Korean War #19: Korean Background Part 2
When Diplomacy Fails Podcast
Zack Twamley
4.8 • 773 Ratings
🗓️ 15 April 2018
⏱️ 36 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Episode 19: Korean Background Part 2 picks up where we left off last time with an examination of Syngman Rhee, by examining his counterpart up North. Who was Kim Il-sung, and where did he come from to assume a position of unrivalled power in Pyongyang by 1950? Was this rise all by accident, or exclusively by Soviet design, and what was it that recommended Kim to Stalin in the first place? All of these are critical questions which we will examine here, as one of the leading antagonists of our narrative is brought out into the open, freed from his mythical bubble.
The story of Kim is one of the creation of Korean nationalism, as much as it the creation of the Korean Communist Party, which won only 4% of the vote in the Soviet zone in 1946. This would never do, and the ascent of Kim Il-sung had much to do with his passionate zeal for communism, as much as it with his loyalty to Stalin. Both qualities would be greatly tested over the next few years, but they would also enable Kim to manoeuvre himself and his family into an unprecedented position of leadership and control. The seeds of this position were already being planted here.
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Music used:
"Golden Slippers", by the Fisk Jubilee Singers, released in 1909. Don't let its age fool you - this golden gem is not only my wife's favourite tune, it's also super catchy! Have a listen to get in the mood, and make sure you track it down at its home by going to: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Fisk_University_Jubilee_Quartet/Antique_Phonograph_Music_Program_02032015/Golden_Slippers_-_Fisk_University_Jubilee_Quartet
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm Hello and welcome history friends, patrons, patrons all, to episode 19 of the Korean War. |
| 0:32.3 | Last time we finally delved into the Korean part of the story. An aspect which you could be forgiven for thinking |
| 0:38.8 | we really should have begun this story with, but as we explained, Korea is just one aspect |
| 0:44.0 | of the Korean War. Incredibly enough, as our coverage has shown, it's impossible to appreciate |
| 0:50.2 | the complexities of the conflict unless we look at the superpowers, the lesser powers and |
| 0:55.2 | pretty much everyone else in between. We've spent a great deal of time building up the |
| 0:59.2 | Americans, Soviets and Chinese, and we've also spent a portion of time examining the leadership |
| 1:04.3 | in each entity. Foreign policy, of course, is always our forte, and while episodes like these |
| 1:09.5 | looking exclusively the background detail |
| 1:11.7 | of those involved may seem a tad bit detached from our normal formula, it's all necessary |
| 1:17.1 | because it blends into the one story that we're trying to tell. |
| 1:21.9 | So today's episode has a few different purposes, the most obvious of which is to track down |
| 1:26.7 | the person behind the modern day |
| 1:28.3 | legend of North Korea's political dynasty. As our coverage established last time, though, |
| 1:33.7 | the foundation of the divided Korean state is also a story in and of itself, and in this episode |
| 1:39.0 | will take some time to examine how that state developed between 1945 to 50. The United Nations is also involved, as are the Americans and Soviets, so it shouldn't be |
| 1:48.4 | too unfamiliar a story to you guys. |
| 1:50.5 | The curse of the Korean War is that everything happens in such a squished period of time, |
| 1:55.5 | and everything happens simultaneously, which of course is why the United States had so many |
| 1:59.6 | people working in the State Department, but we only have one person working on this war, and that's me, so let's get into it. |
| 2:06.7 | A huge thanks again for joining me, if you're joining me for the first time. |
| 2:10.4 | You'll probably have no idea what's going on, but hey, let's do this anyway. |
... |
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