Andreios II: Welcome back.
PvtPrivate: You think so?
Mr. Santiago: I don't really pay attention to how many people read my AAR. To me, it's just a number.
TheHyphenated1: Of course in TTL, North Korea will be much more lighted up.
Speaking of Korea...
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The June Revolution
In September 1988, the eyes of the world were focused on the Republic of Korea as she played host to the Summer Olympics for the first time. It was an exciting time on the Korean Peninsula as over 8,400 athletes from over 160 nations poured in to participate in over 260 events. Among the highlights NBC and other broadcasters covered in Seoul:
- American sprinter Florence Griffith-Joyner won three gold medals
- In a very controversial decision, Korean judges awarded the gold medal in light-middleweight boxing to one of their own instead of the American boxer Roy Jones, Jr.
- American swimmer Matt Biondi won six gold medals, including the men’s 100 meter butterfly
For the Koreans, they were understandably ecstatic about hosting the games. It brought international attention to their nation, allowing them to show off their booming industrial economy and high living standards. They treated it as their “coming-out party” on the world stage. Although Germany won the most medals and Korea barely edged out Bulgaria of all countries to make it into the top four medal winners, the Olympics were nonetheless a psychological victory for them. It was after all their chance to shine in the sun...a chance they would get again in 2010 as host of the Winter Olympics.
Today Korea is one of the leading economic nations in Asia. Despite the fact that mountains cover 70% of the country’s 85,270 square mile area, the country is home to 79,000,000 people (making it the 17th most populous country in the world). The liberal use of skyscrapers in Seoul (capital and largest city), Busan (second largest city), Pyongyang (third largest city), and elsewhere has helped Korea deal with her heavy population density. Possessing a strong market economy has enabled the developed country to be one of the world’s fastest-growing with one of the lowest unemployment rates. One of the reasons Korea is so prosperous is her abundance of natural resources: iron, zinc, coal, fluorite, copper, and salt are among the resources she produces in substantial numbers. These products have made the country one of the largest exporters in the world. Wise handling of all this money has allowed Korea to build a strong credit rating, keep her national debt low, and have extra money to spare in the event of a financial emergency like in 2008. The Koreans enjoy a highly efficient and technically advanced transportation network which allows them to criss-cross the country easily. The magnificent and elegant-looking Pyongyang Station – described as “Korea’s Grand Central Terminal” – serves as the central rail hub connecting the northern half of the country with the southern half via Seoul. Inchon is home to Korea’s largest airport and is one of the world’s busiest, serving over 33,000,000 passengers a year. Korea’s vibrant financial situation has allowed her to be a global leader in nuclear power development, scientific research (such as robotics and biotechnology), and education. Like her next-door neighbor Japan, Korea actively exports her mainstream popular culture abroad – such as K-pop music – and enjoys seamless wireless connection at home (roughly 92% of all Koreans have cell phones like those featured below).
A century ago, you would’ve been hard-pressed to find any evidence of Korea’s future glory. The Peninsula had been run for thousands of years by various rulers when another ruler arrived in 1910 to stake their claim there. Exercising a hunger for an empire which would eventually get them into deep trouble, the Japanese decided to annex Korea and transform it into their first colony. In a terrible sign of things to come, the Japanese repressed Korean culture and forced the Koreans to labor for their sole benefit. Any effort by the Koreans to assert independence for themselves was brutally crushed, resulting in the deaths of thousands. Those who didn’t revolt openly were forced to give up their ways of life and live exactly as the Japanese ordered them to whether they liked it or not (they didn’t). This horrible oppression – which would be repeated in China and elsewhere over the next couple decades – would dominate the Peninsula until 1945 when the US war machine arrived off the coast of Asia. It was MacArthur, the brilliant but egotistical leader of the unstoppable American drive, who made the case for an invasion of Korea. His twin arguments were:
- The Korean people were enduring horrible conditions under Japanese rule. The United States therefore had the moral obligation to liberate them and give them a much-needed taste of freedom
- It also made military sense to attack Korea. With the Japanese certain to put up heavy resistance in the upcoming invasion of their home islands, the Americans would need to create a diversion to split up their defense. Sitting across from Japan via the Korea Strait (the scene of a major Japanese naval victory over the Russians forty years earlier), the Peninsula was a logical secondary target that wouldn’t be too far from the main landings in Southern Kyushu
The decision to attack Korea turned out to be the easy part; the devil was in the details. Military planners were at odds not only over how much to invest in the attack but who would even lead it. Some wanted a limited engagement while others wanted to go all-in. Then there was the outspoken opinion of General George S. Patton (1885-1948). Nicknamed “Old Blood and Guts”, the aggressive and colorful general had famously – or infamously, depending on your view of him – captured Rome during the war in Europe and was anxious to give the Japanese hell. To him, it was all simple really: invade Korea and advance as far into China as possible. He believed that mobility was the essential ingredient for any successful military operation. Forces had to stay on the move; to slow down or stop would only
“waste human lives.”
And who in Patton’s mind should lead the invasion? Why himself, of course. This created consternation among the planners, chiefly General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Impressed by Eisenhower’s skills in leading the Allies to victory in North Africa and Europe, Dewey ordered Ike to Okinawa to coordinate military operations in Asia. Although MacArthur would lead the invasion of Japan, it would be Eisenhower – acting behind the scenes – who would make sure that the army, navy, and air force behave as one cohesive force. When it came to picking someone to lead the invasion of Korea (codenamed Operation Clamp due to the fact that it would go hand-in-hand with Operation Downfall), Eisenhower expressed his reservations about giving the reins to Patton. Yes, Old Blood and Guts was a more-than-capable general but there was something about him which gave Ike pause. Patton distrusted the Soviets greatly and wasn’t afraid to say so…often with his characteristic profanity. With the Red Army advancing across Manchuria following the Soviet declaration of war on Japan in May 1945, planners knew that American forces would link up with their Soviet counterparts at some point. Eisenhower was afraid of what might happen if anti-Soviet Patton ran into the Red Army and therefore recommended another general whom he knew would be a safer choice. Completely professional and coolheaded, General George Marshall had led the advance which recaptured Paris and was known for getting the job done diligently and without drawing unnecessary attention. Patton tried to argue against this but was silenced when Marshall was confirmed to carry out Operation Clamp. To soothe his bruised ego, Ike gave the hotheaded George command of an army group slated for the invasion...with the crystal-clear understanding that Patton would be subordinate under Marshall.
In the early hours of August 6th, the Marines waded ashore on the island of Jeju. Located off the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula, the volcanic island was seen as the stepping stone to the Asian mainland. After securing the island without facing Japanese resistance, the Americans headed north and established a foothold in Korea near Gwangju. Despite the mountainous terrain, Patton and others were able to advance across the Peninsula with help from local guerrilla units. Although the Japanese fought hard to hold back the Americans, they were undermined by civilian uprisings. Knowing that freedom was near, those who had been forced to support the Japanese war effort took the opportunity to confront their occupiers at every given chance. By the end of 1945, the entire Korean Peninsula was in American hands and bridges had been erected across the Yalu River to continue the US advance into Manchuria and Northern China. Although it was their policy to make Korea free and independent, the Americans established a military administration to manage the Koreans in the short term. Given how long they had been under foreign rule, D.C. felt it would be premature to grant them automatic self-rule. Instead, full sovereignty would be gradually phrased in. Marshall, the jack-of-all-trades commander, was appointed military governor of Korea. Marshall handled the liberated Koreans with such deftness that he would be named Secretary of State after Dewey fired Gerald Nye in 1947. As with Germany, the lack of a Soviet presence on the Peninsula allowed the Americans to block the Communists from having a say in the postwar development of Korea. In September 1947, the American administration ended and the First Republic of Korea was officially established as an independent state.
In the fall of 1947, the Koreans went to the polls for the first time to elect their government. A constitution was drawn up, setting up a presidential form of government in which the leader would have a four-year term. Syngman Rhee, a prominent member of the Korean independence movement, was elected to serve as the country’s first President. That's when things started going down hill. The anti-Communist Rhee immediately implemented a brutal repression of the Left; anyone deemed a threat to his government was killed. Tens of thousands of Koreans across the country were put to death by order of the autocratic President. This created political turmoil which roiled Korea throughout the 1950s. Rhee forced through Parliament constitutional amendments which for all practical purposes made him President-for-life. This earned the strongman a poor reputation back in the United States; neither Stevenson nor Sparkman were impressed by him. Although the Americans considered the Koreans to be a valuable ally in the Cold War in light of Nationalist China sliding into the Soviet camp, their leaders were privately opposed to Rhee’s iron-fisted rule. Even though her education system saw strong growth and the literary rate rose sharply during the decade, Korea’s economy remained sluggish despite American aid and land reform which established a class of small landowners. Sparkman blamed Rhee’s refusal to make his country a true democracy for the weak economy and privately hoped something would happen to push him out of power. In the summer of 1960, he got his wish.
That June found the Korean Peninsula racked by protests in the streets. The widespread movement began as a reaction to the Presidential election held on June 12th. With the public growing increasingly discontented against his corrupt and power-hungry dictatorship, the elderly Rhee had the election heavily rigged so he could defeat his opponent with ease. With voter turnout at 97.0%, the incumbent won with 80% of the vote against his opponent’s 17%. To the public, it was too much to bear: almost as soon as the election results were announced, the opposition cried foul and protested the vote. In Gwangju, students and citizens took to the streets to march in angry resentment. The leader of the opposition addressed them directly, declaring that
“the election results were completely fabricated by police headquarters and the ministry of internal affairs.”
In reaction, local police – under the tight control of Rhee’s government – were ordered to quell the demonstration with force. The police opened fire and killed eighty-six protestors – including the opposition candidate. This incident, remembered by history as the Gwangju Massacre, set off an explosion of public indignation that swept across the country. For instance, students in Chongjin rioted and burned the local police station to the ground. On June 17th, while the streets of Seoul were clogged with protestors, the opposition in Pyongyang converged on the railroad station there and forced the trains to screech to a halt. Since Pyongyang – just like now – served as the central hub for rail traffic in North Korea, this action had the effect of paralyzing the northern half of the country. For what would become known as the June Revolution, the action in Pyongyang marked its’ point of no return.
For Rhee, the protests were bad enough but the fall of Pyongyang Station…it was too much. On June 19th, the government declared martial law and the army was called out to put down the demonstrations. With singular obsession, Rhee gave top priority to retaking the train station by any means necessary. He wouldn’t allow upstarts to grind his country to a halt. Motorized divisions drove their way towards the station, now partially encircled by hastily assembled barricades. The soldiers were ordered to clear out the building of its occupants either peacefully or through brute force. As the motor vehicles approached Pyongyang Station, the soldiers dispatched to retake it were in for a deadly surprise. Unlike their nonviolent counterparts in the South, the North Koreans were armed with various assortments of small and long guns and knew how to use them. Almost as soon as the vehicles came up against the barricades, they found themselves under attack. Firing from the windows, behind the barricades, and atop the roof, the occupiers laid down a steady stream of fire. Hiding behind their vehicles, the soldiers returned fire with their own hail of bullets. What should’ve been a straightforward operation transformed instead into a three-day siege in which the soldiers were barely able to make much progress beyond the barricades. With the army reporting at least seventy-six casualties, Rhee decided on June 23rd to change tactics. He didn’t stop to wonder why the rebels were so well-armed; all he cared about was crushing them. What happened next would shock the world.
A week after anti-Rhee forces seized control of Pyongyang Station, M26 Pershing tanks rolled through the streets of Pyongyang towards the station. The forty-two ton tanks, developed by the Americans, were under orders to blast their way through and destroy the opposition. With their main guns pumping out round after round indiscriminately, the Pershing tanks crashed through the barricades and attacked the building head-on. The occupiers, facing superior firepower, decide to retreat and regroup rather than risk everything on an Alamo-like last stand. Not content with simply letting them escape, the tanks were ordered to go after the fleeing protestors and brutally deliver a statement: don’t mess with the government. The tanks bulldozed their way through the fleeing crowds, literally running people over. Images of Koreans being crushed underneath the tank treads splashed across the front pages of newspapers all over the world, creating international outrage. At the White House, Secretary of State Dean Rusk – appointed to the post after Culbert Levy Olson resigned two months earlier for health reasons – arrived in the Oval Office to find the President furious at what he was seeing. Sparkman couldn’t believe that American tanks were being used by the Korean government to mow down their own people.
“What kind of S.O.B. does something like this?” he asked Rusk angrily. Rhee attempted to justify his action by pointing out that the counterattack had liberated the train station from occupation. Unfortunately for him, with the building shelled and over two hundred Koreans dead, his government's victory in the Battle of Pyongyang Station had been a P.R. disaster of the highest order. It did nothing to quell the national opposition to his rule; it only intensified. On June 26th, a huge crowd of protestors seized hold of Vice President Lee Ki Poong and savagely beat him to death. It was in retaliation for what happened in Pyongyang and they intended to get their revenge on Rhee next. They stormed the Blue House in Seoul (which is the executive office and official residence of the Korean Head of State), overwhelmed the bodyguards stationed there, and searched for him. Rather than be taken alive and mostly likely be executed, Rhee chose to commit suicide. To him, surrendering after all this was unthinkable.
Syngman Rhee (March 26th, 1875 – June 26th, 1960)
The country rejoiced Rhee’s death since it meant the eighty-five-year-old's violent and corrupt regime was finally over. On June 28th, an interim administration took over and abolished the First Republic of Korea. Three months later, new parliamentary elections were held and a new government was elected to establish the Second Republic of Korea. The Constitution was heavily revised to make the President of Korea a largely ceremonial figurehead elected by both houses of Parliament. The Prime Minister and his cabinet would wield power in the new Korean government. Watching from the sidelines, Sparkman was pleased to see the long-overdue regime change. He pledged continued American support for the country and demonstrated his commitment by approving new trade deals with Seoul during the final months of his Presidency. Although he considered Rhee’s overthrow to be good riddance, he was privately puzzled by the fact that the North Koreans were heavily armed. Where did those weapons come from and why did they have them while the South Koreans for the most part didn’t? The President would get his answer courtesy of the CIA.