DRASTIC CHOICES AND EXTREME CONSEQUENCES: Concerning Korea 1945-1953 J. Jihae Kwon In Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts Art and the Book Program Corcoran College of Art + Design Washington, D.C. Spring 2014 ©2014 J. Jihae Kwon All Rights Reserved Corcoran College of Art + Design We hereby recommend that the thesis prepared under our supervision by Jihae Kwon entitled Drastic Choices and Extreme Consequences: Concerning Korea 1945- 1953 be accepted as fulfilling, in part, requirements for the degree of Master of Art in Art and the Book. Graduate Thesis Committee: (Signature of Student) J. Jihae Kwon (Printed Name of Student) (Signature of Program Director/Advisor) Kerry McAleer-Keeler (Printed Name of Program Director/Advisor) (Signature of Thesis Committee Reviewer) Georgia Deal (Printed Name of Thesis Committee Reviewer) (Signature of Thesis Committee Reviewer) Casey Smith (Printed Name of Thesis Committee Reviewer) i THESIS STATEMENT The choices one makes have intentional and unintentional consequences. Extreme choices produce dire consequences that can subsequently influence future generations and, on a larger scale, an entire nation. In Korea between 1945 and 1953, many radical choices were made to stabilize the political situation. Many obeyed the order from the highest in the political ladder which resulted in tragedies. Some people abused the situation for their own gain and satisfaction. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My grandma, Bunheng Jeong, for sharing her family history and for enduring hardship with hope and positive attitude. My mom, Yonhong Jang, for inspiring me to write about my family history and for providing the details of the family history. My aunt, Gihong Jang, for encouragement and helping me communicate with my grandma. My professors at Corcoran College of Art+Design for supporting, inspiring, and helping me complete my thesis. Korean War veterans for fighting to protect my people’s freedom. Korean people for never stopping to live life and for never forgetting their heritage. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page i Thesis Statement ii Acknowledgments iii Table of Contents iv List of Figures v Introduction 1 Chapters Chapter 1 Historical Background Japanese Colonialism 2 Liberation and the United States Military Government 2 The Press Persecution and the National Security Law 6 Organization of the National Guidance League 8 (Gukmin Bodo Yeonmeng) Chapter 2 The NGL Membership 10 Activities of Police and Military Against Members 11 of the NGL and the Wrongfully Accused Chapter 3 Personal Experiences Executioners 16 Mr. Noh Kim Man-sik Lee Joon-young Witnesses and Victims 18 Mr. Lee Chung Nam-sook from Hampyong Goh Gyeong-hwan’s Brother Kim Gwang-ho from Gimhae County Jeong Yun-won from Pohang Chapter 4 My Grandmother’s Family 21 Jeong Il-seon, Jeong Dong-yeob, and Great Grandmother Conclusion 24 List of Figures References viii End Notes ix Bibliography xi iv LIST OF FIGURES 1. South Korean soldiers checking thousands of dead bodies in a trench shot at Taejon, South Korea 2. The present day No Gun Ri bridge with bullet holes where villagers were killed by the U.S. military during the Korean War 3. Photo of my grandmother’s family when she was sixteen years old (1933) v Figure 1 Figure 2 vi Figure 3 1 2 5 6 3 4 In 1933 1 Jeong Il-seon 2 Jeong Dong-yeob 3 Grandmother’s younger sister 4 Grandmother’s younger brother 5 Great grandmother 6 Grandmother vii 1 INTRODUCTION Decisions have both short and long-term consequences. Sometimes we cannot see the consequences and do not know the outcomes, but we take a step and make a choice. Some after-effects are irrevocable, and some are fixable. Some decisions affect us immediately and exclusively while others have consequences that are global. When we make decisions, we sometimes doubt our decisions and ask ourselves what might have happened if another choice was made. We make choices daily, small or great, for good or bad. After World War II, South Korean president Rhee Syngman put many alleged Communists in a rehabilitation program known as the National Guidance League. Many of them were executed between 1945 and 1953 to prevent them from joining the Communist north. Rhee’s decision affected many families including my own. What we choose to do has intentional and unintentional consequences. Extreme choices produce dire consequences that can subsequently influence future generations and, on a larger scale, an entire nation for decades. 2 CHAPTER 1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND JAPANESE COLONIALISM Knowing the historical background between 1910 and 1953 is crucial to understanding the events that took place before and during the Korean War. Korea was under Japanese rule from 1910 to 1945. During the Japanese occupation, many Koreans suffered in diverse ways. The Japanese tried to wipe out Koreans culturally. They forced Koreans to abandon Korean names and take Japanese names and to worship Shinto, the state religion of the Japanese Empire. They extracted many men to the front lines of the Japanese war, forced thousands of women to be sexual captives for Japanese soldiers, and used thousands of men and women in experimentation like that of Nazi Germany. Among many colonial activities in Korea, the Japanese made Korean farmers suffer greatly. As a result of the land survey conducted from 1910 to 1918, the Japanese government took possession of a great amount of land and charged high taxes. By 1935, a large percentage of rice paddy fields were under the custody of Japanese landlords.1 To protect their property, many Korean landlords collaborated with the Japanese and, together, they exploited farmers. As a result, many farmers suffered great poverty. LIBERATION AND THE UNITED STATES MILITARY GOVERNMENT During the Japanese occupation, the independent movement was very active inside and outside of Korea. The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was 3 established by independence fighters in Shanghai, China in 1918. Rhee Syngman was appointed as the first president and was later impeached by the Provisional Assembly for the misuse of his authority. The Japanese lost World War II, and Korea was finally liberated on August 15, 1945. Koreans who suffered greatly under the Japanese occupation looked for a new life and a new society. They turned to socialism for new hopes and prospects. Inspired by the Russian Revolution and the anti-Imperialism movement in Russia, many independence activists, students, and intellectuals voluntarily accepted the socialist ideas. They believed that socialism was an idealogical weapon that could liberate the oppressed class of farmers and laborers. Yet they were also Nationalists, . and in the end regarded the Korean independence as a priority above all else.2 The independence activists who established the Provisional Government were those nationalist intellectuals that turned to socialism for the future of Korea. After the liberation, many independence fighters returned home to be a part of the new Korea. Kim Gu, who was the 6th, 12th and 13th president of the Provisional Government of Republic of Korea, and Rhee returned to Seoul, Korea. Kim Il-sung, the late leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and Kim Du-bong, who worked for independence in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and China, set up their political ground in Pyongyang, North Korea.3 As the Cold War intensified, the United States and the USSR’s conflicts affected Korea’s future greatly.4 While the U.S. sought to establish an American-style democratic state in the south, the Russians pursued the construction of a Soviet-style 4 socialist state in the north . [The Korean people] wanted to establish a nation-state in which while individual freedoms were regarded as important, a heavy emphasis was nevertheless placed on the communal aspect of the nation. The political organizations whose understanding and conception resembled . were the Shanghai-based Provisional Government led by Kim Gu.5 In December 1945, the Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers was held, and it was decided that the U.S. and the USSR would form “a joint committee and launch a Korean provisional government.”6 As the result of the Moscow Conference, Korea was divided in two at the 38th parallel. This decision would eventually cause much conflict between US and USSR supporters, Rightists and Leftists. Rhee, a U.S. supporter, would become a suppressor of all opposition to him and the United States. The majority of Koreans wanted the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai to govern both North and South. However, the Provisional Government became powerless when it was not recognized by the U.S. and the USSR. The USSR supported the People’s Committees in the north with Kim Il-sung as the leader. Having been educated in the U.S. and having their support, Rhee became the leader in the south and employed many policemen and officials who worked for the Japanese.7 After the Japanese withdrew from Korea, many industries were shut down, and the Korean economy was in trouble. The stability in Korea heavily depended upon reform plans. North and South Korea had different approaches: 5 The provisional government of the North, under the leadership of the People’s Committee, carried out land reforms by liquidating pro- Japanese properties and nationalizing all industry. The changes in the North put a lot of pressure upon the South. The Rightists in the South who were rather generous toward pro-Japanese figures and passive in punishing them, untied themselves under the name of anti- Communism. Thus, they demanded that a government only for the South be founded to lead the struggle against Communism in the North.8 Many Koreans who sided with the Japanese during the colonial era were not interested in the land reform.