South Korea

By September 7, 1945 the Korean people realized that the United States had another vision. On that day, General Mac Arthur announced that he was in charge and disposed of all the governmental power south of the 38th parallel. English was declared the official language for all military matters. On September 8, 1945; Lieutenant General John Reed Hodge (1893-1963) landed in Inchon with his troops. Hundreds of black-coated armed Japanese police on horseback, still under the direction of Japanese Governor-General Abe Nobuyuki (1875-1953), kept Korean crowds away from the disembarking soldiers. "The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea" sent a delegation with three interpreters, but Hodge refused to meet with them. Hodge had become known for his aggressive warfare in battles at Guadalcanal, Leyte, Bougainville, and the "last battle" at Okinawa, earning him the reputation as "the Patton of the Pacific." George Smith Patton Jr. (1885-1945) had been nicknamed "old blood and guts" for his tank actions in World War I, and his later exploits during War II in Italy, North Africa, France, and Germany.

The American military authorities in the Far East did not prioritize Korean affairs. The main focus was on the former enemies, Germany and Japan. While in Japan, 2000 specially trained civil affairs officers took over government, Korea was placed under the direct administration of military units. Little changed in the administration of the country, officials then serving under the Japanese authorities remained in their positions.

Provisions of the occupation, including ordinances issued by the Military Governor of Korea, were to be enforced by a "Military Occupation Court." On September 12, 1945, West Point graduate and artillery expert Major General Archibald V. Arnold (1889-1973), was named United States Military Governor to replace Japanese Governor-General Nobuyuki Abe. Most of the existing administrative and police personnel were retained.

Arnold was later replaced as Military Governor by Major General William F. Dean (1899-1981), a highly decorated World War II veteran of battles in France, Germany, and Austria. Interestingly, when the Korean War started in June 1950, Dean became the commander of the United States 24th Division and was captured on August 25, 1950 in Taejon, and was imprisoned as a prisoner of war for 37 and a half months. He was the highest ranking United States officer ever captured by the North Koreans.

The United States occupation authorities in southern Korea viewed the self-proclaimed government as a communist insurgency and refused to recognize the "Provisional Government." The United States considered, a virulent anti-communist named Syngman Rhee who had moved to Korea from the United States, an acceptable candidate to rule the country. In August 1948, the United Nations held an election, but the Soviet Union refused to allow participation in their occupied zone.  Syngman Rhee became the first president of South Korea, though some observers considered the election unfair or even fraudulent.  

Meanwhile the economic situation deteriorated. On August 31, 1946 an editorial in a leading Korean newspaper Chosun Ibo wrote in an open letter to Hodge complaining that the Korean people were now suffered more than at any time under Japanese rule. This was due to strategic evaluations made by the United States of projected post-war plans of its wartime Soviet ally who was feared and mistrusted by the West since the Bolshevik revolution first articulated its socialist philosophies in 1917.

North Korea

Historical details of events after the invasion by Soviet troops on August 8 and 9, 1945 are incomplete outside of North Korea. The Soviets took their position of power before their American counterparts because they arrived a month earlier and there were a great number of Soviet troops that were of Korean descent. These people had fled from Japanese colonization and became citizens in the Soviet Union. There were a few thousand of them operating in the North, many of them officials and political operatives with experience. The Soviet Union chose to operate in the background since they had a large number of followers there was by far less resistance than the United States had in the south.

In August 1945, the Soviet Red Army established the Soviet Civil Authority to rule the country until a domestic regime that was friendly to the USSR could be established. They set up provisional committees across the country putting communists into key positions. In March 1946, land reform was instituted as the land from Japanese landowners was divided and handed over to poor farmers; most prior landowners fled to the south. Quickly key industries were nationalized. The economic situation was as difficult in the north as it was in the south. One reason was that Japan concentrated agriculture in the south and heavy industries in the north. As a result, there was a deficit in both halves of the country.

In February 1946, a provisional government called the North Korean Provisional People's Committee was formed under Kim iIl Sung (1912-1994). In November 1946, the provisional government was elected under the Soviet control. Conflicts and power struggles were mostly hidden in the north, in stark contrast to the south where this all happened in public. As a consequence many unfavorable people in the north disappeared or were killed in assassinations. A Stalinist order was soon established, meaning that there were no open riots in the north.

As the hostilities increased, the Korean peninsula was drawn into a civil war.

Preface - Introduction - Ancient Beginnings - Korean Geography - Ancient Korea - Three Kingdoms Era - Subak and Sonbae - Subak and Hwarang - Koryo Dynasty - Chosen Dynasty - Korea Divided - Korean War (1950-1953) - Modern Taekwondo - Early Masters - Taekwondo Development - International Groups - Road to Olympics - Sport Taekwondo - Traditional versus Sport - Taekwondo in the United States - Taekwondo Today - References