7. America and Korea Until 1950

Question 1

How did isolationism impact the development of Korea?

Answer 1

• Korea ruled by Chesun Dynasty
• Tight-knit nation, resist influence of Manchuria/China in north and Japan in south
• Isolationism, minor contact with China and Japan

Question 2

Describe early European involvement in Korea and Asia (1620-1870).

Answer 2

• 1628, Dutch crew shipwrecked in Korea, first account of western contact
• European interest in the region
• 1860 = France and UK invade China Peking and Russia attacks northern China
• Increasing Korean anxiety
• 1864 Korean king dies without a male heir
• King Kojong/Yi Ha-Ung, conservative, resists foreign influences – saw treaties imposed on China and Japan as only benefitting the west
• Foreign missionaries polluted their nation = persecute Christians

Question 3

What were the three phases of U.S. involvement in Korea?

Answer 3

1. Unsuccessful opening of Korea to U.S. commercial interests and missionaries
2. Korean migration to the U.S.
3. Increasing rivalry with Japan, WW2 and direct intervention

Question 4

Describe early U.S. involvement in Korea (1840-1860).

Answer 4

• 1844 plans for travel to Korea (called the Hermit Kingdom)
• 1865 – launch naval missions to Korea, USS General Sherman laden with cotton ignores Korean officials telling them they’re breaking Korean law and travel up stream, become stuck, kill crew and take ship (close to Pyongyang)
• USS Wachusett tries to find out what happened to the USS General Sherman – turns back
• 1868, official letter acknowledging the 1865 incident prompts Congress to send an expedition, Low-Rodgers Expedition 1871, USS Colorado – seize “Citadel” but don’t have power to do anything else, Korea ignores them, U.S. sails away as they have nothing to do

Question 5

How influential was the U.S. in Korea Pre-1905?

Answer 5

• King Kojong hires U.S. advisors, missionaries = education
• Foreign missionaries guaranteed safety, Anglicans, Methodists in particular
• 1910 800 missionary schools, less Korean schools
• American businessmen minimal interest
• 1887, electricity, 1899 cars, 1897 railways

Question 6

Describe the patterns of Korean migration to the U.S. and how Korean Americans were treated during WW2.

Answer 6

• Many Koreans immigrate to Hawaii after the U.S. annexes it in 1898 mainly working on the sugar plantations
• Close-knit communities
• Mail order brides, plantation owners noted married workers were more likely to stay on a plantation, encourage migration of female Koreans
• 1.6-2 million Korean-Americans in USA
• 1910-1943 = Koreans treated as Japanese citizens, many Korean-Americans interned during WW2

Question 7

How was Japanese control over Korea established and how did Koreans react to the occupation?

Answer 7

• 1905 Treaty of Portsmouth – after Russo-Japanese War
• Decline in U.S. influence in Korea
• Japan gets control of Korea
• Anti-Japanese demonstrations 1919 – death of King Kojong, brutally suppressed, birth of Korean nationalism, sympathetic portrayal in the U.S. press

Question 8

How was Korea divided after WW2 and why?

Answer 8

• 1945, Korea split along the 38th Parallel = divided so Japanese troops in the North surrender to USSR and vice versa, meant to be temporary
• U.S. prepared to recognise Korean independence
• Douglas MacArthur prepared to occupy Japan and Korea
• USSR & North Korea – industrial
• U.S. & South Korea – agricultural, large percent of population in the South

Question 9

Describe how the USSR reorganised North Korea after the country’s division in 1945.

Answer 9

• Kim Il Sung
• Government trained by the USSR
• Roadblocks along the 38th Parallel to monitor population movements
• 1946, establishment of a provisional government which holds elections to create a People’s Assembly
• Korean People’s Army formed
• Nationalisation of industry, banking, transport etc.
• New labour and gender laws
• Many popular policies however still a large amount of people move to the South (est. 1 million)

Question 10

Describe how the U.S. reorganised South Korea after the country’s division in 1945.

Answer 10

• No clear cut policy in South Korea
• Containment
• U.S. refuse to recognise nationalist movements – suspect them of left wing sympathies
• Allow Japanese administrations to remain – unpopular
• Give aid to combat high inflation (900%)
• General MacArthur – “Koreans are hungry but not starving”
• Slow development of a Southern army (1948, Republic of Korea Army)
• Very different treatment of the South, didn’t want the South to be aggressive

Question 11

How was the reunification of Korea approached and why did the USSR oppose it?

Answer 11

• 1945 Moscow Conference – discuss unifying Korea, unable to reach an agreement on how Korea should be unified and by who
• 1947, Truman asks the UN to intervene as they have allies in the organisation, most members western countries
• USSR opposition – the South has a larger population and therefore a bigger say in the election

Question 12

Describe the relationship between North and South Korea in the run up to the Korean War.

Answer 12

• Singman Rhee (South Korea) established the Republic of Korea in 1948 – Rhee is educated in the U.S., is a nationalist, Catholic and anti-communist
• Kim Il Sung (North Korea) responds by establishing North Korea