Hail the Not So Great Leader! A DPRK Without Kim Il Sung

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Yes, but not for much, Yugoslavia in the 80s was suffering from massive inflation, unemployment and lack of heavy industry, there was a common saying that time that was: "Not even Tito managed to make socialism works"
 
Chapter 5: Game Changer

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-The last picture taken of President Rhee before his assassination.


"President Rhee was a careful man. And he was a very skilled politician too. After all, he managed to prevent himself from being removed from power even after the background events of Haeju became known. He suppressed the opposition well and negotiated with various enemies to solidify his power. Unfortunately for him, people got really fed up with his constant effort to prove the North Koreans wrong and building up the military instead of attempting to build up the economy.

I was there at the Blue House when I first heard that President Rhee had been shot by a soldier during a military parade in Haeju. Apparently, the soldier's brother had died in the Haeju Incident and held a personal grudge against the president. So when he had the opportunity, he pointed his rifle and fired at the president. He was executed barely a week later of course, but President Rhee was beyond saving at that point. He died within hours and on June 11th, 1955, the nation was thrown into the biggest crisis in the history of the young republic; the June Revolution."

-Interview with President Rhee's personal assistant, Joo Won Goom

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"Did I expect it to ever happen? Quite possibly. I knew for a fact that many people were dissatisfied with the South Korean president at the time. I mean, who would be insane enough to build up a country's military instead of feeding its people, all in the name of revenge?

Of course, I didn't think it would happen so suddenly and quickly. I was already informed of the military parade at Haeju, so I ordered most of our troops to seat idly and watch the parade. They were on high alert the entire time, just in case something went wrong and the south attempted to invade once again.

I never expected that a soldier from the South Korean military would turn his gun on the president. When I heard of the reports of shooting and the death of President Rhee, I almost believed for a moment that one of the soldiers in our military had taken the opportunity to take a pot shot at the South's leader. I immediately ordered for the military to stand down and to completely comply with South Korean authorities in Haeju. The soldier was caught and shot for the assassination, but even executing him didn't stop the crisis that South Korea would face."

-Interview with Chairman Pak Hon Yong in 1992 after the collapse of Communism.

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History of the Republic of Korea

Chapter 5: The Day After

"Many historians still discuss June 11th, 1955, as one of the turning points of the Korean Peninsula.

Immediately after the word got around that the "dictator" had been assassinated, popular student demonstrators began to march on the streets for fair and free elections. Chairman Pak himself had seen to it that the remnants of the South Korean Labor Party support this movement and bring people to the streets to protest. This was due to the fact that despite suppression tactics, the SKLP thrived as an underground party that represented the people's interest. Chairman Pak was confident that if free elections were carried out through the South, the SKLP would be able to take a large chunk of the National Assembly and rearrange laws to allow the SKLP to officially re-exist and help the South Korean government become friendlier with the North Korean government. Thus, all the major cities of South Korea were flooded with people demanding another election, claiming that the election of 1954 was unfair and rigged by the Liberal Party (which was proven to be true later on in the future, through research and study of documents). When some upper members of the Liberal Party attempted to seize control of the military and carry out a coup d'at, it was the student demonstrators, professors, and workers that fought back furiously against government oppression and corruption to bring about freedom.

The June Revolution was a very bloody one and a chaotic one. A very loose alliance of SKLP members, workers, students, professors, and even a few government members brought thousands to the streets to resist and fight the soldiers being sent to pacify the cities. Civilians raided police stations and even forced some police officers to fight with them to resist the army, which was now relatively well equipped with new weaponry and tanks. Most urban areas became war zones as civilians armed with various firearms and home made weapons fought the army every street in Seoul, Busan, Daegu, and Inchon. The countryside was no better, as farmers had suffered under the Rhee regime's policies that forced farmers to hand over half of their yearly outputs to be sold for weapons. Farmers fought furiously and burned their crops before the military could seize them. Within the government itself, Vice President Chang Myon, an ardent supporter of free elections and democracy, fought to seize control from the Liberal Party led by a man named Lee Ki Poong. Lee had been defeated by Chang in the Vice Presidential Elections and sought to seize the country through every means possible. Thus, South Korea was thrown into a state of war as the people struggled to finally bring democracy to the struggling nation.

There was no doubt that Chairman Pak sought to exploit this opportunity to perhaps move to secure South Korea and reunify the country under his term. However, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev warned against any attempt at hostilities because he sought to improve relations with the West and prevent any major confrontations. And despite the riots, South Korea still had substantial military presence on the DMZ, making sure to keep the North Koreans in check. With the absolute mess South Korea was in, the Soviet Premier also feared that a Korean War would force America to bring themselves back into South Korea and possibly invade North Korea in retaliation. Premier Khrushchev's hesitation was possibly the saving point of the Republic of Korea, as North Korea was forced to sit on their hands and stand down despite the perfect opportunity to invade and occupy all of Korea.

After several weeks of fighting, the pro-Chang alliance started to prevail after soldiers began to defect due to the large number of civilian casualties in an attempt by the pro-Lee forces to "root out any traitors." Thousands of innocent civilians were massacred as the pro-Lee forces attempted to restore order in the country. Any members of the SKLP was ruthlessly executed after a showcase trial and any collaborators of the SKLP were also executed. One of the most notable executions was the execution of 200 students at Seoul University for "suspected treason" on July 5th of 1955, which was ironic because the few students who stayed at Seoul University were the ones not participating in the riots. Nevertheless, the students became martyrs for the June Revolution and the final breaking point for the military. Thousands of soldiers began to refuse to fire upon demonstrators and civilians and instead turned their guns on their officers. This was mainly because many soldiers had family or friends in the riots and the order to kill students and civilians without any regard was sickening to most. As a result, the military began to support the rioters and joined in on fighting the remaining remnants of the pro-Lee military forces. On July 12th, the ranks of the pro-Lee forces in Seoul broke down, leading to the seizure of the city and the declaration of the Second Republic of Korea under the new president Chang Myon. President Chang promised pardons for pro-Lee forces fighting across the country and free elections in 1956 for the National Assembly. With the loss of Seoul and the promise of pardon, the pro-Lee forces were demoralized and began to defect en mass, turning over entire cities to pro-Chang forces and even turning in leaders of the pro-Lee faction to the new government.

After nearly 2 months of fighting, the last pro-Lee stronghold in Pusan fell, with the collapse of the Pusan Perimeter and the capture of Lee Ki Poong himself. Instead of being executed, Lee was sentenced to life in prison and was guarded under maximum security to prevent any of his remaining followers to rally upon his death. With the victory, President Chang officially announced that the Republic of Korea was secured and united again and called for a national day of mourning for the many civilians and protesters that gave their life for the nation. Nearly 82,000 civilians and soldiers died during the June Revolution, with around 150,000 more injured. But the June Revolution finally opened the doors for reform and growth for South Korea that suffered under the tyrannical rule of Rhee. Under President Chang and the Democratic Party, the Republic of Korea would go under growth and have a rivalry with the DPRK for supremacy of the Korean Peninsula..."

 
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