SHELF 9780435183127 HISTORY PAPER 3 THE COLD WAR AND THE AMERICAS (1945-1981) STUDENT 60p

Dur ng the post-Second World War period, there were seveTa countries/regions that were dlvlded into
zones of occupat on by the A lled forces. Working in groups, choose an example (other than Korea),
answer the fol owing questions and present your findings to the class.
1. For what reasons was the country/reg on divided?
2. Was reunlf cation planned? Did t take place? Why/why not?
3. What influenced the decisions made over how countr es should be divided (e.g. ethnic, geographrcal,
economic - these are;ust some possib e reasons)?
4. Dld divlsion bring peace or further confllct?
Kim ! sung as a young man
Y
T 7 m ll sung was a nom de guerre for Kim Song-ju, who was born in Korea in 1912. His parents
K
I\ri#r lrnks to the Communist Party and he later became closely associated with the Communist
nst;;"dlolvlanrl"rrrrawhe.eKirattenoedschoo.Intl'e,l930s rl'eJapaneseaulloritiesreported
Party of the Soviet Union and so was well placed lo return to Koreawith the occupation lorces in ,1945.
Lowe states that after the surrender of iapan, Korea was in a state of upheaval, eager
to embrace independence after decades of harsh colonial rule. To some extent, this
was reflected in the emergence of 'people's committees'that sprang up in both the
north and the south after the defeat oflapan and before occupation could be imposed.
These were spontaneous forms of local government, often led by representatives
chosen because they had not cooperated with the lapanese. Lowe argues that the US
misunderstood the nature of these committees, assuming they had been infiltrated by
communists.
Syngman Rhee w th h s
Amercan-born wrfe.
Y
In charge of the US military occupation from 1945-48 was General )ohn Reed Hodge,
described as 'vehemently anti-communist, to the point where any unrest or dissent might be
regarded as a sign of communist activigt' (Lowe). The US occupation in the south was
tainted by its reliance on officials and police who had previously worked for the
)apanese. Along with the Americans came Syngman Rhee, who was made interim
head of a provisional government. A fervent nationalist who had gone into exile rather
than live under)apanese rule, Rhee had spent much of his life in the United States and,
according to Lowe, 'Rhee never doubted that he was destined to lead Korea and acted with a
strange mixture of anogance, dupliciq,, cunning and tenaciqt tu establishhis power'. For General
Hodge, Rhee was a certain opponent of communism and, despite his authoritarian
methods and eagerness to unite Korea under his rule, he was supported by the US.
Even so, Gaddis states that the decision to withdraw US troops in 1949 was made in
part because they feared 'the unpredictable Rhee might "march north" and thus drag them into a
war they did not want' .
In the late 1940s, there was some concern over how post-war Korea would be
administered as the US and the Soviet Union were growing suspicious of each other.
In this way, the situation in Korea echoed concerns in Europe where the US suspected
the Soviet Union of expansion. In1947, it was proposed by Dean Acheson, the
Undersecretary of State, that a budget of $600 million, spread over three years, should
be provided for the eventual containment of communism in South Korea (Lowe).
Meanwhile, the US proposed to the UN General Assembly that the occupying forces
be withdrawn from Korea in 1948 and elections be held to reunify the country under
a democratic government. The United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea
(UNTCOK) was given the task of supervising the elections. Its members included
India, China, El Salvador, the Philippines, Syria, France, Canada and Australia (Ukraine
was appointed but refused to join). North Korea had made it clear it would not allow
The containment of
communism
This was President
Truman's policy, as
demonstrated through the
Truman Doctrine of 1941
The US would provide
m litary and financial
support when necessary
to support countries
threatened by the spread
of communlsm.
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