympic stadium, Olympic park, and many other associated facilities
· Completed three new underground railway lines in Seoul
· Massive project to clean up the Han River
· Urban reconstruction developments
Over three-quarters of a million urban poor were evicted
“Their homes were too unsightly for a city hosting the Olympics”
Upper middle- class apartment towers constructed instead
Fueled the start of a housing rights movement in Korea
Syngman Rhee Regime
First Republic (1948-1960)
The Korean War and nascent Cold War era
Wartime emergency measures extended into the postwar era
National Police and national security law
· Aimed at uprooting the remnants of Communist subversion during the war Notoriously vague; anyone “deleterious of public order” could be arrested
· Tight press censorship
Rhee was elected 1948,1952,1956,1960
Through intimidation, arrests of political opponents, election fraud, and constitutional amendments
Constitutional Amendments
First constitution amendments (1952)
1948 Constitution: indirect presidential election in the National Assembly
Rhee was losing the support in NA
Rhee amended the constitution to switch presidential elections from the National Assembly to a direct, popular vote
Resulted in the second reelection of Syngman Rhee
Second constitution amendments (1954)
Election Irregularities
Sudden death of Rhee’s opponents
· In 1956 election, opposition party leader (Shin ik-hee) died of heart failure, right before the election
· In 1960 election, opposition party leader (Cho Pong-am) executed for violating the national security law; the next runner (Cho Pyong-ok) died, three months before the election
Park Chung Hee Regime
General Park Chung Hee’s Military coup in May 1961
· Aimed at stabilizing ROK from Communist agitation
· A return to authoritarian politics
· Supreme Council for National Reconstruction
· Supreme governing organ of the nation
· Suspended the constitution, dissolved the NA, forbade all political activities imposed press censorship, and banned student demonstrations
Park elected 1963,1967,1971,1978
· 1963: Park “resigned” from the military to become a president
· 1967: Park reelected as president
· Strong support in conservative rural Korea
· 1971: Amended the constitution to run for a third term
· Park won the closest presidential election
· Suspicion of election fraud (“invalid ballats”)
· 1972: Established the Yusin Constitution
· Park declared martial law, dissolved the National Assembly Yusin = “Revitalization reforms”
Political Repolarization
New government failed to carried out its early mandate
Political Freedom → political repolarization
· The long –repressed leftists emerged
· Student organizations and labor movements increased
· Students called for immediate reunification with DRPK
Criticism that party and government were weak
· General ambivalence about democracy
· Inability to curb student protests
Economic Instability
Yushin Constitution
Ptomulgation of the Yusin Constitution (1972; Forth Republic)
· Backdrop
Growing antigovernment movement
Nixon’s suprising visit to China in 1971
“ A change in leadership would jeopardize the economic program and national security”
Contents
· Unlimited presidential tenure
· National council for Unification: indirect “election”
· 1/3 of the new electoral college to be appointed by the president
Park Chung Hee Regime
Two pillars of Park’s regime
· National defense and economic development
· Utilized both ideas to justify the severe limits on political freedom
1) Anti-Communism; National Security Law KCIA
· Plitical activities repressed
· Free speech and other basic rights were limited
· Outright censorship and intimidation to direct public discourse
2) The “ Economic First” Policy
· State-directed economic planning
· Export-led development (Chaebool)
· Inexpensive and disciplined labor force (low wages; Confucian values)
Growing Tensions within Korean Society
Strikes and protest increased
· Labor strikes and student activism increased
· More groups joined the democracy movement throughout the 1970s
· Issued raised in protest events diversified
Anti-repression, anti-government; democracy; anti-military training; labor issues; investigation; education freedom; urban stum; basic civil rights; anti- Vietnam war; Human rights
Presidential emergency decrees increased as well
· Government had power to arrest anyone for anti- state expression
Repression fueled diversification of democratization movement
Kwangju Issues
Official figures
· 144 civilians; 22 troops; 4 police killed
Actual number much higher
US complicity in the massacre
· ROK Army under the command of the US eighth Army
· To date, the US denies it
The Rise of Anti-Americanism
Radicalization of the movement
Students began socialist reading clubs
Students quit schools to become “workers”
Labor became increasingly militant
Assassination of Park Chung Hee
August 1974
· Yuk Yong-su killed by bullet intended for Park
· Tensions increased
October 1979
· Park killed by his KCIA director, Kim Chae- kyu
· Issue of harsh crackdown on demonstrators
Interim government under PM Choi Kyu-ha
Progress toward a new constitution
New Hopes for democracy
The Kwangju Uprising (1980)
General Chun Doo Hwan’s military coup in Dec 1979
· Chun: a leading investigator into Park’s assassination
· Chun assumed control of the KCIA and instituted martial law
· Dissolved the NA, closed all universities, prohibited all political activities
May 18, 1980
· Protest at Chonnam National University in Kwangju
3000- paratroopers sent into Kwangju
“North Korean communist plot”
Army created a blockade surrounding the city (5/22-5/25)
Army fired into a crowd of protestors and civillians
Hundreds of civilians were killed → “Kwangju Massacre”
The Rise of the Miujung Movement
The concept of Minjung
“The people” or “the masses” who were alienated from both political power, economic distribution, and central life
A broad alliance among students, industrial workers, and farmers
Chun doo Hwan Regime
Chun doo hwan (1980-1988)
· Single term (7 years) began in September 1980 (first republic)
· Continuation of Park’s Yusin system; lack of legitimacy
· Bloody internal military coup; the Kwangju Uprising in May 1980
· Tried to compensate for this lack of legitimacy by cultural policies
· Ultimately, Chun’s power was challenged by the massive socioeconomic changes that had transformed South Korea over the past 25 years
Democratic Transition
Demand for Democracy
· Massive demonstrations for direction presidential elections
· White collar workers joined students and other activist groups
· Chun Doo Hwan accepted demands for direct presidential elections
Pressure from US
1988 Olympics
Confidence in their economic performance
Declaration of Democratization and Reforms (June Declaration; 1987)
· By Roh Tae Woo: Chun’s handpicked successor
· 8 Point reforms promising direct presidential elections, press freedoms, and instituting social and political reforms
· Marked a major turning point in the evolution of democracy
Roh Tae Woo Regime ( 1988-1993)
· Direct presidential election in Dec 1987
Roh Tae Woo gained legitimacy from June Declatarion
Opposition leaders Kim Young Sam and Kim Dae Jung split the vote
· Sixth Repuiblic (single 5- year term)
Society became much freer and political debate more open
National Security Law continued
· The drive to create a truly inclusive politics remained a work in progress
From Democracy Movement to Civil Society Movements
Post- democratization period in the 1990s
· Democracy movement became institutionalized
Korea Democracy Foundation
National Human Rights Commission
· Social movements diversified
Women’s movement
Environmentalist movement
Anti-corruption movement
Labor movement
Gay and Lesbian rights movement
Kim Young Sam Regime( 1933-1998)
· First true civilian president since 1963
· Coalition with Roh to defeat his rival Kim Dae Jung
· Initial popularity
Demolition of the former government general building in seoul
Anti- corruption campaign
Trials of Chun Doo Hwan and Roh Tae Woo (1996)
· 1997 Financial Crisis
Kim Dae Jung Regime
Kim Dae Jung (1998-2003)
· First president from the opposition party
· Longtime pro-democracy activist and opposition leader
1971: Elections:45% popular vote
1971: run over by truck
1973: Kidnapped; house arrested until 1979
1980: designated a prisoner of conscience by international amnesty
1982: exiled to Boston US; taught at Harvard
1985: returned to Korea in house arrest
· Recovery from the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997
· Repaid $58 billion in 2001, 3 years early
· Sunshine policy and NK relations → Nobel peace prize in 2000
Democratization, an unfinished story
· Anti- Government movement
Protest against government policies
Candlelight Virgil
· Anti- Neoliberalism movement
Anti- FTA movement
ROK-US free trade agreement in 2007
· Environmentalist movements
· Naval base construction at Cheju Island (ongoing)
Week 8
Changing Concept of “Hyo” (filial piety)
The historical concept of “Hyo”
Old parents + son
Symbolizes a son carrying on his old parents on his back
Means that the son is taking good care of his old parents
Increase of unfilial (불효자)
Daughter killed her mother for not giving her private tuition fee (11/09/2001)
Son was accused by his mother for killing his father (12/02/2002)
Son killed his parents for insurance money (08/14/2007)
Son killed his father, as his father gave him a lecture due to his poor school grade (10/19/2009)
Reverse “Hyo”?
The Kangaroo Generation
Increasing number of adult sons and daughters still depend on their parents, rather than helping or supporting their parents.
Durkheim’s Theory
Emile Durkheim’s suicide (1897)
The causes of suicide in social factors, not in individual personalities
The degree to which people feel integrated into the society
Anomic suicide
-individual’s moral confusion and lack of social direction
-direct cause : the collapse of social norms resulted from dramatic socioeconomic upheaval
Concluding remarks
Korea has underwent incredible change in the past century
Most focus on political and economic change
But what about the fundamental unit of society?
The Korean family structure has changed tremendously
Need for a balanced view of modernization
The good, the bad, and the ugly…
Korea’s Compressed Modernity
Korea’s modernization process in a highly condensed manner
A turbulent period of colonization, war, military rule, and globalization
Modernization: 1-2 centuries for the west/ 3-4 decades for Korea
Explains various aspects and problems unique to Korean society
Elderly cling on to traditional values and beliefs
A common thread that connects their past, present, and future is not easily found
Leads to societal detachment and alienation.
The Korean Family
Family in korea as the “fundamental unit of society”
Importance of family in traditional korea
Patriarchal social structure
Confucianism
Importance of family in contemporary korea
Source of initial socialization
Rapidly changing family values and structure
What is patriarchy?
Patriarchy = pater (father) and arch (rule)
A structural system in which
The father of eldest male is head of the family
Descendants are traced through the male line
A male family head assume authority over other family members both in the private and public spheres
By extension societies in which males have the privilege of dominance over females, both visually and subliminally
Male domination and female subordination
Confucian ethics and family in choson korea
Confucian ethics focuses on the structure of human relationships.
Three bonds (samgang)
Ruler and subject
Father and son
Husband and wife
Five relationships (oryun)
Loyalty between ruler and subject
안보임
안보임
안보임
안보임?? Between friends
Patriarchy family as basis of society as idealized model for all other relationships
Korean women in Choson korea
Women’s virtue to obey men throughout her life
Obey her father in youth: her husband when married; her son later
Seven evils for women (chilgo chiak)
Disobeying parents-in-law; 2) bearing no son; 3)adultery; 4)jealousy; 5) carrying a hereditary disease 6)garrulousness 7) theft
Justifying the expulsion of a wife from the household
Exceptions
-if wife spent 3 + years morning for parents-in-law
-if wife had no place to return to after divorce
-if wife married in poverty and contributed to family wealthy
deal type : ??? 안보임
Family Head Ssystem
Each legal family had a male family head at the top of its family hierarchy
All the other family members were under his authority
Women were shifted from one family register to another when married
Children inherited only the biological father’s surname
Male descendants took precedence in the inheritance rights
Patriarchal structure perpetuated
The postcolonial context
-to restore “traditional” family values
During the economic development
-to prevent social disorder and the side effects of the rapid industrialization
During the authoritarian regimes
-loyal to the state (ch’ung); filial plenty to the parents (hyo)
Gender Gap in Korean Family
Preference of sons over daughters
Sons carry on the family name and lineage (Family dies out without a son)
Sons as permanent members of the family; daughters as transient
Married daughters as “chulga oein,” meaning “the one who left the family and became an outsider”
A weak welfare system for the elderly (old-age insurance system)
The state heavily relied on families to provide welfare functions
Sons were seen as a more reliable source of support for parents
Gender discrimination in children’s education
-gender as a critical factor in parents’ allocation of family resources
A serious imbalance in sex ratio at birth
Year Sex ratio at birth
1981 107.2
1988 113.3
1994 115.1
2004 108.2
The number of male births per 100 female births
For the third child, sex ratio was 107.1 in 1981; but 205.9 in 1994
Gender Gap in Korean Society
Wage gap between male and female
Korean women earn 62% of men’s wages
Women’s average was: 83.4% in Asia, and 84% in the world
The biggest gender wage gap among the30 OECD nations
OECD: organization for Economic Co-operations and Development
Female as non-regular employees
Average wage of non-regular workers 65% of regular workers
Women make up 65% to 77% of non-regular employees
[Korean Federation of Trade Unions. 2007]
Women in Elite Structure
Women’s proporation
Business owners 35.9%
CEOs in the listed enterprise 0.7%
Top Government Officials 9.6%
Top Executives 3.5%
Assemblypersons 13.0%
Journalists 18.0%
Professors 18.0%
*Samsung Economics Research Institution (2007)
Divorce in Contemporary Korea
Divorce in modern Korea
Up until 1990, Korea had one of the lowest divorce rates in the world
Crude divorce rate: 1.1/1000
Crude divorce rate: the annual number of divorce per 1000 population.
Most divorces were initiated by men
Reasons for low divorce rate
Persisting Confucian values
The family as the most important thing
A disgrace to divorce; people who divorced were looked down upon
For figures of high status, divorce could end a career
Discrimination against divorced women and their children
Rising divorce rate in contemporary Korea
South Korea ranked third in the world following the US and Sweden
US (51%), “About half of all marriages”
Sweden (48%), South Korea (47.4%)
According to recent data
Would you divorce?
Men (40.28%). No, no matter what happened
Women (34.07%). Yes it is a possible option
How many times have you considered divorce in the past 3 years?
Men : 3.49 times
Women : 6.27 times
Reasons in the structural change within Korean society
Increase in employment of females
Less dependent on males
Less desire for marriage (“Old Miss” versus “Gold Miss”)
Less willing to stay within unhappy marriage
Relaxation of family and divorce laws
Before: divorce was only recognized when one spouse committed
“Crime” on the other (adultery, desertion, physical and mental abuse)
Lack of access and ineffectiveness of social organizations
Perception from social stigma
Tendency for Korean couples to not go through therapy
Mounting rate of “twilight divorce”
The divorce among the mid-aged and the elderly of more than 20 years of marriage (divorce in their twilight years)
A surge in the number of women choosing twilight divorce
4337 people over 65 annulled their marriage in 2007
446% surge from 971 in 1996
116% increase in the average divorce rate of all ages
Why divorce in their 50s and 60s?
Mostly after their children have married
Discrimination against divorced women and their children
An indication of women’s resistance to long-rooted patriarchal values
“I want to start my remaining life anew, and just for me!”
What is the government doing?
Divorce Consideration (waiting period)
Implemented since June 2007
90-days waiting or “cooling-off” period for couples with a child
Given enough time to consider divorce seriously
Divorce Mediation committee (since 204)
Divorce rate decreased more than 6% compared to previous year
Increasing Suicide Rates in Korea
South Korea has the highest suicide rate amongst OECD nations
Suicide rates per 100,000 people
South Korea (highest): 24.7/ US:10.1 / Greece 2.7 (lowest)
Elderly Suicide
Elderly suicide rate is rising at an alarming rate
Total suicide rate among people over 60 has substantially increased
During the past 10 years, suicide victims in their 80s quadrupled
World’s highest elderly suicide rate
Socio-cultural factors
Changing family structure
Shift from extended family to nuclear family structures
More than half of the elderly populations live alone
New individualism
Shift of elderly welfare burden from family to state
Break from the traditional return of wealth to support the elderly
40.9% of Korean population believes that the government should provide full living costs for the elderly
Only 28.3% of elderly have prepared for old age.
1997 Asian Financial Crisis
Began in 1997 due to bank failures in Thailand.
“Asian contagion” of currency depreciations
Series of Korean corporate failures in early 1997
SK became unable to maintain international balance of payments
International interventions
$57 Billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
In return, a through restructuring of Korea’s political economy
Neoliberal structural reforms
Massive layoffs, high unemployment, end of lifetime employment
The suicide rates for middle-aged man soared in 1997-1998
Various detrimental effects on Korean society
Penetration of globalization and neoliberalism
Some argue that Korea’s post-IMF transformation has been even swifter than its _ industrial transformation
Decline of middle class, ultra-competitive education system and labor market, exacerbating income inequality, political polarization
