Cycle of War and Trauma on the Korean Peninsula

Korean trauma is complicated. Political issues, emotional issues, ideological clashes, and family separations all divide the peninsula. Clearly, the division of North and South Korea has caused trauma in almost every sector of life. This trauma has deeply impacted people’s individual perspectives and expressions as well as shaped their entire culture and identity.

A few weeks ago, a group of us visited the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) along the border of North and South Korea to an island called Ganghwado. This island is known for many battles not only between the North and the South but also from other invaders such as the Japanese. The Ganghwa Peace Observatory marks a strategic fortress that played a significant role in protecting the region against enemies. At this monument where thousands of soldiers died, we could clearly see North Korean soil right across the bay. It brought to mind the millions of lives that have been shed on Korean soil in the fight for independence.

View of North Korea from Ganghwado

We all understand the struggle for freedom and independence. Battles all around the globe, not just in the West but also in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, have been fought for national independence. Countless of lives have been lost in this struggle because no matter who we are or where we come from, at the very core of our humanity is the right to claim our cultural identity and be allowed freedom to govern ourselves.

As we glimpsed with our own eyes the stark contrast between North and South Korean soil, we were reminded of the long struggle the Korean Peninsula has had for independence. Since the Japanese Occupation, which began in 1910, Independent Fighters struggled to free Korea. Unfortunately, the fighters were not all united and belonged to different factions. One sector sought foreign engagement. Others fought to rid Korea of its cast system. One sector had its headquarters in the United States, and yet another was located in China. Regardless of their diverse motives and various locations, all Korean Independent Fighters were united in their desire to free Korea and create an independent state.

Unfortunately, it was because of this lack of centralization that neither the temporary Korean government in Shanghai, China nor the governing body in San Francisco, California were recognized by foreign powers. Thus, when World War II ended and Korea was liberated from Japan on August 15, 1945, it was not a Korean government that was established but a “Two Occupation Zone” by the USSR and USA.

Imagine the feelings that ran through the hearts and minds of the Korean people. After 35 years of harsh, Japanese colonization, they were finally free. August 15th was a day for incredible celebration. They were finally regaining their nation. Their ethnic identity was restored. At last, there was freedom to be who they were. The Japanese had literally tried to strip away all Korean roots, including the Korean language, alphabet, and even the use of Korean names. They were finally free to be Korean!

But their celebration was cut drastically short. The following day, on August 16, 1945, the United States announced the decision of the “Two Occupation Zone”.

Unbeknownst to the Korean people, the United States, the USSR, and the United Kingdom had met earlier in February to decide the fate of the Korean people. At the Yalta Conference in Russia, all three nations agreed upon Russia occupying the northern part of the peninsula and the United States occupying the south. USSR’s military had already entered the Korean Peninsula on August 9th before independence was even declared. US troops followed approximately a month later on September 8th.

Communism quickly came into the north and established the North Korean Communist Party in October. General Kim, Il-Sung, a famous Independent Fighter, delivered a powerful, dynamic speech in Pyongyang for the communist party on October 14, 1945. In just two months’ time, the entire Korean Peninsula was arbitrarily divided and occupied by the USSR and USA. Two new governments were established without consent from the Korean people. Two countries and two opposing governmental systems, communism in the North and a developing democracy in the South, were established in Korea by 1948. 

This set the stage for an epic, bloody civil war. Contrary to historical records, though, the Korean Conflict did not begin in 1950. It started the very moment the peninsula was divided by the superpowers of USA and USSR.

On April 3, 1948, a clash in ideology led to the Jeju 4.3 incident in which 28,561 civilian islanders were killed by South Koreans with the support of the US military. Further uprisings also occurred in Yeosu, Korea. On October 19, 1948 the Yeosu incident resulted in at least 2,000 deaths, including both military and civilian casualties. Both of these slaughters occurred in the South. Therefore, before the Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950, already approximately 100,000 people died as a direct result of the clash between the two opposing sides.

Consequently, even before full-scale military battles, South Koreans were killing those labeled socialist in the South. This led to the North launching an invasion into the capital city of Seoul. But prior to this military invasion, killing had already begun. Who was the victim, and who was the victimizer in the Korean War? The two sides took turns at victimizing each other. Both were the victimizers as well as the victims.  

And this viscous cycle of victim and victimizer continues today for both North and South Korea. A nation, a people, a peninsula divided purely at the hands of the larger powers to be. By the end of the Korean War, conservative estimates figure that at least 3 million people were killed in the Korean War, of which the vast majority, over 2 million, were civilians.

War brings the worst out of humanity. War causes people to become like animals. It desensitizes people as pure objects. The horrors of war have been imbedded into the hearts and minds of the Korean people on both sides. Thus, the process of reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula will not be a simple thing. Koreans are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Trauma is constantly being relived as the entire peninsula is suffering from the ramifications of war.

76 years have passed since the division of the Korean Peninsula. 73 years have passed since the two nations were fully established, and it has now been 71 years since the official onset of the Korean War. How long must this cycle of victimization continue?

Wishes for Unification on Ganghwa Island, Korea

It is time for peace. But only an official peace treaty ending the Korean War can make this happen. In 1910, Korea was annexed to Japan. In 1945, Korea was divided between the North and the South. As the Korean War broke out in 1950, there has now been 71 years of unresolved conflict. The Korean nation has been waiting over a hundred years, 111 years to be exact, for freedom. Instead of prolonging the conflict and division on the Korean Peninsula, we need to take the necessary steps towards peace, namely calling an end to the Korean War.