Intensification of Korean nationalism during the time of military occupation

Abstract

Sixty years ago if the world conference had found it possible to defend the Korean national interest, it would have prevented the struggle for domination by the strong neighboring powers, as well as the division of controversial ideologies and nationalisms. The problems might have been settled amicably, and international conciliation proven a useful instrument in the struggle for harmony among nations. Korean delegates arguing for preservation of Korean independence at the 1907 Hague Conference earnestly pleaded that without peace in Korea there ould be no peace in Asia - nor the whole world. Korea's desire for unity and independence was demonstrated upon three occasions where the current division might have been forestalled:- the Paris Peace Conference in 1919; the decision for divided occupation by the United States and Soviet Russia in 1945; and the United Nation's agreement to allow free election only in South Korea in 1948. This study, however, is concerned primarily with the transitional years, 1945-1948, of Korean nationalism, internal and external, of the struggle for power by the Korean leaders and the United States-Soviet disagreement in regard to setting up a unified Korea after studies by two Joint Commissions.