A English Summary of A Thesis
Ⅰ
After liberation, what the Republic of Korea had to face was a divided nation blocked by the 38th parallel, not complete independence. And in the sharp confrontation between the left and the right, our country was at a ...
A English Summary of A Thesis
Ⅰ
After liberation, what the Republic of Korea had to face was a divided nation blocked by the 38th parallel, not complete independence. And in the sharp confrontation between the left and the right, our country was at a crossroads between the people’s republic or the democratic one.
There has been “struggles for nation building” for the democratic republic of korea. The general public with the joy of liberation also needed a direction to move forward from chaotic political situations. Thus, the role of leaders at the time was more important than ever.
The impact of their wisdom, vision, anguish, determination and leadership on the nation’s future was enormous, and through that, the people recognized the national situation of the times and to have a united direction.
The cooperation of one people and one was more urgent and precious than ever. At the center was great national meetings where “national consensus” was manifested. The National Meetings were the places of a forward-looking direction and of communication, and historical sites where united practices were dynamically.
Today, it is undeniable that the two Koreas have been divided on the Korean Peninsula for 75 years, and that the People’s Republic of North Korea and the Democratic Republic of Korea confront each other. In addition, although the aspects are different, the international situation centering on the Korean Peninsula is still sensitively going on today, and the national affairs in South Korea are sharply opposed. and the national opinion was sharply divided into two parts.
This researcher recognized these situations heavily and felt the necessity of studying the national rally that took place during the turbulent times. The purpose of this study was to illuminate the national rallies presenting the direction of the confused people in the process of national construction of the Republic of Korea, playing a watershed role of the national movement, and being believed to have led the great stream of nation's pathway.
History is not just a history of past, it is also the spring that made today happen. I hope to have a opportunity to open today and the future by reflecting on the historical facts and gaining insight through the national meetings and the consequent changes of the political situation.
In political circumstance of the liberation, the national meetings was held in various themes and forms. And a number of national rallies have been ignited mainly in Seoul and spread to the provinces. However, this study did not cover all these national rallies, but tried to focus on the Preparatory Committee for the Korean National Congress and the main national rallies, such as the Anti-Trusteeship National meeting, A mass Meeting of A commemoration of the Independence Movement(Sam il day) and A National Meeting for Achieving Independence by Fight.
Ⅱ
Lyuh Woon-hyung started organizing the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence(CPKI, Gunjun) with Ahn Chai-hong. On August 16, 1945, political and economic criminals across the country were released, and on August 17, Gunjun’s primary organization was formed. Now the “communists” joined in here gradually, “the activities of Gunjun became a violent color.” Ahn Chai-hong and his right-wing forces left Gunjun before the People’s Republic was launched, and Gun-jun was later led by the left.
Song Jin-woo and his fellow workers were waiting for the return of the Patriots of the Provisional Government. And then what they practiced was to organize a welcome preparation committee for Provisional Government and Allied Force and the Preparatory Committee for the Korean National Congress on September 7. Through the National Congress, Song Jin-woo wanted to “respect people’s intentions and to establish the requirements for regime acquisition based on their consensus and confidence.” And it was “practice to give guidance of direction to the nationalist and some conservative forces, and the countless number of wavering people.”
the Preparatory Committee for the Korean National Congress(PCKNG) formed a counter system against Lyuh Woon-Hyong’s Gunjun and the so-called People’s Republic. Now, PCKNC wanted to play the role that Gunjun played. The activity of PCKNC enlightened the importance of the national assembly will of the liberation regime, and provided the direction for many subsequent national conventions.
Ⅲ
From December 16, 1945, foreign ministers from the U.S., Britain, and the Soviet Union. gathered in Moscow to enter into an agreement to resolve the Korean problem. The key statement, announced on the evening of the 28th, was to establish a democratic ad hoc government in Chosun and enforce up to five years of trusteeship by four of the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and China. The Koreans felt another despair. In response, domestic left and right political parties, religious groups and the media began to launch national anti-trusteeship movement. Kim Gu defined that movement as a “new independence movement.” In addition, the Central Committee of the Society for General Mobilization against Trusteeship was formed to lead and promote the national anti-trusteeship movement.
“All shopping district on the streets of Seoul were closed for three days from the 29th, and there were endless demonstrations marching crying hurrah in an orderly manner with flags against the trusteeship in Jongro, Gwanghwamun and other parts of the city.” “The demonstration parade against trusteeship began at 2 p.m. on December 31 at Jongno, and continued to march in a large scale shaking the national flag of Korea(Taegeukgi) under the leadership of the Central Committee of the Society for General Mobilization against Trusteeship. And tens of thousands of people flocked to the snow-covered Seoul stadium and shouted against the trusteeship.”
But the left and the Communist Party suddenly turned to trusteeship. Government officials, religious groups, school teachers, women's groups, student groups, company and culinary workers and even gisaeng voluntarily participated in the national consensus on trusteeship. The National Anti-trusteeship rally expanded nationwide.
At the National Meeting against Trusteeship, the perception of trusteeship by the US military and the Secretary of State began to change. These anti-trust conventions and demonstrations provided an important opportunity to assemble national consensus and became an important cornerstone for the nation’s founding of national sovereignty in the future.
Ⅳ
The anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement, which was first celebrated after liberation, was significant in national history with inspiration. In the process of preparing, the right-wing national camp took the March 1 Independence Movement as an opportunity to succeed it, placing importance on the spirit of independence and its legitimacy.
However, the leftists focused more on restoring their political position through the subsequent struggles and celebrations of farmers and laborers than on the historical significance of the March 1 Independence Movement. ‘The Korean Democratic Representative Council’ of the right-wing and ‘Democratic People‘s Front’ of left-wing organized different preparatory committees and prepared the ceremony.
On March 1, 1946, ‘The Korean Democratic Representative Council’ held a ceremony in front of Jongno Boshingak by Syngman Rhee’s presider with “100,000 people” participating. Subsequently more than 100,000 people gathered at Seoul Stadium to hold the national meeting.
The March 1 Movement commemoration event hosted by the Democratic People’s Front (Minjeon) started at Tapdong Park and held a civil rally at Namsan Park. There were numbers of “about 5,000” or “about 15,000”. It can be seen that the people’s hearts were being united not in ‘Democratic People‘s Front’, but in ‘The Korean Democratic Representative Council’.
The Independence Commemoration rally continued the following year. In the center of The National Meeting, the desire for free and complete independence of the country was being flowed like a large river.
Ⅴ
Like the National Anti-Trusteeship Congress and the National Rally for Kimi Declaration of Independence Commemoration, A National Meeting for Achieving Independence by Fight had the same meaning, purpose and direction in the context of independence of the fatherland. The issue of trusteeship and the breakdown of the U.S.-Soviet Joint Committee became the important factor of the National Meeting for Achieving Independence by Fight(NMAIF). In the consultation process for the interim government, the U.S. military government said it could participate regardless of the movement, while the Soviet Union’s Terenti Fomitch Stykov wanted to exclude the anti-trusteeship movement side.
Syngman Rhee and parties and social organizations in the right-wing national camp expressed their intention to “participate and oppose.” But the representative of the Soviet refused, and The Joint American-Soviet Commission broke down. This once again brought great disappointment to the Korean people. However, the desire to actively take over independence by struggle was expressed more earnestly.
On May 12, 1946, the National Meeting for Achieving Independence by Fight began. At 1 p.m. on the same day, the national meeting, co-hosted by some 200 patriotic groups, was held at the Seoul Stadium, with Rhee Syng-man, Kim Gu and Kim Kyu-sik as the chairman of honor and Oh Ha-young as chairman. And 60 right-wing groups and the people participated in the large-scale national congress. There is no standing room in the stadium, “more than 100,000 people” gathered and after the end of holding the great rally marched on the streets, singing the national anthem. It was once again the large meeting that brought together 30 million “national consensus.”
As a result, the National Meeting for Achieving Independence by Fight(NMAIF) spread throughout the country, including Daegu, Cheongju, Yeongdong, Suncheon, Suwon, Busan, Ulsan, and Incheon. the NMAIF was an extension of the Anti-Trusteeship movement and was a practice movement that declared and shouted the independence and complete independence of the Koreans in home and abroad, not the trusteeship.
Ⅵ
So far, we have looked at the national meetings in the national construction process of the Republic of Korea under the political situation after the liberation. The liberation regime of 8.15 had two major national issues and tasks.
First, it was “complete independence”. and Second, the construction of a (free) democratic republic. At that time, Syngman Rhee, the right-wing groups and the the majority of the public accepted those issues as matters of survival, not problems of choice. The problems were desperate because the nation’s future was at stake, and those had to be won and to be put into practice through a “struggle for construction of country.”
We have been able to enjoy freedom in the Republic of Korea, established by the sacrifices and struggles of the advanced people, and inherited the strength and heritage of forefathers on the ground, so that we could achieve scientific technology and economic development, and cultural creation. Now, we younger generations who live in this age must preserve it and continue to develop it. It is not a matter of choice, but the responsibility that we must bear and our mission for the present and the future of the country.
Here are some important facts that we confirmed from the previous discussion.
First, the post-Aug 15 political situation was a process of fierce struggle for the “complete independence” of the nation and the construction of a healthy Korean state, rather than the completion of liberation.
Second, the ideological issue of political situation of the liberation has faced a critical path in the future of whether the Korean Peninsula is a free democratic republic or a people’s republic. During this critical period, a field was needed to broaden the horizon of the public’s perception and communicate in the reality of poor transportation and communication.
Third, through the national meetings, in the context of the chaos and vortex of the liberation political situation, the leader with a good understanding of the domestic and international situation and the future of nation changed the public perception and suggested a desirable direction. the National Rally was also the liberal democratic field that led ‘the nation’s consensus’ and turned a huge stream of national history.
Fourth, the National Congress actively opposed the Soviet Union's communist ideology, sought for full independence and further played a crucial role in laying the foundation for liberal democracy on this land.
Fifth, in the confusion and turbulence under the context of the liberation, although it was bad, the historical fact that only South Korea was able to establish a national form of a (free)democratic republic gives a great insight into the present Korean situation today.