United States Army Military Government in Korea

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United States Army Military Government in Korea 재조선미육군사령부군정청 在朝鮮美陸軍司令部軍政廳
1945–1948
Flag of the United States (top) Flag of southern Korea (bottom) Emblem
Anthem: "Aegukga" (de facto) Menu 0:00
Location of the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula
Status	Military occupational transitional government
Capital and largest city	Seoul
Official languages	Korean, English
Military Governor
• Sep. 1945 – Aug. 1948	John R. Hodge
Deputy Military Governor
• Sep. 1945 – Dec. 1945	Archibald V. Arnold
• Dec. 1945 – Sep. 1947	Archer L. Lerch
• Oct. 1947 – Aug. 1948	William F. Dean
• Aug. 1948 – Jun. 1949	Charles G. Helmick
Historical era	Cold War
• Surrender of Japan	15 August 1945
• U.S. troops stationed in South Korea	8 September 1945
• Autumn Uprising	1 October 1946
• South Korean general election	10 May 1948
• South Korean state established	15–17 August 1948
Currency	Won, "A yen" scrip, US Dollar
ISO 3166 code	KR
Preceded by Succeeded by Japanese Korea Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea People's Republic of Korea South Korea
Today part of	South Korea North Korea

Part of a series on the
History of South Korea
Preludes to Division 1910–48
Japanese rule 1910–45 Korean Provisional Government 1919–48 People's Republic of Korea 1945–46 USAMGIK 1945–48
First Republic 1948–60
Korean War 1950–53 Syngman Rhee government 1948–60 April Revolution 1960
Second Republic 1960–63
Yun Bo-seon government 1960 Chang Myon cabinet 1960–61 May 16 coup 1961 Supreme Council for National Reconstruction 1961–63
Third Republic 1963–72
Park Chung-hee government 1963–79 Yushin Constitution 1972
Fourth Republic 1972–81
Assassination of Park Chung-hee 1979 December 12 coup 1979 May 17 coup 1980 Gwangju Uprising 1980
Fifth Republic 1981–88
Chun Doo-hwan government 1981–87 June Democracy Movement 1987
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The United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) was the official ruling body of the southern half of the Korean Peninsula from September 8, 1945 to August 15, 1948.

The country during this period was plagued with political and economic chaos, which arose from a variety of causes.^[1] The after-effects of the Japanese occupation were still being felt in the occupation zone, as well as in the Soviet zone in the North.^ Popular discontent stemmed from the U.S. Military Government's support of the Japanese colonial government; then once removed, keeping the former Japanese governors on as advisors; by ignoring, censoring and forcibly disbanding the functional and popular People's Republic of Korea (PRK); and finally by supporting United Nations elections that divided the country.^[2]

In addition, the U.S. military was largely unprepared for the challenge of administering the country, arriving with no knowledge of the language or political situation.^ Thus, many of their policies had unintended destabilizing effects. Waves of refugees from North Korea (estimated at 400,000)^ and returnees from abroad caused further turmoil.^

Background[]

Japanese forces surrender to the U.S. Army at Seoul, Korea, on 9 September 1945

Anti-Trusteeship Campaign, December 1945

The short-lived People's Republic of Korea had been established in August, in consultation with Japanese authorities, and rapidly exerted control throughout the country.^ The U.S. Military Government outlawed it in the South shortly after their arrival.^ The leader of the People's Republic, Yeo Un-hyeong, stepped down and formed the People's Party of Korea.^ The U.S. administration also refused to recognize the members of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, led by Kim Ku, who were obliged to enter the country as private citizens.^

Key events[]

After the surrender of the Empire of Japan to the Allies, the division at the 38th parallel marked the beginning of Soviet and American command over North Korea and South Korea, respectively. From 1945 to 1948 the overall responsibility of southern Korea was given to General Douglas MacArthur as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers due to the vague orders and lack of guidance from both the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Department of State regarding Korea. Washington, D.C. decided to give MacArthur a free hand to deal with Korea however he wished. He ordered the XXIV Corps under Lt. General John R. Hodge to not only accept the surrender of Japanese forces but also to set up a military occupation of Korea.^[3][4] U.S. forces landed at Incheon on September 8, 1945, and established a military government shortly thereafter.^ The forces landing at Incheon were of the XXIV Corps of the U.S. Tenth Army.^ Four days before he arrived in Korea, Hodge told his officers that Korea "was an enemy of the United States".^[5]

On September 9, at a surrender ceremony, Hodge announced that the Japanese colonial government would remain intact, including its personnel and its governor-general. After a major outcry, Hodge replaced the governor-general with an American and removed all the Japanese bureau chiefs, though he, in turn, enlisted the former Japanese bureaucrats as advisors.^[6]

Faced with mounting popular discontent, in October 1945 Hodge established the Korean Advisory Council. The majority of the Council seats were given to members of the Korean Democratic Party which had been formed at the encouragement of the U.S. and was primarily made up of large landowners, wealthy businesspeople, and former officials in the colonial government. A few members of the PRK were offered to join, but they refused and instead criticized the Council appointees for their collaboration with the Japanese.^[7]

A proposal was made in 1945 for a long-term trusteeship arrangement. In December 1945, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to administer the country under the U.S.–Soviet Joint Commission, as termed by the Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers. It was agreed that Korea would govern independently after four years of international oversight. However, both the United States and the USSR approved Korean-led governments in their respective halves, each of which was favorable to the occupying power's political ideology. From a number of perspectives, it may be argued that not all Koreans necessarily favoured these arrangements. In the south the interim legislature and the interim government were headed by Kim Kyu-shik and Syngman Rhee, respectively, and the elections for which were met with a large uprising.^[8][9]

The USAMGIK banned strikes on December 8 and outlawed the people's committees on December 12 1945. However, in September 1946 the Communist Party of Korea initiated a General Strike. This started among railway workers in Busan but it spread to other industries by September 24 and more than a quarter of a million workers joined in the strike. The USAMG organised military operations to oppose the strikers and also encouraged right-wing anti-communist groups. On October 1 a strike protest in Daegu was fired on by police and a worker was killed. Demonstrations in the following days developed into the 'Autumn Uprising'. The U.S. administration responded by declaring martial law, firing into crowds of demonstrators and killing a publicly unknown number of people.^[10][11][12]

The Jeju Uprising started during the U.S. occupation period in April 1948 when left wing radicals killed 30 South Korean police officers. This uprising happened after a South Korean communist named Pak Hon-yong (who collaborated with Kim Il-sung in Pyongyang) called on left wing and communist groups south of the 38th parallel to oppose the 1948 Korean elections by whatever means necessary, and called for a general strike to begin on 7 February. At this point, there were at least 60,000 members of the communist Workers' Party of South Korea on Jeju, and at least 80,000 active supporters. These members and supporters not only went on strike but in some cases attacked government installations and engaged with police forces in open conflict. These engagements between SKLP guerrillas against rightist groups and police continued through March 1948. It was a brutal war for the next 13 months that resulted in atrocities by both sides that led to the deaths of 14,000-30,000 people.^[13][14]

Education[]

Among the earliest edicts promulgated by USAMGIK was one reopening all schools, issued in November 1945. No immediate changes were made in the educational system, which was simply carried over from the Japanese colonial period. In this area, as in others, the military government sought to maintain the forms of the Japanese occupation system.

Although it did not implement sweeping educational reforms, the military government did lay the foundations for reforms which were implemented early in the First Republic. In 1946, a council of about 100 Korean educators was convened to map out the future path of Korean education.

Politics[]

Although the military government was hostile to leftism from the beginning, it did initially tolerate the activities of left-wing political groups, including the Korean Communist Party. They had attempted to strike a balance between hard-left and hard-right groups, encouraging moderation. However, these overtures frequently had the adverse effect of angering powerful leaders such as Syngman Rhee.

This period of reconciliation did not last long. Within a short time, the military government actively disempowered and eventually banned popular organizations that were gaining support within the general public, including the People's Republic of Korea. The justification given by the USAMGIK was its suspicion that they were aligned with the communist bloc, despite professing a relatively moderate stance compared to the actual Korean Communist Party, which had also been banned at this time.

A good symbol of how the U.S. military occupation of southern Korea went overall was when Hodge and the USAMGIK created the South Korean Interim Legislative Assembly in December 1946. This assembly was supposed to formulate draft laws to be used as "the basis for political, economic, and social reforms." However, the left-wing political faction, consolidated under the South Korean Workers Party, ignored the assembly and refused to participate. The conservative faction's Korea Democratic Party, supported by landlords and small-business owners, also opposed the assembly because their main leaders were excluded from it by the USAMGIK. The problem was that even though many of the 45-member assembly were conservatives most of the members were nominated by the moderate Kim Kyu-sik, who was the Vice President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (this was the mostly moderate institution created in 1919 during the Japanese-occupied Korea era with the ultimate goal of delivering independence to Korea in the form of a republic) and was Hodge's choice to lead a future independent South Korea. Unfortunately, Kim was not charismatic and could not inspire either the left wing or the right wing to support him.^[15]

Inter-Korean relations[]

At the time of division, the overwhelming majority of Korean industry was concentrated in the North, while most of the agricultural land was in the South. Power lines and shipping connections were maintained during this period, but were frequently and unpredictably cut off. The North, controlled during this period by the Soviet Union, had the ability to wreak havoc in the South by cutting off the supply of electricity or fertilizer, and frequently did so.^[16]

Economy[]

The economy of South Korea did not fare well during this period, although the foundations of recovery were laid. A 1947 assessment by the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee found that the U.S. had mismanaged the Korean economy and failed to enact needed land and labor reforms.^[1] The report concluded, "Thus far the U.S. has done little more than hold its own in South Korea. The operation to date has been improvised from day to day to prevent complete collapse, and has left almost untouched the most basic problems."^[1] Counterfeiting was reportedly a serious problem during this period.

Dissolution[]

General MacArthur at the handover ceremony from Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers to President Syngman Rhee on August 15, 1948

Following the constitutional assembly and presidential elections held in May and July 1948 respectively, its first government officially proclaimed the existence of the Republic of Korea on August 15, 1948. American troops finally withdrew in 1949.

See also[]

• Operation Blacklist Forty
• Korean general strike of September 1946
• List of Korea-related topics
• History of South Korea
• Provisional People's Committee for North Korea
• Soviet Civil Administration – Soviet counterpart in North Korea
• Autumn Uprising of 1946

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• Unofficial list of US National Archives documents concerning USAMGIK
• Paramilitary politics under the USAMGIK and the establishment of the ROK, Kim Bong-jin, Korea Journal 43 (2), pp. 289–322 (2003).