Talk:Syngman Rhee

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[edit] U.S. Backed Dictator

As far as I have known, Syngman Rhee was a US backed dictator who was only ousted after he did "unfavorable" things. Anyone have more on this? Also, I'm a Korean, so people don't dispute my "outsider" status. Anarkial 16:50, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

Sorry, I read that he was removed by the Korean people after they gained power. Anarkial 17:07, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

Yes and no - certainly the protests of the 4-19 movement were the main cause of his departure, but he left only after a visit from the US ambassador - within a couple of hours. --Dan (talk) 19:01, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Name Question

Question. Isn't his last name spelled Lee, officially? I mean, I am used to see "Dr.Lee" as his offcial title. idkim 11:05, 22 Aug 2005(UTC)

Origin of his surname [1]. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cehihin (talk • contribs) 21:56, 24 November 2007 (UTC)
As far as I know, Syngman Rhee is the officialy accepted name: every media employ this form, and you can check that out by simple googling. Probably Rhee himself used this name during his stay in the U.S. noirum 15:09, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

As a Korea who grew up during the Korean War, I feel your article "Syng-man Rhee" could use more information, especially during the time the armistice was considered by the Chinese and UN leaders in 1953. Many articles describe our former president as a crazy old man deranged with power to rule the unified Korea, but to me, his bold action against the world leaders at the time of the armistice was heroic. Who is at fault for dividing Korea in two, any way?

In 1905, after Japan won the Russo-Japanese War,the American president Thedore Roosevelt "handed" Korea to Japan, and as the result, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1941, Japan launched war against the United States.
On August 10, 1945, even before Emperor Hirohito's surrender speech was delivered, two young American officers, Dean Rusk and Charles Bonesteel who knew nothing about Korea, drew a pencil mark on the National Geographic map along the 38th Parallel as a dividing line between the US territory and Russian territory in our country. Two days earlier, the Russians had entered the major cities in the North, calling themselves "liberators", and the Americans were nervous about losing the entire Korea.
in 1953, three long years of intense bettle and millions of lost lives later, the world leaders wanted to end the war, completely ignoring how we Koreans felt about it. It took courage for President Rhee to stand up and tell the GIANTS "enough is enough." Our country's fate had been decided by OUTSIDERS too many times already, and he was sick and tired of it.
The Korean historians recognize that Syng-man's Rhee's courage awakened people conscience with a message that: although we were poor and powerless and were depending on other nations, we had pride, too, and that we shouldn't be stepped on like worms.
As a politician, President Rhee made many serious mistakes, but as a man, he loved his country and understood the pain of his countrymen who suffered 40 long years of Japanese colonial ruling, the humiliation of the division, and three years of devastating war against our own. Had he obediently signed the armistice as the world leaders wanted him to do, the people of South Koreans would not have regained their self-respect and and strength to rebuild South Korea the way she is now. Today South Korea is one of the strongest nation that boasts its people's skills, its modern cities, and its stable economy.
I agree that outsiders often paint a simplistic portrait of Rhee as a crazy old man. And as you say, maybe his stance regarding the armistice really was heroic. However, I think many Koreans tend to overemphasise the role of outsiders in the division of the peninsula and the war. Kim Il-sung, who was responsible for the war, was Korean, as was Rhee, who has to take at least some blame for the division. Yes, it was the rivalry between Kim and Rhee that made the division into something permanent. It was the outsiders who imposed the initial division, but that does not absolve the Koreans of the blame for the fratricidal war. Rhee on the other hand has to be commended that he was no Kim Il-sung. He had basic respect for the democratic system (although this didn't keep him from abusing power through the National Security Law and rigging elections), and the press was freer under him than under the subsequent military regimes. The commitment to at least the idea (if not the actual practise) of liberal democracy alone was crucial in that it created the conditions for the democratic South Korea we have today. --Iceager 06:05, 17 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Many nations, unfortunately, were responsible for the division of Korea. Following World War II, the global political climate was under the influence of Containment. The UN and the United States were trying to contain communism which was appearing world-wide. The civil war in Turkey just before the Korean War was one example. When WW2 ended, Korea was divided just as Germany and Berlin were. As is Germany and Berlin, the division was not well thought out nor in the best interest of the regions. This division allowed Communist ideas to take hold in North Korea under Kim Il-Sung and American ideas to take hold in the South under the American-educated Syngman Rhee. Both North Korea (with it's allies China and Russia) and South Korea (allied with the UN) sought total victory and unification of Korea. Neither side received it.
Although I can sympathize with Syngman Rhee's desire to have a whole, unified Korea, there was much more at stake. If the Korean War had not ended, Nuclear Warfare most likely would have broken out between the United States and Russia who both had MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) programs in place. The US even showed it's capability of using Nuclear warheads in Korea in Operation Hudson Harbor. The US dropped very large conventional bombs at low altitudes to show that they were capable of using a Nuke. Syngman Rhee is often looked at as a "crazy old man" because his actions in the face of what many feared to be the beginning of the end of the world, did not make sense. Throughout the years of armistace talks the issue of voluntary vs. forced repatriation of POWs became the foremost issue. Each side was using POWs as bargaining chips. In June 1953, Rhee freed over 28,000 POWs without authorization from the UN. This upset the superpowers on both sides who saw Rhee's actions as trying to ruin the peace talks. The UN Command even had a plan called Operation Everready that was designed to remove Rhee from power if necessary.
Yes, from the scope of the Korean penninsula, Rhee was a patriot desperately trying to unify his motherland, but from the perspective of the other nations involved, he did seem like a "crazy old man." --Hedgefighter 20:29, 14 Mar 2006 (UTC)
Don't forget that the 38th parallel was the line used by Russia and Japan much earlier when they were bickering over Korea, and they in fact used that as the boundary between their spheres of influence until Japan defeated Russia in the Russo-Japan war. Prior to the Korean war (6-25) Rhee was confident enough of US support that he engaged in a lot of saber-rattling towards the north, threatening invasions and forceful reunification. He must take some blame for the war. --Dan (talk) 19:07, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Neutrality dispute

This article has prompted little discussion, but has prompted revert wars. It has also prompted additions that could supplant previous assertions, but do not. The odd result is a page that does not present all sides of an argument, but actually takes all sides of an argument. It actually contradicts itself. The shifts in point of view are disorienting; the inability of its editors to agree on a neutral presentation of the facts discredits the encyclopedia. I don’t care to join a revert war with both sides; but clearly the opposing attempts either to condemn or to excuse Rhee are not going to stand without objection. Can we not drop them both? Ford 17:23, 2004 Oct 16 (UTC)

Is it possible to clear this page to a neutral standpoint? The article initially was heavily pro-Communist and clearly biased. Tlaktan 06:05, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I would add a new note about the neutrality dispute on this page, but it would be exactly what I said before. Anyone who wants to wade into the thick of this leftist-rightist brawl over the legacy of this controversial ruler is welcome to take a crack at the article and remove the contradictory points of view. Until that happens, it is obviously disputed, so do not remove the tag.
— Ford 11:44, 2004 Dec 20 (UTC)

[edit] M*A*S*H quote

Radar: Syngman Rhee's been reelected dictator again.

[edit] Page move

This article was moved to Rhee Syng Man despite an explicit policy at Wikipedia:Naming conventions (Korean), to keep pages, and specifically this page, under names where they would most likely be sought. I have therefore moved it back. Anyone wishing to change the policy should discuss it on the policy’s talk page.
— Ford 23:35, 2004 Dec 28 (UTC)

I would like to add, as I move the page back to Syngman Rhee again, that moving it to Rhee Syng-man is selective. Why put his name in the proper Korean order, but not transliterate it properly? The Korean names table makes clear what his name was in Korean, and the article remains under the name that he is commonly known by in English.
— Ford 11:26, 2005 Feb 7 (UTC)

[edit] Wiki Novice's Attempt to Restore NPOV

I tried restoring the article back to a NPOV. The newer version was simply atrocious and quite biased. The former President (and I'm an American) Rhee doesn't deserve such tarnishment.Tlaktan 06:31, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Can somebody explain the NPOV tag? It'd be helpful (as always with this tag). Kokiri 8 July 2005 07:45 (UTC)

[edit] NEEDS Major Renovation

I'm currently heavily revising the Myeongseong article but this as well needs major renovation. Syngman Rhee was a major Korean political figure and is a major part of Korean history. He wasn't some minor King or a small politician. He was a leader that revitalized (despite the negative aspects of his career as a politician) South Korea and whether you like him or not, his life story needs to be written with careful consideration to sources other than the internet. - the powederoom

[edit] What does this mean?

"Also, his child became a famous college professor and the child of his child born, was named Young Rhee"

probably someone trying to say his grandchild. my best guess. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.164.53.89 (talk) 05:22, 8 March 2007 (UTC).

[edit] "Ssibseggi"?

"He is Ssibseggi." What? Muad 10:18, 6 October 2007 (UTC)

That is Korean profanity. I would explain the literal meaning but it's pretty inappropriate... Konamaiki 06:51, 15 October 2007 (UTC)
Ah, what the hell. The latinization of this term would be phallogeniture. Konamaiki 23:02, 15 October 2007 (UTC)