history and politics of east asia final

the 38th parallel

• proposed division by Rust and Bonesteel

• kept capital, Seoul, within U.S. boundary

USAMGIK

• led by Hodge

• initially relied on Japanese officials, but stopped after controversy

• suppressed local political communist movements

• major reforms in land redistribution

trusteeship crisis

• first at the Cairo conference in 1943, then in Moscow in 1945

• proposed a four-power trusteeship of Korea, which was initially opposed across political lines

• communists backed by the soviets changed their position and accepted trusteeship, further polarizing North and South

major events leading to separate governments

• U.S.-Soviet joint commission failed to reach agreements

• Rhee’s call for a separate government in the south

• U.S. requested UN supervision of election

• election only had members from South, creating separate governments between the ROK and DPRK

contrasting north and south pre-war

• north had soviet occupation, communist consolidation, land reforms, North Korea had much more military power, and centralized political structure

• south had U.S. occupation, political pluralism, anti-communism, economic instability, and fragmented political structure

events leading to the Korean War

• withdrawal of American forces in 1949

• communist victory in China in 1949

• Acheson defense line didn’t extend to South Korea, showing the U.S. didn’t consider it necessary to protect

• Zedong, Stalin, and Kim Il-sung coordinated more in 1949-1950

domestic causes of the Korean War

• failure to create unified government; ideological divide

• Kim Il-sung initiated the invasion with Stalin’s approval in 1950

• Mao agreed to support it if necessary

• Rhee insisted on reunification, even by force

initial invasion in Korea

• KPA attacked Seoul, which fell

• UN/ROK forces retreated to the Pusan Perimeter

• June 25, 1950

UN reversal (Korean War)

• Inchon landing led by MacArthur, which used the Pusan landing as a distraction

• UN/ROK forces recaptured Seoul and advanced north

Chinese intervention in the Korean war

• UN/ROK forces retreat, Seoul changes hands again

• Nov. 1950-Jan. 1951

stalemate of the Korean War

• fighting stabilized near the 38th parallel

• armistice signed July 27, 1953

Ruth Benedict

• cultural anthropologist asked to learn about Japanese culture

• wrote “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword”

• highlighted contradictions like loyalty and independence, obligation and personal desires, beauty and aggression, and true feelings versus public face

first stage of u.s. occupation in Japan (1945-1947)

• demilitarization - disbanded Japan’s military, removed wartime leaders from power, persecuted war criminals in Tokyo Trial

  • controversy surrounding unit 731

• repatriation and relief, including u.s. food aid

second stage of u.s. occupation in japan (1947-1950)

• new constitution in 1947

• land reform

• new labor laws

• emperor’s status downgraded to figurehead

• protection of civil liberties and women’s rights

• renounced war as sovereign right

third stage of u.s. occupation in japan (1950-1952)

• policy shift toward economic reconstruction to support u.s. interests in east asia

  • de-purging of pre-war and wartime leaders

ending of u.s. occupation in japan

• ended with signing of Treat of San Francisco in 1951

  • u.s. still maintained military bases in Japan

  • u.s. obligated to assist in Japan’s defense

• thought of as one of the most successful post-war reconstruction attempts