North+Korea

The growing influence of globalization over the 20th century is directly culpable for the modern political climate of the Korean Peninsula. A colonial pawn for Japan’s imperialism in the first half of the century and later divided along the 38th parallel as a microcosmic proxy for the USSR’s communism and the USA’s capitalism, North Korea’s experience as a puppet of foreign masters elicited Kim Il Sung’s rise to power and the adoption of autarky to support their new found independence. Background Under the Japanese: As a colony of Japan, Korea became one of the few industrialized Asian nation, second only to Japan itself. This preceding substructure made Korea dependent on foreign overpowers for economic support and continued industrialization, a predicament the Soviets were quick to take advantage off.
 * [|Korea as a Colony of Japan]

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In the South: The Japanese government would continue to function until they could be fazed out and replaced with American military, though many would be retained as advisors. When native Koreans were appointed government positions, they were either previously allied with the Japanese or part of the upper-class elite. =====

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 Meanwhile, local systems of government had cropped up in numerous towns and villages as a form of resistance to Japanese occupation, and were quickly gaining momentum as Korea realized its potential as a free democracy. In response, the American government announced "the military government office is the sole government of Korea...if there is any person who complains of the orders or deliberately slanders the military government, he shall suffer punishment" and passed the Political Party Registration Law that demanded any political movement provide names of its members to the US.[|US Occupation of South Korea] =====

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In the North: The USSR immediately went about categorizing the shortcomings and strengths of the native Communist party, stating that its primary flaw was its lack of organized direction and “mechanical copying of the Bolshevik Party without taking into consideration the real situation.” Kim Il Sung was quickly identified as a national hero educated in the USSR whom could be a rallying point for a Communist Party. [|Communist Party in North Korea] =====

"The Problem of the Independence of Korea"
With the creation of the United Nations, the establishment of a new country required international recognition. [|UN Resolution 12 (ii)] tackled what became known as “The Problem of the Independence in Korea.” The UN concluded Korean representatives would be needed, and to assure that “the Korean representatives are in fact duly elected by the Korean people and not mere appointees by military authorities in Korea” a United Nations Temporary Commissions should be sent to the country, with “the right to travel, observe and consult throughout Korea.” To assure the new government would be up to par with Western standards, the Commission would oversee elections. Until Korea had the approval of the General Assembly, the Resolution called “upon all Members of the United Nations to refrain from interfering in the affairs of the Korean people” “except in pursuance of the decisions of the General Assembly.”

=The Korean War: = **North Korea (Communism, USSR, PRC) vs. South Korea (Capitalism, USA, UN) **

The infamous 38th Parallel that to this day divides the Korean peninsula is a byproduct of USSR occupation of the North and US occupation of the South in the aftermath of Japan’s surrender.

It wasn’t a deciding battle that ended the Korean War, but the threat of American forces clashing with the Chinese once they crossed the Yalu river, Korea’s border with China. Mao Zedong feared China would be subject to foreign invasion if UN forces occupied North Korea. At the same time, the UN had ceded China’s seat to Chiang Kai-Shek’s nationalist party, Mao’s primary political opponent. Russia, a then ally of the PRC, had been boycotting the UN Security Councel over the matter, and were thus not present when the voting to take military action in the Korean peninsula took place.

The United States understood the North’s invasion of the South as the first domino in a long line toward Communist world domination and set out to “liberate” the North from the Communist yoke. Among the US, the UN forces were composed of soldiers from 15 other nations- a fact that, according to the US, represented a world united against communism.


 * For A Full Overview of the Korean War: [|Korean War, US Department of State]
 * Compare these conflicting documentaries, one produced by North Korea, [|Part I] [|Part II], the other by the United States [|Unforgettable: The Korean War]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; line-height: 1.5;">While watching, think about these questions a) what aspects of the videos separate propaganda from documentary? b) what were the intended purpose of each video? c) what biases could affect the subject matter of each video?

=<span style="background-color: #ef1717; color: #db9039; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">JUCHE: establishing an autarky = [|Intro to Juche] <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Became official autarkic state ideology in 1972 <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">According to DPRK, is Sung’s application of Marxist/Leninist principles to modern Korea <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Use provokes fierce nationalism, which incites national pride in its independent state <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Kim Il Sung’s Three Applications of JUCHE: <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">-these were outlined in “Let Us Defend the Revolutionary Spirit of Independence, Self-Reliance, and Self-defense More Thoroughly in All Fields of State Activities” a speech given by Kim Il Sung on 12.16.67 to the Supreme People’s Assembly To fully comprehend North Korea's self-image read the DPRK's official website:[|The Democratic People's Republic of Korea] For more on Juche: [|The Political Philosophy of Juche]
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> Political and Ideological Independence; from the Soviet Union and China
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> Economic Self-Reliance and Self-Sufficiency
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"> Viable National Defense System
 * <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Think, how can Juche easily lead to a totalitarian gov't? How does Juche reinforce North Korea's national pride while not losing face for staying out international politics? How was Juche used as a defense mechanism against Sino-Soviet interference? **