Communism in Korea and south-east Asia

Answer

Foreign occupation and colonial rule created strong nationalist resistance. Communist parties often led or helped organise this resistance, so they became closely linked with the struggle for independ…

Answer

Korea was divided into two separate states. The north became communist under Soviet influence, while the south became non-communist under American influence.

Answer

The Allied powers promised a united, independent Korea after the war. This raised hopes that Korea would regain freedom after Japanese rule.

Answer

Kim Il-sung was a communist leader trained in the USSR who became the dominant political figure in North Korea. He became premier of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from 1948, was known as t…

Answer

The state controlled economic plans, labour, resources, the military, and the media. A strong personality cult also developed around Kim Il-sung, and the country became very isolated from the outside …

Answer

It means autonomy in ideology, independence in politics, self-sufficiency in economy, and self-reliance in defence. It was the official doctrine of North Korea in the mid-1960s.

Answer

North Korean forces invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950. By the time a peace agreement was signed in 1953, at least 4 million Koreans had died, and the peninsula remained divided into two heavily arme…

Answer

Dr Syngman Rhee was a strongly nationalist and anti-communist leader in South Korea. He became the first president of the Republic of Korea, but his rule was corrupt and authoritarian.