First Republic of South Korea
Korean name
Hangul:	제1공화국
Hanja:	第1共和國
Revised Romanization:	Je1 Gonghwaguk
McCune-Reischauer:	Che1 Konghwaguk

The First Republic of South Korea was South Korea's first independent government, ruling the country from 1948 to 1960. It succeeded USAMGIK, the United States military government, which ruled the area from 1945 to 1948. The First Republic was established on August 15, 1948, with Syngman Rhee as the first president. Like subsequent governments, it claimed sovereignty over the entire Korean peninsula, although it only had power over the area south of the 38th parallel. The investiture of the Rhee government followed the general election of April 10, 1948. The country's first constitution had been promulgated by the first National Assembly on July 17. It established a system with a strong president, who was elected indirectly by the National Assembly. Signmun Rhee File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Korean language (한국어 / 조선어) is the most widely used language in Korea, and is the official language of both North and South Korea. ... Hangul (한글) is the native alphabet used to write the Korean language, as opposed to the Hanja system borrowed from China. ... Hanja (lit. ... The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. ... McCune-Reischauer is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems, along with the Revised Romanization of Korean, which replaced McCune-Reischauer as the official romanization system in South Korea in 2000. ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Syngman Rhee (March 26, 1875 - July 19, 1965) was a Korean politician and the first president of South Korea. ... The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. ... 38 parallel can refer to: 38th parallel north, the pre-Korean War boundary between North Korea and South Korea. ... April 10 is the 100th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (101st in leap years). ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The National Assembly is the South Korean parliament. ... July 17 is the 198th day (199th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 167 days remaining. ...

Politics

Rhee was supported in the elections by the Korea Democratic Party, but failed to include any of its members in his cabinet. In retaliation, the members of the party formed a united opposition Democratic Nationalist Party, and began to advocate a cabinet system which would remove power from the president. This led to a regrouping of the Rhee faction into the Nationalist Party, which later became the Liberal Party, and remained Rhee's base throughout his administration. The country's second parliamentary elections were held on May 30, 1950, and gave the majority of seats to independents. May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The nationalist government continued many of the practices of the U.S. military government. This included the brutal repression of leftist activity. The Rhee government continued the harsh military action against the Jeju uprising. It also crushed military uprisings in Suncheon and Yeosu, which were provoked by orders to sail to Jeju and participate in the crackdown. ^[1] Jeju Massacre happened by rising of the Communist Party influence which was armed on April 3, 1948 in a Jeju island. ... Suncheon (Suncheon-si) is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. ... Yeosu (Yeosu-si) is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. ...

Korean War

See also: Korean War The Korean War (Korean: 한국전쟁/韓國戰爭), from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953, was a conflict between North Korea and South Korea. ...

On June 25, 1950, North Korean forces invaded South Korea (see Korean War). Led by the U.S., a 16-member coalition undertook the first collective action under U.N. Command (UNC). Oscillating battle lines inflicted a high number of civilian casualties and wrought immense destruction. With the People's Republic of China's entry on behalf of North Korea in 1951, the fighting came to a stalemate close to the original line of demarcation. June 25 is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 189 days remaining. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Korean War (Korean: 한국전쟁/韓國戰爭), from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953, was a conflict between North Korea and South Korea. ... 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ...

Armistice negotiations, initiated in July 1951, finally concluded on July 27, 1953 at Panmunjeom, now in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The resulting Armistice Agreement was signed by the North Korean army, Chinese People's Volunteers and the U.S.-led and Republic of Korea-supported United Nations Command. A peace treaty has not been signed up to now. Following the armistice, the South Korean government returned to Seoul on the symbolic date of August 15, 1953. July 27 is the 208th day (209th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 157 days remaining. ... 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Panmunjeom (Panmunjŏm) in Gyeonggi province is a village on the border between North and South Korea, where the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War was signed. ... In military terms, a demilitarized zone (DMZ) is an area, usually the frontier or boundary between two or more groups, where military activity is not permitted, usually by treaty or other agreement. ... The United Nations, or UN, is an international organization established in 1945 and now made up of 191 states. ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Postwar events

After the armistice, South Korea experienced political turmoil under years of autocratic leadership of Syngman Rhee, which was ended by student revolt in 1960. Throughout his rule, Rhee sought to take additional steps to cement his control of government. These began in 1952, when the government was still based in Busan due to the ongoing war. In May of that year, Rhee pushed through constitutional amendments which made the presidency a directly-elected position. To do this, he declared martial law and jailed the members of parliament whom he expected to vote against it. Rhee was subsequently elected by a wide margin. He regained control of parliament in the 1954 elections, and thereupon pushed through an amendment to exempt himself from the eight-year term limit. Syngman Rhee (March 26, 1875 - July 19, 1965) was a Korean politician and the first president of South Korea. ... 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1952 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Busan Metropolitan City, also commonly referred to as Pusan, is the largest harbor city in Korea, with a population of about 4 million, Busan is South Koreas second largest metropolis, next to Seoul. ... A term limit is a provision of a constitution, statute, or bylaw which limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. ...

The events of 1960, known as the April Revolution, were touched off by the violent repression of a student demonstration in Masan on the day of the presidential election, March 15. Initially these protests were quelled by local police, but they broke out again after the body of a student was found floating in the harbor. Subsequently nonviolent protests spread to Seoul and throughout the country, and Rhee resigned on April 26. The April Revolution, sometimes called the April 19th Revolution was a popular uprising in April 1950, led by labor and student groups, which overthrew the autocratic First Republic of South Korea under Syngman Rhee. ... Masan is a city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. ... March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (75th in Leap years). ... April 26 is the 116th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (117th in leap years). ...

Education

This period saw explosive growth in education at all levels, even during the turmoil of the Korean War. The First Republic saw the full implementation of an educational system that had been sketched out by the Council for Korean Education under USAMGIK. This education was shaped by the ideal of Hongik Ingan, the person who is a benefit to all, and sought to prepare students for participation in a democratic society. Some contend that this democratic education contributed to the student protests which brought down the authoritarian Rhee government in 1960.^[2]

The first Education Law came into force on December 31, 1949. ^[3] The most important aspect of this was the introduction of universal compulsory education at the primary level. This requirement led to widespread school construction; by the end of the First Republic, primary-school enrollment had topped 95%. In addition, the dual ladder system used by the Japanese occupation government was replaced by a single-ladder system, with 6 years of primary education, 3 of middle-school education, 3 of high-school education, and 4 of college education. December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Compulsory education is education which is required by the government, usually at the national level. ...

This period also saw the adoption of South Korea's first national curriculum.

Economy

The economy of this period was deeply troubled.

International relations

Rhee sought to align his government strongly with America, and against both North Korea and Japan.^[4] The policy of the First Republic on North Korea, before and after the Korean War, was one of "unification by force." ^[5] Although some talks towards normalization of relations with Japan took place, they achieved little.^[6] Meanwhile, the government took in vast sums of American aid, in amounts sometimes near the total size of the national budget.^[7]

Notes

1. ^  Cumings (1997, p. 221).
2. ^  Yang (1999, p. 756).
3. ^  Yang (1999, p. 755).
4. ^  Yang (1999, pp. 194-195).
5. ^  Yang (1999, p. 193).
6. ^  Yang (1999, p. 194).
7. ^  Cumings (1997, p. 255, p. 306).

References

• Cumings, Bruce (1997). Korea's place in the sun. New York:W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-31681-5.
• Lee, Ki-baek, tr. by E.W. Wagner & E.J. Shultz (1984). A new history of Korea (rev. ed.). Seoul:Ilchogak. ISBN 89-337-0204-0.
• Nahm, Andrew C. (1996). Korea: A history of the Korean people (2nd ed.). Seoul:Hollym. ISBN 1-56591-070-2.
• Yang, Sung Chul (1999). The North and South Korean political systems: A comparative analysis (rev. ed.). Seoul:Hollym. ISBN 1-56591-105-9.
• Yonhap News Agency (2004). Korea Annual 2004. Seoul:Author. ISBN 89-7433-070-9.

See also

• History of South Korea
• History of Korea
• List of Korea-related topics