Korean War #18: Korean Background Part 1

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Episode 18: Korean Background Part 1 examines, oddly enough, the background in Korea before the war broke out, in the early years of Syngman Rhee's career. Rhee's life existed in the backdrop of the creeping Japanese influence in Korea, as the peninsula was passing from a Chinese to a Japanese satellite in the late 19th century. All the while, Russian tensions with the Japanese also escalated, and Rhee found himself trapped in a homeland with few friends, and many predators.

At 30 years old in the early years of the century, Rhee began his auspicious journey to the US, where he gathered up several degrees and distinguished himself, before returning home as a missionary of all things, just as the Japanese were preparing to annex the region. Rhee's departure in 1910 signalled a watershed moment in his life - for the next 35 years, Rhee would remain an American resident, tirelessly campaigning for the rights of Koreans to independence, as his calls fell on mostly deaf ears. Not until 1945, when he was needed as a Westernised, English speaking Korean person, would Rhee be called upon by the US.

We conclude the episode by examining the arrival of the two sides in the peninsula in 1945, and the decision made thereafter to divide Korea along the 38th parallel. It was a decision taken, we'll see, without any consultation with the Korean people, and it was also a decision taken entirely with the interests of the US and Soviets in mind. Time would tell exactly how important this dividing line would be, but for now, it sufficed to keep everyone quiet, if not happy.

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Music used: Georgie Price, Morning Will Come, 1923. Available: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Georgie_Price/Antique_Phonograph_Music_Program_03242015/Morning_Will_Come_-_Georgie_Price

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