My Understanding...Week 2

[Billie Johnson]

How did Kim Il Sung establish a communist monarchy? How did the Korean War and Cold War shape the two Koreas through 1994?

Kim Il Sung established a communist monarchy because he was chosen to rule the people of North Korea, who were ruled under Confuscianism and a certain order and power structure, found this way of life familiar. Kim Il Sung followed the leadership of Stalin. Sung was a man of the people. The people worshipped him and they were rewarded in kind. As the Soviets occupied North Korea and the Americans occupied South Korea there was the clear divide in social structure and a differing system of beliefs over time. Additionally, Sung knew the fates of Mao in China and Stalin's legacies being diminished in their passing. He knew appointing his son into a position of power would not tarnish his legacy.

The Korean War and Cold War shaped the two Koreas because due to the conflicts and political differences families have been separated. Thousands of families were separated because of the border (38th parallel) that separates the North and the South on the peninsula. The Korean War established differing ideologies, Communism in the North with the South moving towards Capitalism. Also, during the Cold War there were hopes of unifying the peninsula but that still has not happened to this day.