Korea rising: From rags to riches

2013-06-17 20:33

Korea rising: From rags to riches

This is the final of a 10-part series of Korean history from its mythological, ancient beginning until the present day. This project is sponsored by several companies and public agencies including Merck Korea, eBay Korea, Daewoo Securities and Korea Post. ― ED.

By Kim Tae-gyu and Kevin N. Cawley
The end of World War II on Aug. 15, 1945 brought about the independence of Korea after 35 years of brutal Japanese colonial rule. However, the initial euphoria of the people did not last long.

Against the will of the Korean people who sought to have their own government ruling the entire Korean Peninsula, a United Nations arrangement led to its division along the 38th parallel ― a demarcation that lasts until today.The Soviet Union administered the northern part while the United States took charge of the southern area. Furthermore, two separate governments with very different ideologies were set up north and south of the 38th parallel in 1948.

Each claimed legitimacy and the resultant political and ideological clashes led to the Korean War in 1950, which lasted three years and devastated the entire peninsula.

Pyongyang and Seoul are still technically at war because the fratricidal struggle that soon involved the U.S. and its allies, as well as China, ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. Tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers are still stationed in South Korea today.

After the conflict, the two Koreas have gone through very divergent paths with diametrically different political and economic systems ― the South adapted capitalism, while the North promoted its own version of communism, based on Juche (self-reliance) ideology.

Early on, the North took the lead as the South was mired in societal confusion and economic disorder. Yet, the latter caught up with the former in the 1960s with an export-driven strategy and thereafter surged with a focus on heavy and chemical industries.

Present day South Korea has become a full-fledged democracy and economically it is a global success story ― after the Korean war it was one of the poorest countries on planet earth due in no small part to political dictatorship, which has now been passed on to a third generation. Now, it is the world’s eighth-largest trader.

Separation, war and autocracy

On Aug. 15, 1948, the Republic of Korea (South Korea) was formally set up headed by first President Syngman Rhee, and in less than a month, Kim Il-sung headed the establishment of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea).

As a result, the 38th parallel, which was supposed to be a temporary demarcation for a split trusteeship between the Soviet Union and the United States after Japan’s surrender, became a permanent dividing line ― something even a bloody three-year war could not change that much.

On June 25, 1950, North Korean soldiers invaded South Korea to chalk up an early victory and in just a few months had assumed control over most of the southern part of the Korean Peninsula excluding Busan and its vicinity.

Headed by the U.S., an international coalition entered into the war. Under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, a surprise attack was launched at Incheon, known as the “Incheon Landing.” Before long, the tide had turned as the South, supported by its coalition, marched northward taking control of most of North Korea.

Surprised, China entered the stage in 1951 and the war came to a stalemate close to the initial line of the 38th parallel. The fighting finally came to an end on July 27, 1953 with the signing of an armistice.

The cost of life was immense: millions of innocent Korean civilians perished, tens of thousands of troops from the two Koreas, China, the U.S., Britain, Australia, Italy and many other Ally countries lost their lives. Millions were homeless, tens of thousands were orphaned, most infrastructure was destroyed and reduced to rubble and millions of families were separated ― yet the border remains after more than a half century.

In the South, Syngman Rhee continued to rule, scoring successive but dubious victories in presidential and parliamentary elections as his party revised the constitution so that he could run for another term.

Worse, his administration became more autocratic and was notorious for suppressing the opposition parties and rigging the elections, which prompted students to take to the street for the “April 19 Revolution” in 1960.

Military coup

The April 19 Revolution forced Rhee to resign later in the month and a democratic government was instated.

Yet, the Second Republic failed to deal with political unrest or curb the growing power of the military. It was eventually overthrown by the May 16 military coup in 1961 led by Major General Park Chung-hee ― father of incumbent President Park Geun-hye.

The general-turned-politician ruled the country for the next two decades and one of his top priorities was to rack up economic development through a series of five-year plans and export-oriented policies.

He managed to lead the country from its economic backwaters to the global market on the back of the development of heavy and chemical industries in the 1970s.

Yet, there was an adverse side ― the introduction of Park’s “Yusin Constitution” in 1972 guaranteed his continued dictatorship with the oppression of any democratic movements in the name of economic growth.

Park’s Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) was notoriously violent and abusive to civilians who advocated democracy and who criticized Park’s abuse of human rights.

His rule ended in a tragic manner ― his wife Yuk Young-soo was assassinated in 1974 by a North Korean sympathizer from Japan and Park himself was shot dead in 1979 by Kim Jae-gyu, chief of his own KCIA.

Experts are split into two opposing camps in evaluating the merits and demerits of Park’s roles over these two decades.

Some idolize him as someone who masterminded the economic growth of the country. In particular, they praise Park’s contribution to boosting Korea’s exports exponentially.

By contrast, some label Park as a dictator, who abused the constitutional values of the country and suppressed democracy, with little regard for human rights.

In addition, his all-out support for family-owned conglomerates such as Samsung and Hyundai, dubbed chaebol, at the expense of smaller businesses, sometimes come under fire since they exert too much power in Korea Inc.

Another military coup

Park’s death was expected to put an end to the military rule of South Korea, but it took more than a decade for a civilian to be elected president as General Chun Doo-hwan led a coup on Dec. 12, 1979 and by May 1980 he had implemented Martial Law all over the South.

In Gwangju, residents and students staged protests against the military dictatorship, also calling for the release of (future President) Kim Dae-jung who had been arrested.

The initially peaceful demonstrations ended up in a brutal massacre where tanks and paratroopers filled the city ― scenes similar to those of the Tianamen Square protests of 1989.

The military opened fire, killing hundreds of civilians, many of them young students, while a few thousand were wounded even though the exact figures are different depending on compilers.

Chun managed to quell the public for a while, but the working-class masses had begun to seek change, giving rise to what is known as the ‘Minjung’ movement for democracy and respect for human rights.

The death of a Seoul National University student during interrogation in early 1987 resulted in many anti-government movement protests, which prodded Chun to embrace political reforms.

Roh Tae-woo, who had been a core member of the 1979 military coup, agreed to hold direct presidential elections, and later that year a revised Constitution was approved.

In the end, Roh and the military administration won the elections as the two opposition political leaders, Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung, failed to agree upon a unified candidacy.

Under Roh’s leadership, which started early 1988, the country successfully hosted the Olympic Games in the same year. This played a big role in raising Korea’s profile in the global arena. North Korea boycotted the games.

But the Soviet Union, the North’s traditional ally, participated and ranked first in the medal count. South Korea ranked 4th place and Taekwondo was introduced as a demonstration sport and since 2000 it has been an official Olympic sport.

Civilian leaders

In 1993, Kim Young-sam, who joined the governing party via a political merger in 1990, became the first civilian president in 30 years. His anti-corruption campaign and military purging from the political system were touted as outstanding contributions to the newly democratic South Korea.

Unfortunately, the country suffered great hardships during the 1997 Asian financial crisis under the stewardship of Kim when it resorted to a $57 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF required the end of the state-controlled financial system and called for the implementation of chaebol reforms. Incredibly, all loans were repaid by the end of 2001.

Amid the peak of the economic swoon, Kim Dae-jung became the nation’s first opposition candidate to win the presidential vote and proactively pursued democracy and economic growth, while also focusing on human rights.

In particular, he was renowned for his reconciliatory stance toward North Korea and his inter-Korean policy became known as the “Sunshine Policy.” This culminated in Kim Dae-jung’s historic meeting with the North leader Kim Jong-il, the son of Kim Il-sung, in June 2000.

Kim Dae-jung, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in the same year, became known as the “Nelson Mandela of Asia.” It was later discovered that hundreds of millions of dollars had been paid to North Korea before the historic meeting, which blemished his reputation.

In 2002, Korea co-hosted the World Cup with Japan. It managed to get through to the semifinal and this boosted its international image and self-confidence undermined after the financial crisis.

Kim was succeeded by Roh Moo-hyun in 2003, the ninth leader of South Korea, who devoted himself to overcoming regionalism. Before his presidential triumph, he implied that he would take a much harsher stance toward American policy in South Korea.

However, he deployed Korean troops to Iraq and signed a free trade agreement with the U.S. although it was implemented much later.

In May 2009, Roh jumped to his death from a cliff behind his house amid an investigation into allegations of corruption and bribery.

The Roh administration was followed by conservative President Lee Myung-bak, the businessman-turned-politician, who was elected to a large extent because of his promises to stimulate the sluggish economy.

Lee came up with his “747 Plan” geared toward boosting the Korean economy: 7 percent economic growth on average and $40,000 gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, so that Korea would be one of the world’s seven largest economies.

Due mostly to the global financial crisis in the late 2000s, his pledges did not materialize and the national output per capita of the country hovers just above the $20,000 mark.

Yet, under the leadership of Lee, in 2011, the yearly trade volume of Asia’s fourth-largest economy made South Korea the world’s ninth country to reach $1 trillion.

Incumbent President Park took the auth of office on Feb. 25 this year as the first female political leader in Northeast Asian countries.

South Korea has charged ahead to record one of the highest economic growths in the world over the past few decades, turning it into a vibrant, modern, democratic success.

This compares to North Korea headed by Kim Jong-il’s son, Jong-un, a 20-something supreme leader of one of the world’s poorest countries, with a disastrous record for human rights.

Dr. Kevin N. Cawley is currently the Director of the Irish Institute of Korean Studies at University College Cork (UCC), Ireland ― the only institute in Ireland dedicated to promoting Korean studies ― funded by the Academy of Korean Studies, South Korea. He was previously a Gyujanggak Fellow at Seoul National University.

— In detail —

Juche: is the political theory used by North Korea where it is officially attributed to Kim Il-sung, focused on “self-reliance.” Ironically, North Korea receives food aid from South Korea, the United States and the United Nations

Syngman Rhee (1875 ~ 1965):

was the first President of the Republic of Korea. He was supported by the U.S. and fled there after he was forced to resign from power after the “April 19 Revolution” in 1960, which was mainly led by students.

General Douglas MacArthur (1880 ~ 1964):

was an American general who led the surprise ‘Incheon Landing’ attack against North Korea, which turned the tide in the war. Until that point North Korea had control of most of South Korea, including the capital, Seoul.

The Korean War (1950 ~ 1953):

The devastating war was much more than a Korean affair: it was an international war involving major global super powers who fought on Korean soil. Millions died and were wounded, cities were destroyed, many were orphaned and widowed, but in the end the peninsula remained divided along the 38th parallel ― known as the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The DMZ was created with the signing of the armistice that brought fighting to an end and is today the most militarized border in the world.

Park Chung-hee (1917 ~ 1979):

was a military dictator who took control of the South Korean government by means of a military coup and ruled for 16 years before he was finally assassinated by a member of his own security. His economic policies are highly praised for bringing Korea out of its post-War poverty while his anti-democratic stance and abuse of human rights is frequently criticized, leading to his complicated legacy in South Korea.

Chun Doo-hwan (1931 ~):

seized power on Dec. 12, 1979 and is notorious for his violent suppression of peaceful demonstrations for democracy in Gwangju in May 1980 – not dissimilar to the Bloody Sunday shooting of civilians in Derry, N. Ireland in January 1972 by British military ― although the Gwangju massacre was much worse, resulting in hundreds of deaths and a few thousand injured. Chun was sentenced to death because of his role in this but finally pardoned.

2002 FIFA World Cup Korea-Japan:

This was the first World Cup ever to be held in Asia, with Korea getting into the semifinals supported by the tumultuous roars of their “Red Devil” supporters.

Kim Dae-jung (1925 ~ 2009):

Was the first President from the opposition to be democratically elected. Kim was a Roman Catholic and a champion for human rights. He was the recipient of the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize for his reconciliatory Sunshine Policy with North Korea that led to a historic meeting in Pyongyang with Kim Jong-il.