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History - South Korea
The Second World War had divided a unified Korea into two halves – North
and South. The two Cold War rivals, erstwhile Soviet Union and United
States, formed governments in the North and South respectively. North
came to be ruled by the Soviets while the South was under the control of
the US government. The 1943 Cairo Declaration had promised of the
unification of North and South Korea but that never materialized. Since
then anything and everything that happened below 38th parallel forms a
part of the South Korean history.
Syngman Rhee became the first President of South Korea while Kim II-sung
was installed as the North Korean President. All hell broke loose when
on June 25, 1950 the North Koreans invaded South at the instigation of
Stalin. As North Korea threatened to roll over the South with the
backing of China and Soviet Union, the UN had no other option but to
intervene. The war reached a stalemate and the 1953 Armistice resulted
in the peninsula split along the demilitarized zone. Technically the
North and South are still at war as the treaty was never signed by South
Korea.
The highlight of the South Korean history was the student uprising of
1960. This led to the resignation of the President. What followed was a
period of political unrest. General Park Chung-hee led a military coup
and became the President in 1961. He was later assassinated in 1979. In
1980 General Chun Doo-hwan staged a military coup and became President.
His rule saw the infamous Gwangju Massacre.
The best phase in South Korean history came in 1988 when Seoul was
chosen as the venue for the Summer Olympics. In 1996 it became a member
of the OCED. Now South Korea is one of the leading countries in Asia
with a say on the political and economic matters of the region. No
wonder, South Korea is a preferred destination among the TESOL teachers
who wants to teach English abroad.
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