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Text File | 1994-05-02 | 10KB | 191 lines

<text> <title> Korea, South: History </title> <article> <hdr> Background Notes: Korea, South History </hdr> <body> According to legend, the god-king Tangun founded the Korean nation in 2333 B.C., after which his descendants reigned over a peaceful kingdom for more than a millennium. By the first century A.D., the Korean Peninsula, known as Chosun ("morning calm"), was divided into the kingdoms of Silla, Koguryo, and Paekche. In A.D. 668, the peninsula was unified under the Silla kingdom, rulership of which was taken over in 918 by the Koryo dynasty (from which is taken the name "Korea"). The Yi dynasty, which supplanted Koryo in 1392, lasted until the Japanese annexed Korea in 1910. Throughout most of its history, Korea has been invaded, influenced, and fought over by its larger neighbors. Major Japanese invasions occurred in 1592 and 1597, and the Chinese attacked in 1627. To protect themselves from such foreign buffeting, the Yi kings finally adopted a closed-door policy, which earned Korea the title of "Hermit Kingdom." Though the Yis showed nominal fealty to the Chinese throne, Korea was in fact independent until the late 19th century, when Japanese influence became predominant. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japanese, Chinese, and Russian competition in Northeast Asia led to armed conflict. Having defeated its two competitors, Japan established dominance in Korea, annexing it in 1910. The Japanese colonial era was characterized by almost total control from Tokyo and by ruthless efforts to replace the Korean language and culture with those of the colonial power. As World War II ended, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed at Yalta that Japanese forces in Korea would surrender to the United States south of the 38th parallel and to the Soviet Union north of that line. This division of Korea was intended as a temporary administrative measure only. However, in 1946-47, the Soviet administration in the North refused to allow free consultations with representatives of all groups of the Korean people for the purpose of establishing a national government, and the United States and the Soviet Union subsequently were unable to reach agreement on an unification formula. Korean War In the face of communist refusal to comply with the UN General Assembly resolution of November 1947, calling for UN-supervised elections throughout Korea, elections were carried out under UN observation in the U.S. zone of occupation, and on August 15, 1948, the Republic of Korea (ROK) was established there. The Republic's first president was a prominent Korean nationalist, Syngman Rhee. In September 1948, the Soviet Union established the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the North under Kim Il Sung, a former Soviet Army major, who claimed authority over the entire peninsula. On December 12, 1948, the UN General Assembly declared the ROK the only lawful government in Korea. The United States withdrew its military forces from Korea in 1949. On June 25, 1950, North Korean forces invaded the Republic of Korea. The United Nations, in response and in accordance with the terms of its Charter, engaged in its first collective action through the establishment of the UN Command (UNC), to which 16 member nations sent troops and assistance. At the request of the UN Secretary General, this international effort was led by the United States, which contributed the largest contingent. UN forces initially succeeded in advancing almost to the Yalu River, which divides the Korean Peninsula from China, but large numbers of "people's volunteers" from the army of the People's Republic of China joined the North Korea forces. In December 1950, a major Chinese attack forced UN troops to withdraw southward. The battle line fluctuated up and down the peninsula until the late spring of 1951, when it finally stabilized north of Seoul near the 38th parallel. Armistice negotiations began in July 1951, but hostilities continued until July 27, 1953, when, at the village of Panmunjom, the military commanders of the DPRK forces, the Chinese people's volunteers, and the UNC signed an armistice agreement. Neither the United States nor the ROK is a signatory of the armistice per se, though both adhere to it through the UNC. No comprehensive peace agreement has been signed in Korea, and the 1953 armistice agreement remains in force. A Military Armistice Commission, composed of 10 members, 5 appointed by each side, is empowered to supervise implementation of the terms of the armistice. The armistice called for an international conference to find a political solution to the problem of Korea's division. This conference met at Geneva in April 1954, but after 7 weeks of futile debate, ended inconclusively. Postwar Developments Syngman Rhee served as president of the Republic of Korea until April 1960, when university students and others, demonstrating in protest against irregularities in the presidential election of that year, forced him to step down. A caretaker government was established, the constitution was amended and, in June, national elections were held. The opposition Democratic Party easily defeated Rhee's Liberals, and in August, the new National Assembly named Chang Myon prime minister. Chang's democratic but administratively ineffectual government--the Second Republic--lasted until May 1961, when it was overthrown in an army coup led by Maj. Gen. Park Chung Hee. After 2 years of military government under Gen. Park, civilian rule was restored with the advent of the Third Republic in 1963. Park, who had retired from the army, was elected president (and was reelected in 1967, 1971, and 1978). In 1972, a popular referendum approved the Yushin (revitalizing) constitution, which greatly strengthened the executive branch's powers. Key provisions included indirect election of the president, presidential appointment of one-third of the National Assembly, and presidential authority to issue decrees to restrict civil liberties in times of national emergency. Park subsequently issued several such decrees; the best-known of these, EM-9, banned discussion of false rumors, criticism of the constitution or advocacy of its reform, and political demonstrations by students. The Park era, marked by rapid industrialization and extraordinary economic growth and modernization, ended with his assassination in October 1979. Prime Minister Choi Kyu Ha assumed office briefly (the Fourth Republic), promising a new constitution and presidential elections. In December 1979, Maj. Gen. Chun Doo Hwan and his close colleagues removed the army chief of staff and soon controlled the government. By September, President Choi had been forced to resign, and General Chun, by then retired from the army, was named president. During this process and in opposition to it, demonstrations by campus activists and others increased through the spring of 1980. In mid-May, the government declared martial law, banned all demonstrations, and arrested many political leaders and dissidents. In Kwangju City, Special Forces units reacted harshly to demonstrators who ignored the ban, setting off a confrontation which left an official estimate of 170 dead. Unofficial sources claim a higher figure. This incident left a wound that has proven slow to heal. In October, a referendum approved a new constitution, beginning the Fifth Republic. This document retained key features of earlier ones, including a strong executive and indirect election of the president but limited the chief executive to one 7-year term. Elections were held in early 1981 for a National Assembly and an electoral college; the latter elected President Chun to a 7-year term beginning in March of that year. Although martial law ended in January 1981, the government, under laws enacted during the martial law period, retains broad legal powers