Allied Occupation of Korea, 1945-1948

Soviet forces begin amphibious landings in Korea and quickly overrun the industrial northeast of the country.

The Japanese surrender to the Allies. Chosen Governor-General Abe Nobuyuki hands over power to Yeo Un-hyeong, who establishes the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence.

The Soviet Red Army arrives in Pyongyang and transfers power to the local branches of the Seoul-based Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence. Although the Christian conservative Cho Man-sik continues to act as the head, Communists eventually take full control of the organization.

In northern Korea, the Provisional Committee for Korean Independence establishes a quasi-governmental structure called the People’s Republic of Korea (PRK). In the south, delegates from the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence gather in Seoul and declare the Korean People’s Republic (KPR).

The US Far East Commander arrives in southern Korea and declares a United States Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK). The US authorities initially order Koreans to obey Governor-General Abe and his 70,000 Japanese officials.

The Korean People's Republic in the south advocates the confiscation of Japanese-owned land and other labor reforms, but it is unable to work effectively because the US military forces do not recognize its legitimacy. The United States removes Governor-General Abe Nobuyuki and begins to gradually repatriate Japanese officials to Japan.

Kim Il Sung and 66 other Korean officers arrive in Wonsan from Siberia and are demobilized by the Soviet Red Army. Kim makes his first public appearance less than a month later on October 14, 1945, at a rally in Pyongyang.

General John R. Hodge creates a Korean Advisory Council with Kim Seong-su as head.

The Five Provinces Provisional People’s Committee is assembled under nationalist Cho Man-sik. This leads to the establishment of the Five Provinces Administrative Bureau, an embryonic North Korean government.

Syngman Rhee returns to Seoul. He quickly establishes a strong public political profile and falls out with the US Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK).

The Soviets bring together the northern provincial committees of the Korean Communist Party and establish the North Korean Communist Party with Kim Il Sung as its head.

The wartime Allied Powers meet in Moscow and agree that the Soviet Union, the United States, China, and Great Britain should constitute a four-power trusteeship of Korea for up to five years in order to prepare the country for independence.

Despite unified Korean opposition against a four-power trusteeship, the Soviet Union orders Communists to switch their positions in favor of the trusteeship, costing them popular support in the south. Nationalist leader Cho Man-sik, who publicly opposed trusteeship, was placed under house arrest by the Soviet Red Army and disappeared from public life.

The US Military Government in Korea's attempt at unification through coalitions of South Korean political groups effectively ends with the assassination of leading leftist Yeo Un-Hyeong.

Jettisoning talks with the Soviet Union to move forward on Korean unification and independence, the United States places the Korean question before the United Nations.

The United Nations General Assembly passes Resolution 112 (II), "The Problem of the Independence of Korea," referendum in North and South Korea to establish a unified government based on the people's elections.

The UN Temporary Committee on Korea (UNTCOK) decides to hold elections only in South Korea because the Soviet Union, the occupation force in North Korea, does not recognize UNTCOK authority.

Angered by police brutality and falling living standards, the people of Jeju begin an armed insurgency against the US military government in Korea. This marks the beginning of the Jeju Uprising.

Under the auspice of the UN, general elections take place in South Korea, and Syngman Rhee becomes president-designate of the Republic of Korea. Many people recognize that the elections mean the end of achieving a unified government and boycott the elections.

Rhee official takes office on July 20, 1948.

The Republic of Korea is formally established in southern Korea.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is founded in northern Korea with Kim Il Sung as premier.

Kim Il Sung announces the withdrawal of all Soviet forces from North Korea and strongly demands that the US withdraws its forces from South Korea.

Kim Il Sung visits Beijing and obtains Mao Zedong’s approval for a military offensive against the Republic of Korea.