History of Korea

What is to be done with Korea after the war? This was a question that was on the minds of the Soviets and the Americans, and to a lesser extent, the British and the Chinese. Understandably, the post-war fate of Korea was not high up on the totem-pole of priorities of these nations; nevertheless, the major powers did make some skeletal agreements on the future of the Peninsular nation. The question of Korea's future was asked within the context of a larger, broader question that preoccupied the Allied leaders --- how would the Japanese Empire be dismantled? Which of the nations of the erstwhile "Empire of the Sun" would revert back to their former "mother countries' and which of them would be granted independence?

In march of 1943, President Roosevelt met with British foreign minister Anthony Eden in Washington D.C. These two men discussed what to do with the remnants of the Japanese Empire, notably, Manchuria, Formosa, and Korea after the war. They both agreed that Korea should be governed by a multi-power trusteeship promptly after Japan's defeat. Thus, the principle of international trusteeship, in lieu of immediate national independence for Korea was mentioned for the first time. The idea of international trusteeship was consistent with Roosevelt's belief that the people of Asia, who had lived through many years of brutal colonial rule, needed a respite in which they could be "schooled" in the theories and forms of democracy prior to being granted national independence. For Korea, Roosevelt mentioned a period of 30-40 years before Koreans could be eligible to determine their own destiny.

In 1943, in Cairo, President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Churchill, and Gerneralissimo Chiang Kai-shek together announced on Dec. 1st the "Cairo Declaration" which proclaimed that "the aforesaid three great powers, mindful of the enslavement of the people of Korea are determined that in due course Korea shall become free and independent." To the consternation of some Korean nationalists eager for independence, the phrase "in due course" was perceived as meaning that immediate national independence was out of the question. Later in Tehran, Roosevelt and Churchill met with Stalin to discuss strategy at war's end as well as the post World War II Order. It was in Tehran that Roosevelt told Stalin of the need for "some period of apprenticeship before full independence might be attained." Furthermore, Roosevelt suggested that the duration of "trusteeship tutelage" to last perhaps as long as 40 years. At the Yalta Conference of February 1945, Roosevelt once more brought up the issue of Korea to the table. This time the President proposed that trusteeship might last twenty to thirty years instead of forty. Stalin replied that the "shorter the period the better." With this general and vague consensus between Roosevelt and Stalin, discussion of the postwar future of Korea was ended. At the Potsdam Conference which involved the new President, Harry S. Truman, Churchill and Stalin, the focus of their energies was devoted to the future of Germany and the European peace settlement. Again, perhaps understandably given more pressing problems that drew the attention of the Allied leaders, the future of Korea was not discussed, nor was Korea even mentioned. The opportunity for clarification and further discussion which might have lead to a consensus on more specific terms concerning the future of Korea was lost. What was left was a general agreement on trusteeship which possessed numerous holes that would later foster conflict between the former war-time allies.

Liberation and the Korean War