International Journal of Korean History(Vol.11, Dec. 2007) 227 G G G The Establishment and Activities of the Korean-American Association During the Era of the American Military Government HEO Eun* Introduction The era of the U.S. Army Military Government in Korea (hereafter USAMGIK) can be perceived as a period in which the Korean society located south of the 38th parallel reencountered the United States after having removed the fetters of Japanese colonial rule. The South Korean public’s perception of the United States underwent rapid changes during the three years in which the American Military Government occupied Korea, which resulted in many contradictory assessments of the United States emerging. Put differently, this was a period in which contradictory and conflicting evaluations of America existed alongside one another. To this end, the U.S. was regarded as both a ‘liberation’ and ‘occupation’ force; as a ‘democratic’ and ‘imperialist’ state; and as an ‘advanced civilized’ and ‘mammonist’ country. These contradictory opinions were directly related to political groups and the Korean public’s perception of reality. To this end, while various sectors of the public experienced the process of encountering the U.S. occupation forces differently, this was also the case with the assorted political groups, each of which had its own approach and methods to the establishment of a nation state during the era * Research Professor, Korea University BrainKorea 21 Education and Research Group for Korean History 228 The Establishment and Activities of the Korean-American ~ of the American Military Government. However, the Korean public’s perception of the United States during the era of the American Military Government was not formed solely based on their perception of the reality under U.S. occupation. Although Koreans faced severe limitations during the Japanese imperial era in terms of their ability to freely come into contact with the United States, the fact is that the latter had already exercised political and cultural influence within Korean society even before Korea became a Japanese colony. In this regard, the import and conveyance of U.S. popular culture can be regarded as having continued apace during the colonial era.1 In this regard, attention should be focused on the fact that the actors who contributed most to the spread of the ‘positive’ perception of the United States during the period of U.S. occupation were those who had studied in the United States during the Japanese colonial era and who possessed a clear historical perception of Korea-U.S. relations. Therefore, in order to develop a clear portrait of the Korean public’s perception of the United States that emerged during the era of the American Military Government, it is necessary to analyze the main actors involved in the formation of the perception of the United States, their experiences, and their ‘recollections’ (methods) of Korea-U.S. relations. To this end, this study sets out to analyze the main actors involved in the Korean-American Association (Hanmi hyǂphoe) established shortly after the arrival of the U.S. occupation forces in Korea, and their perceptions of the United States. The Korean-American Association was more than a simple organization or cultural group striving to invigorate cultural exchanges between the United States and Korea. The majority of those who occupied leadership positions in this Korean-American Association assumed important posts within the American Military Government, and the local branches of this Korean-American Association also maintained a close relationship with the local offices of USAMGIK. In other words, the Korean-American Association can rightfully be viewed as an organization that played a pivotal role in helping the United States secure its political and cultural status within South Korean society. HEO Eun 229 Nevertheless, no study has up to date been conducted on the topic of this Korean-American Association. This study attempts to recreate the process through which this Korean-American Association was established, as well as its activities thereafter, using magazines published by the Korean-American Association as primary materials. Moreover, a review of the significance of its activities will also be conducted herein. What’s more, this study also delves into the issue of what perception of the United States this organization intended to inculcate within Korean society. Here, this exercise consists of a comparison of the perceptions of the United States which the Korean-American Association desired to bring about with other opposing perceptions of the U.S. that existed at that time. This study on the Korean-American Association will contribute to the development of a more precise awareness of the activities of the pro-American group originally formed during the Japanese colonial era in the aftermath of the liberation of the Korean nation in 1945. Furthermore, this study will also lead to a better understanding of the formation of a ‘positive perception of the United States’ during the era of the American Military Government, and provide a much-needed background to the perception of the United States that prevailed within South Korean society during the Cold War era. The establishment and activities of the Korean- American Association The U.S. occupation forces were well aware of the existence of a pro- American group who had received an American-style education.2 This created an opportunity for the group who had come to share a preference for Western-style thinking as a result of their studies in the West to emerge as the central force in Korean politics.3 The Korean-American Association thus emerged as a pro-American group that adopted the promotion of cultural exchanges between the United States and Korea amidst the changing political situation created by 230 The Establishment and Activities of the Korean-American ~ the arrival of the U.S. occupation forces in Korea as its main platform.4 The exact date on which the Korean-American Association was established remains unknown. However, considering that a ceremony was held to celebrate the 1st anniversary of the association on September 4, 1946,5 we can surmise that preparations must have begun at the very minimum at the end of August, with the club officially inaugurated on September 4, 1945. The majority of the leaders of the Korean-American Association were from Christian families, or Christians themselves, who had enjoyed the opportunity to study in the United States with the help of missionaries6 (The members of the Korean-American Association are introduced in <Table 1-1>). To this end, individuals such as O Chǯǂnsǂk, Pak Indǂk, Ko Hwanggyǂng, and Kim Hyǂngmin can be regarded as representative members of this association. These individuals, who had grown up in devout Christian families during the Japanese colonial era, found themselves, with the help of American missionaries, having the opportunity to begin a new phase of their lives by going to study in the most abundant material civilization at that time: the United States. These individual experiences were paramount in the development of a perception of the United States amongst these individuals that was based on religious and moral values rather than the rational logic of international politics, and in their subsequent acceptance of the United States as the ideal model of a modern state.7 The members of the Korean-American Association were linked to one another through a complicated web that included the commonalities of having studied abroad, membership in the nationalist movement, and in many cases, pro-Japanese activities. While Yi Hunǯgu, Pak Indǂk, and O Chǯǂnsǂk had been at the forefront of the Kumi yuhaksaeng chǯonghoe (Association of Korean students in the United States) established in 1930, Yi Taewi, Han Sǎngin, and Cho Pyǂngok had actively participated in the activities of the Tongwuhoe (Association of Companions in Self- Cultivation).8 Meanwhile, Pak Indǂk and Ko Hwanggyǂng were actively involved with pro-Japanese activities during the final period of the HEO Eun 231 colonial era. Many of these individuals who studied in the United States had already formed a common bond as a result of their activities during the colonial era, and these ties were further cemented in the Chosǂn(ᱰᚠ). where they often shared living spaces. According to O Chǯǂnsǂk, many of those who studied in the United States at the end of the Japanese colonial era hailed from the Pukahyǂn-dong area situated in close proximity to Yǂnhǎi Chǂnmun and Ewha Yǂjǂn, all of which facilitated the forging of close ties between them. This group included O Chǯǂnsǂk, Paek Nakchun, Chǯoe Kyunam, Yi Myomuk, Yi Wǂnchǯǂl, Han Sǎngin, Pak Wǂnǯgyu, Yi Kibung, Pak Maria, Ryu Hyǂnggi, and Yi Kyewǂn. On August 15, 1945, O Chǯǂnsǂk hosted a meeting in his house located in Pukahyǂn-dong in which Paek Nakchun, Yi Myomuk, and Ryu Hyǂnggi also participated. During this meeting they reached the conclusion that as their only obvious advantage was their ‘English skills’, they had to make use of the skill as a means to bring about the construction of a new country. As such, amidst a rapidly changing political situation in which the defeat of Imperial Japan was occurring against the backdrop of the emergence of the United States, these individuals discarded the traditional call of ‘overthrowing Great Britain and the United States’ long used by imperial Japan to justify its wars of aggression. In its wake, they opted for a new rallying cry that was based on the use of their experiences in the United States and of fluent English as a ‘tool with which to respond to the current political situation’. The righteousness and moral justification of participating in the building of a new country and the common bond that came from having studied in the United States proved enough to outweigh the pro-Japanese activities committed by some members in the past when it came to the rallying of forces.9 The experience of having studied in the U.S.