Korean Civ Final

Jiang Jieshi

(1887-1975) Leader of the Guomindang, or Nationalist Party in China. Fought to keep China from becoming communist, and to resist the Japanese during World War II. He lost control of China in 1949, and fled to Taiwan where he setup a rival government. Also known as Chang Kai Shek.

Yun Ponggil/ Yun Bonggil

(21 June 1908 - 19 December 1932) was a Korean independence activist who set off a bomb that killed several Japanese dignitaries in Shanghai's Hongkew Park (now Lu Xun Park) in 1932. He was posthumously awarded the Republic of Korea Medal of Order of Merit for National Foundation in 1962 by the South Korean government. Yun Bong-gil memorials were built in South Korea (Seoul and Yesan), China (Shanghai) and Japan (Kanazawa).

An Chunggŭn/ An Junggeun

(Korean pronunciation: [ɐndʑuŋɡɯn]; 2 September 1879 - 26 March 1910; baptismal name: Thomas An Korean: 도마), was a Korean-independence activist,[1][2][3] nationalist,[4][5] and pan-Asianist.[6][7][8] He is famous for assassination of Itō Hirobumi, the first Prime Minister of Japan.

Minjung Movement

(people's ) pervaded the anti-govt. resistance circles in the 1970s/1980s. Movement powerfully enveloping mood that framed the perspective on Korean politics, culture, foreign relations, and national division. Sought to regain people's autonomy and subjectivity by expressing itself in anti-govt. activity + popular culture, patterns of public life and academic inquiry. these people are referred to as the "386 generation."

Kim Wŏnbong

Kim Won-bong (김원봉, 金元鳳 - c.1958) was a Korean anarchist, independence activist, communist, and statesman from North Korea. im organized a Korean nationalist underground organization known as the Korean Heroic Corps (의열단; 義烈團). n 1958, he was purged by Kim Il-Sung. There are many different accounts of Kim's death. According to one, Kim committed suicide by taking cyanide.[5]

Chun Doo-hwan/ Chŏn Tuhwan/ Jeon Duhwan

18 January 1931 - 23 November 2021) was a South Korean army general and military dictator[2][3][4][5] who ruled as an unelected strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah as president of South Korea from 1980 to 1988.[a][6][7] n 1996, Chun was sentenced to death for his role in the suppression of the Gwangju Uprising which led to the deaths of hundreds, possibly thousands, of citizens. Chun was pardoned the following year, along with Roh Tae-woo who had been sentenced to 17 years, by President Kim Young-sam, on the advice of the incoming President-elect Kim Dae-jung whom Chun's administration had sentenced to death some 20 years earlier.[9][10] Chun and Roh were fined $203 million and $248 million respectively, amounts that were embezzled through corruption during their regimes, which were mostly never paid.[11][12]

Kim Ku

1876 -1949. Korean nationalist politician and independence fighter. He was the last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, a leader of Korean independence movement against the Japanese colonial rule of Korea that lasted from 1910 to 1945, and a reunification activist who struggled for the independent reunification of Korea after 1945. (think March 1st Movement)

Six Party Talks

2003; meetings with North Korea, South Korea, China, USA, USSR, and Japan to find a resolution to security concerns about North Korea's nuclear program

38th Parallel

Line that divided Korea - Soviet Union occupied the north and United States occupied the south, during the Cold War.

Douglas MacArthur

American general, who commanded allied troops in the Pacific during World War II. Despite lingering concerns from superiors, MacArthur's soldiers and Marines made a successful landing at Inchon, deep behind North Korean lines. Launched with naval and close air support, the landing outflanked the North Koreans, recaptured Seoul and forced them to retreat northward in disarray.[335] Visiting the battlefield on 17 September, MacArthur surveyed six T-34 tanks that had been knocked out by Marines, ignoring sniper fire around him, except to note that the North Korean marksmen were poorly trained.[336]

Wartime Control over the Korean military

As things currently stand, South Korea has operational control of its military under armistice conditions, but the United States would take over in wartime.

Jimmy Carter

Carter played an instrumental role in preventing a new Korean War. In September 1994, as President Clinton weighed a first-strike on North Korea's nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, President Carter, flanked by a CNN camera crew, flew to Pyongyang to meet Kim Il Sung and outline the terms of the Agreed Framework, which succeeded in freezing North Korea's nuclear weapons program for over a decade. To Korea watchers, President Carter's legacy on Korea is mixed. While in office, he made a tragic error in quashing the democratic uprising in Gwangju, South Korea, that claimed hundreds of lives. Tens of thousands of citizens took to the streets to protest martial law following a military coup. On May 22, 1980, Carter's national security team gave the green light to Lieutenant General Chun Doo-hwan to use force against the student protests in Gwangju, the birthplace of South Korea's democracy. Much of the South Korean populace who longed for democracy felt betrayed by a U.S. president who championed human rights diplomacy.

Cheondogyo

Cheondoism (spelled Chondoism in North Korean sources;[1] lit. 'Religion of the Celestial Way') is a 20th-century Korean pantheistic religion, based on the 19th-century Donghak religious movement founded by Ch'oe Che-u and codified under Son Pyŏng-Hi.[2] Cheondoism has its origins in the peasant rebellions which arose starting in 1812 during the Joseon dynasty. Cheondoism incorporates elements of Korean shamanism.[3] It places emphasis on personal cultivation and social welfare in the present world.[2] Splinter movements include Suwunism and Bocheonism.[4]

Trusteeship

Commission from the United Nations to a country to look after a region, territory, or colony until the people of that land are believed ready for independence and self-government. The U.S. decision to enact Trusteeship of Korea after the liberation in 1945 was a prelude of a tragedy in Korean contemporary history, ...

Yusin Constitution

Constitutional dictatorship forcibly implemented in October 1972; "revitalization"; prohibited political dissent and in effect rendered Park president for life; official justification was to solidify path to reunification; dictatorship came amid signs of growing dissatisfaction with Park's rule following re-election in 1971; officially came to and end with his assassination in 1979; had intensified the autocratic political approach of the 60s and extended it to suppress all forms of dissent; allowed Park to push through state-led revamping of countryside called New Village Movement

DMZ

Demilitarized Zone

DPRK

Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)

Kim Ilseong

Kim Il Sung[d] (/ˈkɪm ˈɪlˈsʌŋ, -ˈsʊŋ/;[3] Korean: 김일성, Korean pronunciation: [kimils͈ʌŋ]; born Kim Song-ju,[4] 김성주; 15 April 1912 - 8 July 1994) was a Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Premier from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to 1994. He was the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) from 1949 to 1994 (titled as Chairman from 1949 to 1966 and as General Secretary after 1966). Coming to power after the end of Japanese rule in 1945, he authorized the invasion of South Korea in 1950, triggering an intervention in defense of South Korea by the United Nations led by the United States. Following the military stalemate in the Korean War, a ceasefire was signed on 27 July 1953. He was the third-longest serving non-royal head of state/government in the 20th century, in office for more than 45 years. Kim Il Sung became a legend as a young man, when he led a group of communist guerillas in fierce battles against the Japanese, who were occupying Korea. Once he took power as North Korea's ruler, these exploits became the basis for the cult of personality created around him.

Kim Chŏngil/ Kim Jeongil

Kim Jong Il was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim Il Sung, the first Supreme Leader, until his own death in 2011, when he was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong Un. Kim ruled North Korea as a repressive and totalitarian dictatorship.[d] Kim assumed leadership during a period of catastrophic economic crisis amidst the dissolution of the Soviet Union, on which it was heavily dependent for trade in food and other supplies, which brought a famine. While the famine had ended by the late 1990s, food scarcity continued to be a problem throughout his tenure. Kim strengthened the role of the military by his Songun ("military-first") policies, making the army the central organizer of civil society. Kim's rule also saw tentative economic reforms, including the opening of the Kaesong Industrial Park in 2003. In April 2009, North Korea's constitution was amended to refer to him and his successors as the "supreme leader of the DPRK".

Kim Chŏngŭn/ Kim Jeongeun

Kim Jong Un[b] (English: /ˌkɪm dʒɒŋˈʊn, -ˈuːn/;[2] Korean: 김정은, Korean: [kim.dʑɔŋ.ɯːn];[c] born 8 January 1982[d]) is a North Korean politician who has been the Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the Leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (or the WPK) since 2012.[e] He is the third son of Kim Jong Il, who was North Korea's second Supreme Leader from 1994 to 2011, and Ko Yong-hui. He is a grandson of Kim Il Sung, who was the founder and first Supreme Leader of North Korea from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. Kim Jong Un is the first leader of North Korea to have been born in the country after its founding in 1948.

Pyeongchang Winter Olympic

Pyeongchang was elected as the host city for the 2018 Winter Games at the 123rd IOC Session in Durban, South Africa in July 2011. This marked the second time that South Korea had hosted the Olympic Games (having previously hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul), as well as the first time it hosted the Winter Olympics. The 2018 Games marked the third time that an Asian country had hosted the Winter Olympics, after Sapporo 1972 and Nagano 1998, both in Japan. It was also the first Winter Olympics held in mainland Asia, and the first of three consecutive Olympic Games held in East Asia, preceding the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in China.

Kaesŏng kongdan/ Gaeseong gongdan (Gaeseong Industrial Complex)

The Kaesŏng Industrial Region (KIR) or Kaesŏng Industrial Zone (KIZ) is a special administrative industrial region of North Korea (DPRK). It was formed in 2002 from part of the Kaesŏng Directly-Governed City. On 10 February 2016, it was temporarily closed by the South Korean government and all staff recalled by the Park Geun-hye administration,[1] although the former President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, signalled his desire to "reopen and expand" the region in 2017.[2] Its most notable feature is the Kaesŏng industrial park, which operated from 2004 to 2016 as a collaborative economic development with South Korea (ROK). The park is located ten kilometres (six miles) north of the Korean Demilitarized Zone, an hour's drive from Seoul, with direct road and rail access to South Korea. The park allows South Korean companies to employ cheap labour that is educated, skilled, and fluent in Korean, whilst providing North Korea with an important source of foreign currency.[3]

Hallyu (Korean Wave

The Korean Wave or Hallyu is a cultural phenomenon in which the global popularity of South Korean popular culture has dramatically risen since the 1990s.

Incheon Landing Operation

The Battle of Inchon, also spelled Battle of Incheon, was an amphibious invasion and a battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations Command

Dec. 12th Coup

The Coup d'état of December Twelfth and the Coup d'état of May Seventeenth ended the Fourth Republic of South Korea and led to the establishment of the Fifth Republic of South Korea. The coup, alongside the Gwangju Massacre, is the primary justification of Chun's 1995 arrest by the Kim Young-sam administration.

Kando tŭksŏltae/ Gando teukseoldae (Gando Special Force)

The Gando Special Force (1 December 1938 - 1945) (Chinese: 間島特設隊; pinyin: Jiāndǎo Tèshèduì; Wade-Giles: Chien1-tao3 T'e4-she4-tui4 Japanese Hepburn romanization: Kantō Tokusetsutai Korean: 간도 특설대, romanized: Gando Teugseoldae) was an independent battalion within the Manchukuo Imperial Army composed primarily of ethnic Koreans,[1] and some experienced foreign mercenaries from Asia tasked with suppressing anti-Japanese, and pro-communist militant groups in the border areas between northern Japanese occupied Korea and Manchukuo. Ex-GSF soldiers/officers are regarded as Chinilpa in modern Korea for their role in suppressing groups advocating Korean independence.

Heungnam evacuation

The Hungnam evacuation[1] or Heungnam redeployment[2][3] (Korean: 흥남 철수 작전; Hanja: 興南撤收作戰), also known as the Miracle of Christmas, was the evacuation of United Nations (UN) forces and North Korean civilians from the port of Hungnam, North Korea, between 15 and 24 December 1950 during the Korean War. As part of the fighting withdrawal of UN forces against the People's Volunteer Army (PVA) during the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir (27 November to 13 December), they abandoned some 59,000 square kilometers of North Korean territory to enemy forces and retreated to Hungnam from where they were evacuated to South Korea.[4]

Sŏbuk ch'ŏngnyŏn tan/ Seobuk cheongnyeon dan (Northwest Youth Corps)

The Jeju uprising, known in South Korea as the Jeju April 3 incident[4] (Korean: 제주 4·3 사건), was an uprising on Jeju Island from April 1948 to May 1949. A year prior to its start, residents of Jeju had begun protesting elections scheduled by the United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea (UNTCOK) to be held in the United States-occupied half of Korea, which they believed would entrench the division of the country. A general strike was later organised by the Workers' Party of South Korea (WPSK) from February to March 1948. The WPSK launched an insurgency in April 1948, attacking police and Northwest Youth League members stationed on Jeju who had been mobilized to suppress the protests by force.[1]: 166-167 [5] The First Republic of Korea under President Syngman Rhee escalated the suppression of the uprising from August 1948, declaring martial law in November and beginning an "eradication campaign" against rebel forces in the rural areas of Jeju in March 1949, defeating them within two months. Many rebel veterans and suspected sympathizers were later killed upon the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, and the existence of the Jeju uprising was officially censored and repressed in South Korea for several decades.[6]: 41

Ch'ŏnan ham/ Cheonan ham (Cheonan battleship)

The ROKS Cheonan sinking occurred on 26 March 2010, when Cheonan, a Pohang-class corvette of the Republic of Korea Navy, carrying 104 personnel, sank off the country's west coast near Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea, killing 46 seamen. The cause of the sinking remains in dispute. A South Korean-led official investigation carried out by a team of international experts from South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Sweden[1][2] presented a summary of its investigation on 20 May 2010, concluding that the warship had been sunk by a North Korean torpedo[3][4] fired by a midget submarine.[5] The conclusions of the report resulted in significant controversy within South Korea. Following the sinking, South Korea imposed sanctions against North Korea, known as the May 24 measures. North Korea denied that it was responsible for the sinking.[6] North Korea's further offer to aid an open investigation was disregarded.[7] China dismissed the official scenario presented by South Korea and the United States as not credible.[8] The results of an investigation by the Russian Navy were not made public. The United Nations Security Council made a Presidential Statement condemning the attack but without identifying the attacker.[9]

Sonyŏ sang/ Sonyeo sang (Statue of Peace)

The Statue of Peace (Korean: 평화의 소녀상, Pyeonghwaui sonyeosang; Japanese: 平和の少女像, Heiwano shōjo-zō), often shortened to Sonyeosang in Korean or Shōjo-zō in Japanese (literally "statue of girl")[1] and sometimes called the Comfort Woman Statue (慰安婦像, Ianfu-zō),[2] is a symbol of the victims of sexual slavery, known euphemistically as comfort women, by the Japanese military during World War II (specifically, the period from the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War until the end of the Pacific War). The Statue of Peace was first erected in Seoul to urge the Japanese government to apologize to and honour the victims. However, it has since become a site of representational battles among different parties.[3]

Yŏ-Sun (Yeo-Sun) Incident

The Yeosu-Suncheon Rebellion (or Incident) began when members of a South Korean military regiment in Yeosu refused to transfer to Jeju Island; they were sympathetic to the leftists and opposed the Rhee government and the decisive U.S. influence in South Korea. The rebellion took place in the cities of Yeosu and Suncheon and various surrounding towns in the South Jeolla province of South Korea. Rising anti-government sentiment towards the Syngman Rhee regime ignited in rebellion as 2,000 left-leaning soldiers based in the Yeo-Sun area raised arms in opposition to the Rhee government's handling of the Jeju Uprising, which had occurred just months earlier in April.

IMF

stepped in to initiate a $40 billion program to stabilize the currencies of South Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia, economies particularly hard hit by the crisis.

Korean War

The conflict between Communist North Korea and Non-Communist South Korea. The United Nations (led by the United States) helped South Korea.

Sewŏl ho (Sewol ferry)

The ferry MV Sewol sank on the morning of April 16, 2014, en route from Incheon towards Jeju in South Korea.[16] The 6,825-ton vessel sent a distress signal from about 2.7 kilometres (1.7 mi; 1.5 nmi) north of Byeongpungdo at 08:58 KST (23:58 UTC, April 15, 2014).[17] Out of 476 passengers and crew, 306 died in the disaster, including around 250 students from Danwon High School in Ansan City.[18][19][20] Of the approximately 172 survivors, more than half were rescued by fishing boats and other commercial vessels that arrived at the scene approximately 40 minutes before the Korea Coast Guard (KCG).[21]

Rhee Syngman

strong anti-communist. Brought to Korea by Douglas MacArthur and was implemented by U.S. as 1st South Korean president in the mid 20th century. Part of Korean Provisional Government (KPG) who lived in the U.S. for 40 years. Had alliance with Kim Songsu. was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee is also known by his pen name Woonam (Korean: 우남; Hanja: 雩南).[1] Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea from 1919 to his impeachment in 1925 and from 1947 to 1948. As President of South Korea, Rhee's government was characterised by authoritarianism, limited economic development, and in the late 1950s growing political instability and public opposition.

The Miracle at the Han River

The period of export-driven economic growth in South Korea following the end of the Korean War (1950-1953), characterized by industrialization and technological development. The term makes reference to the "Miracle on the Rhine," or the economic revival of post-WWII Germany.

Korean Provisional Government

This was revived in 1944 with the merging of the Korean Independence Party and the Korean National Revolutionary Party. It was recognized by Chiang Kaishek as the Korean government-in-exile.

Candlelight Revolution

were a series of protests against President Park Geun-hye that occurred throughout South Korea from November 2016 to March 2017. Protesters denounced the Park administration's 2016 political scandal and called for the resignation of Park Geun-hye.[1][2] After the impeachment of Park Geun-hye on corruption charges in December, the pro-Park rallies mobilized thousands of protesters for counter demonstrations.[3][4] In February 2017, the Liberty Korea Party, at the time the ruling party of South Korea, claimed that the size of pro-Park rallies had surpassed the size of anti-Park rallies.[5]

Comfort Women

women forcibly recruited by the japanese army to serve in military brothels

Hanin aeguktan

a Shanghai-based organization founded in 1931 under the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea that aimed to assassinate military and government leaders of the Empire of Japan. It was founded and led by Kim Gu, a prominent member of the Korean independence movement. Most notably, the group was behind a nearly successful assassination attempt on Emperor Hirohito in January 1932 and a successful attack in Hongkou Park (now Lu Xun Park) in April 1932. After May 1932, the group largely stopped its activities and disbanded. The organization ultimately improved the relationship between the Provisional Government and the Republic of China government, although it provoked a crackdown on Provisional Government activities from the Japanese.

Minjung

a philosophical movement in the 70s and 80s within anti-government resistance circles; sought to regain the people's autonomy and subjectivity by expressing itself in in popular culture and anti-government activities; primary participants were university students, later became known as the "386 generation" in the 90s(in the 30s, went to college in the 80s, born in the 60s) For Koreans, minjung are those who are oppressed politically, exploited economically, marginalized sociologically, despised culturally, and condemned religiously. For example, the Minjung Party founded in October 2017. Thus, the notion of minjung came to identify and inform the struggle for democracy in South Korea. In other words, the concept of minjung functions as a type of worldview that offers the categories in which social reality is organized and comprehended. One of the basic precepts of this worldview is that history should be understood from the point of view of the minjung, or that the minjung are the subjects (and not victims) of history.

Panmin t'ŭgwi/ Banmin teukwi (Special Committee on the Punishment of Collaborators)

a special South Korean law that passed the South Korean National Assembly on December 8, 2005, and was enacted on December 29, 2005. Under this law, the South Korean government is able to seize land and other properties owned by Korean collaborators (chinilpa), and their descendants, who supported the Japanese administration during the period between 1905 and 1945. The bill defines as collaborators people who took part in Japan's annexation of Korea in 1910, received titles from the Japanese colonial government, or served as parliamentarians in Japanese Korea. The confiscated assets are allegedly used to compensate pro-independence activists and their offspring.[1][2]

April 19th Revolution in 1960

also called the April 19 Revolution or April 19 Movement, were mass protests in South Korea against President Syngman Rhee and the First Republic from April 11 to 26, 1960 which led to Rhee's resignation.[1] Protests opposing Rhee were started by student and labor groups in the southeastern port city of Masan on April 11. The protests were triggered by the discovery of the body of a local high school student killed by police during demonstrations against rigged elections in March. Popular discontent had arisen due to Rhee's autocratic rule, corruption, use of violence against political opposition, and uneven development of South Korea. The Masan discovery led to large student protests in Seoul, which were violently suppressed; a total of 186 people were killed during the two weeks of protest.[2] Rhee resigned on April 26 before fleeing to exile in the United States, and was replaced by Yun Posun, beginning the transition to the Second Republic of South Korea.

Ch'ŏngsanni/ Cheongsanri (Qingshanli) Battle

also known as All Korea Korean National Association, was a political organization established on February 1, 1909, to fight Japan's colonial policies and occupation in Korea. It was founded in San Francisco by the intellectual scholar and Korean Independence activist Ahn Changho, and represented the interests of Koreans in the United States, Russian Far East, and Manchuria during the Korean Independence Movement.[

Pak Chongch'ŏl/ Pak Jongcheol

also known as the June Democracy Movement[1] and June Democratic Uprising, was a nationwide pro-democracy movement in South Korea that generated mass protests from June 10 to 29, 1987. The demonstrations forced the ruling government to hold elections and institute other democratic reforms, which led to the establishment of the Sixth Republic, the present-day government of South Korea. On June 10, the military regime of President Chun Doo-hwan announced its choice of Roh Tae-woo as the next president. The public designation of Chun's successor was seen as a final affront to a delayed and deferred process to revise the South Korean constitution to permit direct election of the president. Although pressure on the regime, in the form of demonstrations by students and other groups, had been building for some time, the announcement finally triggered massive and effective protests.[2]

Kim Young Sam/ Kim Yeongsam/ Kim Yŏngsam

as a South Korean politician and activist who served as the seventh president of South Korea from 1993 to 1998. From 1961, he spent almost 30 years as one of the leaders of the South Korean opposition, and one of the most powerful rivals to the authoritarian regimes of Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan. Elected as president in the 1992 presidential election, Kim became the first civilian to hold the office in over 30 years. He was inaugurated on 25 February 1993, and served a single five-year term, presiding over a massive anti-corruption campaign, the arrest of his two predecessors, and an internationalization policy called Segyehwa. At the final years of his presidency, Kim had been widely blamed for the collapse of the Seongsu Bridge and the Sampoong Department Store and the downturn and recession of the South Korean economy during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which forced South Korea to accept tens of billions of dollars in unpopular conditional loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

May 16th Coup

as a military coup d'état in South Korea in 1961, organized and carried out by Park Chung-hee and his allies who formed the Military Revolutionary Committee, nominally led by Army Chief of Staff Chang Do-yong after the latter's acquiescence on the day of the coup. The coup rendered powerless the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Chang Myon and President Yun Posun, and ended the Second Republic, installing a reformist military Supreme Council for National Reconstruction effectively led by Park, who took over as chairman after General Chang's arrest in July. The coup was instrumental in bringing to power a new developmentalist elite and in laying the foundations for the rapid industrialization of South Korea under Park's leadership, but its legacy is controversial for the suppression of democracy and civil liberties it entailed, and the purges enacted in its wake. Termed the "May 16 Military Revolution" by Park and his allies, "a new, mature national debut of spirit",[1] the coup's nature as a "revolution" is controversial and its evaluation contested.

Kwangju/ Gwangju Democratization Movement in 1980

as a popular uprising in Gwangju, South Korea, in 1980. The uprising was a response to the coup d'état of May Seventeenth that installed Chun Doo-hwan as military dictator and implemented martial law. Following his ascent to power, Chun arrested opposition leaders, closed all universities, banned political activities, and suppressed the press. The uprising was violently suppressed by the South Korean military. The uprising is also known as the Gwangju Democratization Struggle (Korean: 광주 민주화 항쟁; Hanja: 光州民主化抗爭), the Gwangju Massacre,[3][4][5] the May 18 Democratic Uprising,[6] or the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement[7] (Korean: 5·18 광주 민주화 운동; Hanja: 五一八光州民主化運動). The uprising began after Chonnam National University students who were demonstrating against martial law were fired upon, killed, raped, and beaten by the South Korean military.[8][9][10] Some Gwangju citizens took up arms, raiding local police stations and armories, and were able to take control of large sections of the city before soldiers re-entered the city and suppressed the uprising. While the South Korean government claimed 165 people were killed in the uprising, scholarship on the uprising today estimates 600 to 2,300 victims.[11] Under the military dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan, the South Korean government named the incident the ''Gwangju Riot,'' and claimed that it was being instigated by "communist sympathizers and rioters" acting under the support of the North Korean government.[12][13]

Sunshine Policy

first announced by the 15th South Korean President, Kim Dae-jung, in 1998. The term "Sunshine Policy" was originated from one of Aesop's fables, "The North Wind and the Sun," as the policy aimed for loosening containment on North Korea, embracing North Korea, and eventually making the North Korean government to denuclearize by itself. [1] This policy was striking at the time, because many citizens and scholars had been urging for tougher and more conservative measures against the North. There was widespread antagonism against the North due to its ruthless military provocations against the South and its brutality on its own citizens. The Sunshine policy was based on three following principles: [1] No armed provocation by the North will be tolerated. The South will not attempt to absorb the North in any way. The South actively seeks cooperation.

Poch'ŏnbo/ Bocheonbo Battle

he Battle of Pochonbo (Japanese: 普天堡の戦い, Hepburn: Futenho no tatakai) was an event which occurred in northern Korea on 4 June 1937 (Juche 26), when Korean and Chinese guerrillas commanded by Kim Il-sung (or possibly Choe Hyon)[3][4] attacked and defeated a Japanese detachment during the anti-Japanese armed struggle in Korea. The battle holds an important place in North Korean narratives of history.[5]

Pak Kŭnhye/ Geunhye

is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, when she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges. Park was the first woman to be elected president of South Korea,[2] and also the first female president popularly elected as head of state in East Asia. She was also the first South Korean president to be born after the founding of South Korea. Her father, Park Chung-hee, was president from 1963 to 1979, serving five consecutive terms after he seized power in 1961.[2]

UIM (Urban Industrial Mission)

it was the first workers' mission organization in Korea founded in 1958 by the Presbyterian Church of Korea, and committed to "following the Liberator God in creating an industrial society of justice and peace." The organization's self-detailed activities include: education and training programmes for workers and students; counselling to assist workers in resolving issues such as failure to receive wages, unfair dismissal, unjust treatment, and the improvement of working conditions; the formation of unions and supporting the democratization of yellow unions; and supporting the establishment of democratic relations between labour and management.

Four major rivers project

s the multi-purpose green growth project on the Han River, Nakdong River, Geum River and Yeongsan River in South Korea. The project was spearheaded by former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak and was declared complete on October 21, 2011. It was first announced as part of the "Green New Deal" policy launched in January 2009, and was later included in the government's five-year national plan in July 2009. The government estimated its full investment and funding totaled 22.2 trillion won (Approximately US$17.3 billion). The overall project was broken into three project sets: revitalizing the four rivers, projects on their 14 tributaries and refurbishment for other smaller-sized streams. The project had five key objectives as well: securing abundant water resources to combat water scarcity; implementing comprehensive flood control measures; improving water quality and restoring river ecosystems, creating multipurpose spaces for local residents; and regional development centered on the rivers.

New Right/ New Light

movement in South Korean politics is a school of political thought which developed as a reaction against the traditional divide between conservatives (the "old right") and progressives. The New Right broke from past conservatives, who supported state intervention in the economy, by promoting neoliberal ideas. Many figures of the New Right have also become notable for criticising anti-Japanese sentiment in South Korea. Opponents of the New Right movement described this as anti-leftism, military dictatorship advocates, pro-sadaejuui, and "pro-Japanese identity"

March First Movement

non-violent protest by Korea against the Japanese, Japanese crushed the uprising and massacred many Koreans, became a rallying symbol for Korean nationalists (1919)

Kono Statement

refers to a statement released by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yōhei Kōno on August 4, 1993, after the conclusion of the government study that found that the Japanese Imperial Army had forced women, known as comfort women, to work in military-run brothels during World War II.

Chaebŏl/ Jaebeol (Korean industrial conglomerate)

rich family" or "financial clique"; Korean pronunciation: [tɕɛ̝.bʌl]) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family.[2] A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group whose power over the group often exceeds legal authority.[3] Several dozen large South Korean family-controlled corporate groups fall under this definition. The term first appeared in English text in 1972.[2]

386 Generation

s the generation of South Koreans born in the 1960s who were very active politically as young adults, and instrumental in the democracy movement of the 1980s. The 386 Generation takes a critical view of the United States and a sympathetic view of North Korea.[1] The Hankyoreh, a South Korean left-liberal newspaper, reported that right-wing conservatives in Japan perceive the 386 generation as being "anti-Japanese".[2]

Uiyeoldan

was a Korean Anarchist group led by Kim Won-bong (김원봉) to fight Japanese occupation. It was formed on November 9, 1919. They received funds from the Comintern. This group engaged in assassinations and bombings against Japanese officials and traitor Koreans. They were designated as a terrorist organization by the Imperial Japanese Government.was a Korean

Park Chung Hee

was a Republic of Korea Army general and the dictator of South Korea (the Republic of Korea) from 1961 to 1979. He has been credited with the industrialization of the Republic of Korea through export-led growth. His rule was ended by his assassination in 1979. Park declared martial law and introduced the highly authoritarian Yushin Constitution, ushering in the Fourth Republic. Political opposition and dissent was now constantly repressed and Park had complete control of the military, and much control over the media and expressions of art. In 1979, Park was assassinated by close friend Kim Jae-gyu, director of the KCIA, following the Bu-Ma student demonstrations.[3] Whether the assassination was spontaneous or premeditated remains unclear to this day. Economic growth continued in spite of the 1979 coup d'état and considerable political turmoil in the wake of his assassination. The country eventually democratized in 1987.

Jo Bongam

was a South Korean independence activist and politician, who ran for president in the South Korean presidential election in 1956. He was a founding member of the Communist Party of Korea (조선공산당; 朝鮮共産黨) and the Progressive Party (진보당; 進步黨), a moderate socialist democratic party in South Korea which was one of the country's major political forces.[1] In 1919, Cho Bong-am participated in March 1st Movement and was imprisoned for the duration of one year. Cho Bong-am studied in Japan and the Soviet Union. In the 1920s, he was active in the Korean Communist Party. After Japanese rule, Cho left the Communist Party in 1946, criticising it for its subservience to the Soviet Union.[2] After the end of the United States Army Military Government in Korea in 1947, Cho became the Minister of Agriculture under Syngman Rhee's presidency.[3]

Roh Tae-woo/ No T'aeu/ No Taeu

was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the sixth president of South Korea from 1988 to 1993. He was the first democratically elected president of South Korea.[5] Roh was a close ally and friend of Chun Doo-hwan, the predecessor leader of the country who ruled as an unelected military dictator from 1980 to 1988, and unofficially since 1979. In 1996, both leaders were sentenced for their roles in orchestrating coups as well as their subsequent human rights abuses such as the Gwangju Massacre, but was pardoned the following year by Kim Young-sam on advice of president-elect Kim Dae-jung.[6][7]

Chŏn T'aeil (Jeon Taeil)

was a South Korean sewing worker and workers' rights activist who committed suicide by self-immolation at the age of 22 in protest at the poor working conditions of South Korean factories during fourth Republic era.[1] His death brought attention to the substandard labor conditions and helped the formation of labor union movement in South Korea.[2]

June Democratization Movement in 1987

was a nationwide pro-democracy movement in South Korea that generated mass protests from June 10 to 29, 1987. The demonstrations forced the ruling government to hold elections and institute other democratic reforms, which led to the establishment of the Sixth Republic, the present-day government of South Korea.