The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
The Forum - On Line Opinion's article discussion area



Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Main Articles General

Sign In      Register

The Forum > General Discussion > ANZAC Day - What does it mean to you, and your Families?

ANZAC Day - What does it mean to you, and your Families?

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. ...
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. Page 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. All
Dear o sung wu,

The tragedy of Korea is that it could have been so much different especially if the two powers had supported the short lived provisional government of the People's Republic of Korea. It had been formed through People's Committees one of which was headed by a very popular leader in waiting, one Cho Man-sik.

He was a Christian with quite pacifist views learned from studying Ghandi. He was arrested during the Japanese occupation for striving for independence for his people. As the war was coming to an end he and others formed the Peoples Committees negotiating a peaceful transition to power with the Japanese. He received initial support from the Soviets who approached him to head the north's government. He however refused because he disliked communism and wanted more autonomy to govern.

The PRK's agenda included;

"the confiscation without compensation of lands held by the Japanese and collaborators; free distribution of that land to the peasants; rent limits on the nonredistributed land; nationalization of such major industries as mining, transportation, banking, and communication; state supervision of small and mid-sized companies; …guaranteed basic human rights and freedoms, including those of speech, press, assembly, and faith; universal suffrage to adults over the age of eighteen; equality for women; labor law reforms including an eight-hour day, a minimum wage, and prohibition of child labor; and "establishment of close relations with the United States, USSR, England [sic], and China, and positive opposition to any foreign influences interfering with the domestic affairs of the state."

Its leader in the South was Lyuh Woon-hyung but within months of the Americans arriving they had outlawed the party because it was deemed too communist like and Lyuh was assassinated. They even tried to put the Japanese back into governing positions before widespread protests put a stop to it.

After resisting Soviet overtures Cho Man-sik disappeared into the North's prison system never to be heard from again.

Hard left and right rulers were established in the North and South by the respective cold war overlords and Korea remains totally divided to this day.
Posted by SteeleRedux, Monday, 9 April 2018 5:44:11 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Hi there STEELEREDUX...

You absolutely amaze me with your depth of knowledge Steele. I reckon you would know much more about the Vietnam War and the Indonesian Confrontation than I would; and I was in the bloody things! Seriously though you mast absorb history like a sponge where I simple read what I like and promptly forget it all which is a real shame.

You, FOXY and of course DAVID F. are the true intellectuals on this Site I suspect, including a few others who literally amaze me with their depth of knowledge on some issues. Where all I'm capable of doing, is trying to take the high ground by 'bluster' and 'vocal bullying' (or something) which I can no longer achieve anyway, given my poor memory and advancing dementia. I reckon you'd be a most interesting man to sit down a have a yarn with, albeit our political opinions are really quite divergent, given our respective views Steele.

Thanks mate, I really appreciate your synopsis of the reasons behind the Korean War, I had no idea who the real players were, and without you, probably never would I expect!
Posted by o sung wu, Monday, 9 April 2018 6:50:53 PM
Find out more about this user Visit this user's webpage Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Gee, and here I've been thinking that the fact that North Korea invaded South Korea caused the UN to send in the troops.

Paul,

I like your reasoning, if Caesar hadn't invaded Britain then all the subsequent wars wouldn't have happened.

Geez, who woulda thought!
Posted by Is Mise, Monday, 9 April 2018 7:23:04 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Hi there IS MISE...

Did you happen to read STEELEREDUX's piece on the Korean War? He certainly raised many interesting points, much of it I wasn'r aware of, for sure? My own poor understanding was limited. By the North, marching down against the south for the purpose of invading; and then unifying the entire Korean Peninsular and installing a Communist Government. The South Koreans implored the US and their Allies, to assist in stopping the advancing North Koreans from coming down any further. And with the aid of General Douglas MacARTHUR, forced them back, North of the 38th parallel. The War was not won by either side, there's a general armistice in place, is all? MacARTHUR wanted to pursue the communists right out of Korea altogether through China and the USSR, into oblivion - however he was denied his wish, fact or fiction, IS MISE?
Posted by o sung wu, Monday, 9 April 2018 8:37:19 PM
Find out more about this user Visit this user's webpage Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Hi All,

Firstly, Hi o sung wu, yes the Korean War, was defiantly a war, although officially in UN quarters it was referred to as a "police action" I believe.

The seeds of war are planted long before the first shots are fired, and there are no clean hands among the leaders involved, from both sides. It is far easier to go to war than avoid it, and some simply do not want to avoid war anyway. Wars can always be linked to some form of injustice real or perverted prior to their commencement. Thanks Steele for your incisiveness regards the preconditions that existed in Korea before that war.

Issy, what can I say, being your cynical self again.
Posted by Paul1405, Tuesday, 10 April 2018 4:55:33 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Paul,

You could blame the Greeks or the Etruscans or the Persians.

Someone made the decision to invade South Korea, someone sent the hordes of North Korean troop over the border, perhaps you could explain to us all how negotiations could have been started and war avoided?

Of course, the USA et al could have moved out and let the North take over the whole country; peace at any price.
Posted by Is Mise, Tuesday, 10 April 2018 10:33:11 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. ...
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. Page 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. All

About Us :: Search :: Discuss :: Feedback :: Legals :: Privacy