article

How it feels to be a Korean…in Korea

United Nations world • 2 (4) • Published In 1948 • Pages: 18-21

By: Kang, Younghill.

Abstract

In 1946 Kang went to Korea as Chief of Publications in the Military Government's Office of Public Information. Later he became political analyst and advisor to the director of the XXIV Corps Office of Civil Information. He lived in Korea as an American among Koreans, but since he himself is a Korean, Koreans of all political shades treated him as a Korean, and he learned much that they would otherwise have been ashamed or afraid to tell others. This paper is a brief comparison of living conditions in Korea under both Russian and American domination. Although most of his information concerns South Korea, he does introduce comparitive data on North Korea. The report mainly consists of a discussion of food shortage, black market operations, political repression, high taxes, inflation, police brutality, and political exploitation. Kang feels that responsibility for the terror and grafting in South Korea is shared among USAMGIK, a few cynical political leaders, and the missionaries who unwisely advised the Army to install reactionaries in positions of power. In a dismal parting shot, he concludes that 'if reactionary politicians do not ruin South Korea, inflation almost surely will.'

HRAF PubDate

1998

Region

Asia

Sub Region

East Asia

Document Type

article

Evaluation

Creator Type

Government Official

Document Rating

3: Good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent

Analyst

ER ; Robert J. Smith ; 1951

Field Date

1946-1948

Coverage Date

not specified

Coverage Place

Korea

Notes

[by] Younghill Kang

This document consists of excerpts

LCSH

Koreans