How Did South Korea Become a Democracy?
Struggle. A lot of struggle.In 1945, Japan finally relinquished Korea from occupation and transferred their authorities to the People's Republic of Korea, which was a social democratic Provisional Government under Lyuh Un Hyung. However, the Allies quickly came to the realization that they would benefit from dividing the peninsula because the Soviets needed the natural resources from the North and the Americans needed a buffer for Japan in the South.Fast forward to 1948. The unification talks between the United States and the Soviet Union stal led and the Americans pushed for unilateral elections in the South, electing Syngman Rhee, a famous independence activist and statesman, as president. The Soviets followed suit, having Kim Tu Bong and Kim Il Sung as leaders (Communists liked collective leadership). The South had major defects in governance. First, the political culture there did not see democratization, so no one really understood this liberal democracy. Myopically, the r...