Colonial Period

From 1910 until the end of World War II, Korea suffered under Japanese colonial rule. Never fully accepting the Japanese occupation, Koreans constantly struggled to regain their independence. Their struggle involved such nationalist leaders as Syngman Rhee, who lived in Hawaii for many years, and U. S. aid to get Japan out of Korea.

Other nationalist figures included Kim Il-sung, who attempted to fight Japan by military means from his base in China. This nationalist movement was not successful in dislodging Japan, however. What finally got Japan out of Korea was the Allies defeating Japan in World War II. When Japan surrendered in August, 1945, the entire nation of Korea rejoiced because they assumed that their liberation was imminent. However, Korean jubilation was short-lived.

As World War II drew to a close, the victorious Allies for the first time turned their attention toward what should be done about Japan's colonies, including Korea. The United States, feeling that the Koreans were not prepared for independence, proposed that the Allies govern Korea under an international trusteeship until the country was ready for full independence. The other allies agreed.

At the Cairo Conference in 1943, it was declared that Korea would, "in due course," become free and independent. The wording of this resolution puzzled Koreans. They had been free and independent for centuries prior to their annexation by Japan in 1910. They could not understand why the United States thought that they were unprepared for immediate independence.

After Japan surrendered, the Allies had to make another decision regarding Korea: how to administer the Japanese surrender and physically remove Japanese nationals from Korea. To facilitate these tasks, the United States proposed—and the Soviet Union accepted—that Korea be temporarily divided at the 38th parallel of latitude. The U. S. armed forces would then disarm the Japanese in the southern part of the peninsula, while Soviet troops did the same in the northern half. This division was meant to be only temporary, to facilitate the surrender of the Japanese. Afterward, the United States and the Soviet Union would help prepare a unified Korean administration under the trusteeship proposal.