history of kuk sool won:
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With the liberation of Korea at the end of the Second World War, the country faced a new era of uncertainty. Russia had declared war on Japan on August 8th, 1945 (a few days before the war was to end officially) and it was agreed between Russia and the Western Allies that the surrender of Japanese forces in Korea would be accepted by Russia in the north and America in the south, both allies meeting at the 38th parallel. With the war over came the departure of the Japanese occupation forces, who had controlled over 80% of all the wealth of Korea. The Korean people believed that, finally, they would be allowed to be masters of their own destinies. Both the Russians and the Americans had promised independence and unification of the peninsula in due course; however, it was not to be so. |
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In the north, influenced by the Russian military occupation forces, Korean people were encouraged to set up people's committees in the villages, towns and cities. These committees were allowed to run the communities and within a short time had total control over the majority of North Korea. There emerged several political parties, but one in particular, under the leadership of General KIM IL SUNG, proved to be the most powerful. During the Japanese occupation, General KIM had been active in organising resistance in MANCHURIA. Together with his force of Korean exiles and immigrants, he co-operated closely with the Chinese and Russian communists.
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 Figure 26: Dr. SYNGMAN RHEE and US General MacArthur – June 1950 |
In the south, a People's Republic had been organised in SEOUL at a National Congress in September 1945, with delegates attending from both the north and the south. When the American military occupation forces arrived, they did not recognise this political party, and it was ordered to be dissolved in November 1945.
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From 1945-1948, four national issues dominated the political scene in South Korea, and all were, in some shape or form, concerned with the independence and re-unification of North and South Korea. These four national issues were:
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| 1) THE MOSCOW AGREEMENT (FIVE YEAR TRUSTEESHIP) 2) THE US - USSR JOINT COMMISSION 3) THE UN SUPERVISED ELECTIONS 4) NORTH - SOUTH POLITICAL LEADERS COALITION CONFERENCE |
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During this period (1945-1948), several political parties emerged, and there were many political meetings and assemblies. One man who became prominent in the affairs of South Korea at this time was Dr. SYNGMAN RHEE. He had resided for over thirty years in HAWAII and WASHINGTON DC, but was flown back to South Korea at the request of the US General MACARTHUR. Dr. RHEE was presented to the South Korean people as an exiled hero and great leader. As time passed, Dr. RHEE's views became incompatible with those of the American occupation forces and he lost considerable ground.
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In 1947, a government was formed by a moderate political party, and, although Korean people held key positions, it was only a puppet administration with the Americans firmly pulling the strings. On August 15th, 1948, Dr. RHEE was elected as President of the Republic of South Korea, and four months later, on December 12th, the Republic of South Korea was sanctioned by the UN as the only lawful government of the Korean peninsula.
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