Korea Post WWII

Homework

• Report on prominent leaders of Koreas early independent movement:

• An Chung-gun (1879-1910)

• Kim Ku (1876-1949)

• Lee Tong-hwi also Yi Tong-hui (?-1928)

• Syngman Rhee also Yi Sung-man (1875-1960)

Kim Il Sung’s Formative Years1912-1934

• Despite Kim & N. Korean claims: Kim did not play a prominent role either in Korea’s independence or communist movement

• He was only 6 when the March 1 movement took place

• Not until 1929 at 17 did Kim team up with Korean communist activities which promptly landed him in jail

Kim’s Family

• Kim Il Sung claimed descent from an impoverished farming family

• In reality, his grandfather taught at an affluent private school and made a good living

• As a result Kim’s father attended a private American-Christian school in Pyongyang

• At the private school his father gained a very strong anti-Japanese resentment which he later passed down to Kim Il Sung

• Kim confirmed his mother was a practicing Presbyterian & he occasionally attended church with her

• In 1920 Kim’s parents fled to S. Manchuria

• For 2 years Kim attended a Chinese elementary school

• 1921 as Japanese police resumed their search for Kim’s father, Kim was sent back to their home village in Korea

Kim’s “Arduous” March

• Kim claims he walked alone the 250 miles in 14 days

• Kim once again begin to learn Korean language & culture

• However, after Japanese police arrested Kim’s uncle, he returned once again to study in China

Kim Discovers Lenin

• After his father’s death in 1926 14 year old Kim claims he began middle school in Manchuria

• He says there that he began reading The Fundamentals of Socialism & The Biography of Lenin in Chinese

• His claims are dubious as he would of needed at least a college education in Chinese to do so

• Chances are he learned about communism in underground study groups

From Student to Guerilla

• N. Korea claims Kim Il Sung as its founder & that he founded their army on 4/25/1932

• This is fiction: Kim’s greatest accomplishment from 1932 – 1940 was staying alive

• Japan wiped out the early leadership of the Korean communist movement

• Hundreds of supporters died or were imprisoned

• Others surrendered or defected to the Japanese

• But, according to Japanese military records Kim’s star rose steadily

• The price on his head climbed from a lowly $10,000 to $100,000 three years later in 1936

• Some historians claim Kim & his guerilla fighters were forced to retreat into the USSR

• Others say he traveled there on his own

• Either way, Kim found himself in the USSR with the blessing of the Soviet military

Life in the USSR 1941-1945

• Kim Il Sung accepted training in the USSR

• While Kim’s potential rivals for power died fighting the Japanese, Soviet officials groomed him to play a leading political role in post-war Korea

• On Feb. 1942 Kim’s wife Chong-suk gave birth to their first son: Kim Jong Il

Kim Who?

• When Kim returned to Pyongyang in 1945 he was not greeted as a hero

• He was merely an obscure anti-Japanese guerilla fighter

• But Kim had the support of the local Soviet military commanders

• Kim faced little competition in Pyongyang

• Most prominent leaders had flocked to Seoul, Korea’s traditional capital

• Socialism had attracted many young Koreans who attended college in Japan

• Once Japan’s impending defeat became evident, the communist ranks swelled

Korea Occupied

• Following WWII both armies respected the 38th parallel

The Korean Cold War

• Soviets quickly put Kim in charge of an interim Korean gov

• Soviets then declared numerous Japanese factories built in northern Korea as war redemption and dismantled and shipped them home

• In the south many Korean leaders had returned and behind Kim Ku (also know as Kim Gu) formed a socialist government

• The US quickly objected and replaced it with their own

• For months the US & Soviets tried to est. a multilateral gov. to rule Korea

• May 31, 1948 Korea had a national presidential election but the Soviet North boycotted it

• The North then had an election voting for Kim Il Sung

Korean War Movie

• (we will watch this in class)

The Cost

• S. Korea: 1.3 million

• USA: 172,000

• N. Koreans: 900,000

• Chinese: 900,000

Post War N. Korea

• After the War, Kim Il Sung set out to achieve his 3 “R’s”

• Reconstruction, reunification, revolution

Paradise or Prison

• Kim quickly sealed off the country to nearly everyone

• Korea in the past was a “hermit kingdom” to keep out W. powers & British opium

• Kim Il Sung closed N. Korea however to keep out any idea other than his own

• Kim declared his domain a paradise

• Magazines full of color portrayed smiling faces, well-fed & well-dressed N. Koreans in modern factories & emerald green rice paddies

The truth…

• At the end of the war N. Korea was a wreck

• US had dropped more bombs during the Korean War than it did in all of WWII

• Industrial centers were nothing more than rubble

• Transportation and power plants were destroyed

• Production of everything except some food had stopped

Helping Neighbors

• China & the USSR rushed to help N. Korea

• Both competed to turn war-torn Pyongyang into a showcase for their different approaches to communism

• They were after the allegiance of so-called “third-world” nations that had won their independence after WWII

• Moscow’s approach was to focus on industry and large urban areas

• China’s approach was one focused on farming & rural living

• Kim Il Sung saw opp. In the rivalry & took advantage of it

• From the USSR he received: heavy industrial equipment, power plants, hydroelectric dams, electric railroads, & massive electric irrigation systems

• From Beijing Kim received crude oil, food and fertilizer

• Though Kim Il Sung was greatly benefiting from foreign aid, he was determined not to be a satellite to China or any other country again

• In order to make this clear he invented his own form of communism: Juche

Homework

• (not this time sorry 2013 seniors)

Kim Solidifies His Power

• Using Education, inducements, and social pressure Kim solidified his power in N. Korea

Education

• Kim Il Sung used the schools to erase & re-teach history

• Schools craftily used past events such as Japan’s invasion of Korea to make parallels to Kim’s rule and the importance of following him

• Schools also taught an unwavering allegiance to Juche

Inducements

• Kim created the Korean Worker’s Party (KWP)

• One can join the KWP if they are 100% faithful to the party’s beliefs & ideology; and score high in civil exams

• Once in the party one has opportunity to excel

• However outside the party (apx 21 million) one is virtually destined to a life of poverty

Social Pressure

• Much like old USSR; social norms virtually force cultural rituals to Kim and his party

Cracking the Whip

• State Security Agency: “secret police”

• Monitor everything and everyone

• Control 12 state prisons with 200,000 inmates

• Also conduct special overseas missions or attacks

Korean Prison Movie

• Will watch in class

The Economy:Supporting the 5th Largest Army

The Good Old Days

• N. Korea actually achieved impressive economic gains between 1953-1985

• Aid poured into the war wasted country & they quickly erased the Korean War’s damage

• 1990’s brought about a big change to the economy

Extensive Growth

• Following the Soviets, NK focused on “extensive” growth

– Rather than increase productivity, simply add more productivity

• However, underlying infrastructure needed for continued “extensive” growth was decaying since so much money was going into the military

Old Friend’s Passing

• In 1991 the USSR ceased to exist

• Aid stop coming in & several projects were left undone such as power plants & fertilizer production centers

• Most importantly cheap crude oil stopped coming in paralyzing everything from transport to farming

Dwindling Trade

• With the USSR a shell of its former self, trade with N. Korea greatly dropped

• Furthermore China began to trade heavily with S. Korea

• No one wanted N. Korea’s cheap products

• Trade dropped from $5 bil in the 80’s to $1.5 bil in 90’s

Environmental Disaster

• Korean developers allowed thousands of acres of trees to be cut down from hills & mountains

• Massive erosion soon followed

– Dikes and irrigation systems were washed away

– Chemicals mixed with the flooding water and depleted large amounts of farmland fertility

– Wells were polluted

– Fishing greatly decreased

Nature’s Whim

• Aug 1995 torrential rains caused massive flooding

• 70% of the annual rice harvest & 50% of maize destroyed

• 100,000 families were left homeless

• 400,000 hectares of arable land destroyed

• Hunger, starvation, & disease soon followed

• Kim’s communism promised a utopia w/o bureaucracy where all were treated equally and shared everything

• Kim’s dynasty created the opposite: a highly stratified society dominated by haves and mostly have nots

• In order to have any wealth or opportunities one must be part of Kim’s communist party

• Several other dividers exist as well

• Citizens in Pyongyang have much more than rural citizens

• Males always take precedent over females

• Women are not allowed to drive vehicles

• Men hardly ever carry anything, they use tractors: Women however always have to carry heavy things

• On 8 July 1994, at age 82, Kim Il-sung collapsed from a sudden heart attack.

• After the traditional Confucian Mourning period, his death was declared thirty hours later.

• His funeral was attended by hundreds of thousands of people from all over North Korea

• Many people committed suicide or were killed in the resulting mass mourning crushes

Death of Kim Il Sung

Death of Kim Jong-il

• Died Dec. 17, 2011 of a reported heart-attack• Replaced by Kim-Jong Un

• Please read/visit:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11388628

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kim-Jong-Un/197999793546225