General Elections in Korea
In May 1948 the United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea (UNTCOK) arrived in Seoul to set up supervised Korean elections, after which the country would become independent of U.S. and Soviet control. Rejecting U.N. supervision of elections, Northern Korea blocked...
read more
Jeju Uprising
Jeju Island is a 40km x 90km island province of South Korea 120 km south of the Korean Peninsula The Jeju uprising, which began on April 3, 1948, resulted in extreme suppression by the South Korean Army, police and right-wing paramilitary groups. The rebellion...
read more
North Korean People’s Army
The Korean People’s Revolutionary Army was established in 1932 as a guerrilla force fighting against Imperial Japanese rule that had colonized the country since the turn-of-the-century. In 1939, the Korean Volunteer Army (KVA), was formed in China to fight alongside...
read more
Korean Turmoil
In 1945 the unconditional surrender of Japan led to the division of Korea into two occupation zones. The 1945 division of Korea was meant to be temporary. The stated Allied intention was to reunify the country once a single government could be...
read more
20th Century Korean Literature
Early 20th Century Korean literature The two most prominent Korean authors during the Japanese colonial rule of 1910-1945 were Choe Nam-seon and Yi Kwang-su. "The modern age is the age of power in which the powerful survive while the weak perish. This...
read more
North & South Korea
This rapid-fire video is an excellent summary of Korean history since the 19th century. The division of Korea between North and South occurred after WWII, ending the Empire of Japan's 35-year rule over Korea in 1945. The United States and the Soviet Union occupied two...
read more
Kim Il-sung
From the Korean Movie: 백두산 전편 (Mount Paektu - First part) The words in the film are from the North Korean poet Cho Ki-chon's epic poem Mt. Paektu written in 1947. The poem relates the (possibly exaggerated?) story of the guerilla fighter Kim Il sung in the 1937 Battle...
read more
Understanding Korea
Ancient Korea Gojoseon, Korea's legendary first kingdom, was founded in 2333 B.C.E. After its collapse, several small kingdoms coalesced into the Three Kingdoms Period (Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla) around the year zero C.E. Gradually assuming power, Silla consolidated...
read more
Japanese Premier Visits Yasukuni Shrine
Today's headline elicits emotions reminiscent of an earlier time. 12/25/13 TOKYO — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan visited a contentious Tokyo war shrine early on Thursday, provoking swift condemnation from China and South Korea, both victims of Japan’s wartime...
read more
Map of Imperial Japan 1939
Ethnic Conflict in Imperial Japan
Ainu Korean Chinese In an attempt to develop the wilds of Hokkaidō, the Meiji government outlawed the...
read more
Korea Under Japanese Rule
Unlike Taiwan's relatively passive acceptance of colonial rule, Korean resistance to Japan's takeover in 1910 was obstinate and strong. Imperial Japanese reforms, designed to eradicate Korean national identity, were often ruthlessly enforced. A more...
read more
Great Kanto Earthquake
Following the Great Kantō earthquake with over 100,000 deaths, vigilante mobs hunted down and killed ethnic minority Koreans rumored to have committed arson, looting and poisoning of drinking water. The Home Ministry stated that 231 Koreans were killed, but much...
read more