Syngman Rhee

Founder of Modern Democratic Korea

Peter Kim, Lawyer and Visiting Scholar

Tuesday, April 7, 2015
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

10383 Bunche Hall
UCLA

The Korean peninsula was divided into South Korea and North Korea after 1948. Syngman Rhee founded a modern democratic Korea in the South while Kim Ilsung established a communist Korea in the North. Sixty-seven years later,  South Korea became one of the most prosperous, free, democratic countries while North Korea fell to the worst despotic, impoverished country in the world. What made such a stark different evolution between the South and North during the last 67 years? After many year’s of research and study I finally reached a conclusion that Syngman Rhee, as first president of the South Korea founded the best ground for the modern democratic Korea with his great five reforms : Introduction of democratic government system formed by a free, general, direct suffrage of the people; Establishment of new government through the resolution of the United Nations; Making modern Korea a buffer state of East Asia through Korea-America military coalition; Initiation of social revolution through a drastic but democratic land reform ; and Expansion of Christianity as a base of democracy and reform. These great reforms enabled South Korea to accomplish successful economic development as well as a free, democratic modern country during the last decade. These reforms were not possible without the charismatic leadership of Syngman Rhee based on his superior intelligence, international scholarship, unbelievable patriotism, iron-strong belief, and remarkable human integrity. He now really deserves much more appreciation than ever from Korean people as the founder of modern democratic Korea or redeemer of Korean people.

This lecture will be in Korean.

Photo: Syngman Rhee; cropped. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Cost : Free and open to public; Lecture will be in Korean

Sponsor(s): Center for Korean Studies