EARLY KOREAN RADICALISM

March First Movement: the nationwide anti-Japanese rallies staged on March 1, 1919, during the occasion of mourning the death of Emperor Kojong,

Syngman Rhee (1875-1965): first president of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and first Korean to receive a Ph.D. degree from an American university (Princeton, 1910). He had been n China during WWII, but he returned with US occupation forces. Rhee was forced from office under protest in 1960. He died in Hawaii while in exile.

Nai-Sen Ittai: “Japan and Korea are One Entity” was the slogan behind Japanese governmental policy to eradicate Korean national identity, initiated during WWII.

EMBATTLED KOREA

(1945-53)

Kim Il Sung (1912-1994): communist leader of North Korea from 1948 until his death, at which time his son Kim Jong Il took power. Kim's given name was Kim Song-ju, but he took the name of fallen guerrilla fighter during the war with Japan.

Yalu River: natural boundary between China and North Korea.

Kaesong: site of cease-fire agreement negotiation for the Korean Conflict. An armistice signed at P'anmunjom on July 27, 1953, that separated the armies with a demilitarized zone, but otherwise left many issues unresolved.

DIVIDED KOREA AND THE PATH TOWARD REUNIFICATION

(1954-PRESENT)

Kim Jong Il (b. 1941): eldest son of Kim Il Sung and Kim’s chosen successor, often referred to as “Dear Leader” in North Korean government statements even before his ascent to power following his father’s death in 1994.

Park Chung Hee (1917-1979): 1961 military coup organizer and strongman leader of South Korea until his own assassination. Although his rule was harsh, Park presided over South Korea’s economic growth and diplomatic emergence as a stalwart anti-Communist ally of the US.

Kwangju Massacre (May 1980): responding to popular protests following Park’s death and the subsequent military take-over, the South Korean military targeted protesters in the southern city of Kwangju in a nine-day crackdown that led to an official death toll of 240, with many more casualties left unaccounted for.

"Sunshine Policy" (2000): Former ROK President Kim Dae Jung’s policy of government-to-government talks and economic assistance intended to improve relations with North Korea.