Pop Quiz on the History of Korean-American Relations
by Gary Leupp, Associate Professor of History, Tufts University

This pop quiz was originally posted on Counter Punch on December 31, 2002.  It was in multiple choice format,
each question with 3 accompanying answers (http://www.counterpunch.org/leupp1231.html). Below, we list the
questions and the correct answers for each.

1. In 1866 the U.S. merchant ship General Sherman defied the laws of Korea (then pursuing a policy of
strict isolation) by entering Korean waters, and sailing up the Taedong River towards Pyongyang to
demand trade.  What happened to the ship?

    It was attacked by local people and soldiers, burned, and sunk, with the loss of its entire crew.

2. In 1882 the Korean government signed a treaty with the U.S. It is usually considered an "unequal
 treaty" like those signed with China and Japan. Its provisions included:

    extraterritoriality; relatively low tariffs on imported U.S. goods; and a most favored nation clause.

3. After the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5, Japan acquired control over Korea, annexing it formally
in 1910. In 1905 Japanese Prime Minister Katsura Tarô met secretly with U.S. Secretary of War
William Howard Taft, producing the Taft-Katsura Agreement in which the U.S. recognized Japan's
 interests in Korea. What did the U.S. receive in return?

    Japanese recognition of U.S. colonial rule over the Philippines.

4. At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, U.S. President Roosevelt and Soviet leader Joseph
Stalin discussed the postwar future of Korea. Stalin advocated independence as soon as possible.
Roosevelt

    advocated a trusteeship of 20-30 years, citing the positive example of U.S. rule in the Philippines.

5. In accordance with a wartime agreement that the USSR would enter the war with Japan following
the German surrender, Soviet forces invaded Korea in August, advancing to the 38th parallel by
August 10. They could easily have occupied the whole peninsula. What did they do?

    They consulted with their American allies, who requested that they stop their advance at the 38th
    parallel, so that U.S. forces could in the next month occupy the rest of Korea. The Soviets agreed
    to the U.S. proposal.

6. In August 1945 defeated Japanese forces formally turned over authority in Korea to the broad-
based Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence, led by Lyuh Woon-hyung, which in
September proclaimed the Korean People's Republic (KPR). When U.S. forces under Gen. Reed
Hodge arrived in Inchon to accept the Japanese surrender, they

    ordered all Japanese officials to remain in their posts, refused to recognize Lyuh as national
    leader, and soon banned all public reference to the KPR.

7. As of 1945, most Koreans associated the majority of Korean big landowners and businessmen
 with the Japanese colonial regime. How did U.S. occupation forces deal with this stratum?

     They relied upon it for support.

8. In August 1948 the U.S.-occupied zone of Korea became the Republic of Korea. The next month,
the KPR operating in the north became the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea).
Around this time there were many revolts against the U.S.-backed authorities in the south led by
supporters of the original KPR. Where was the biggest one?

    on Cheju Island, off the south coast of South Korea, where there was minimal Soviet or North
    Korean influence.

9. In June 1950 North Korean forces attacked the South and by September controlled all but the
southeastern region around Pusan. What was the reaction of South Koreans?

    little resistance, and initially much cooperation.

10. The United Nations Security Council approved a U.S. proposal for war on North Korea. Why,
when both the USSR and China were on the UNSC, was the proposal passed?

    China's seat was held by the pro-U.S. Guomindang regime headquartered on Taiwan, and the
    Soviet delegate was absent when the vote was taken.

11. How many people, military plus civilians, died in the Korean War?

    about 4 million.

12. How many American soldiers died (officially) in the Korean War?

    54,246.

13. Between 1954 and 1960, how much of South Korea's government budget came from foreign,
especially U.S., aid?

     about half.

14. Park Chung-hee, who had served in the Japanese army during the Second World War, participated
 in a coup in 1961, and then became president in 1963. His rule, to 1979, was characterized by

    economic growth, martial law, censorship, political repression, and torture of political prisoners.

15. The KCIA abducted dissident Kim Dae-jung from a Tokyo hotel in August 1973, intending to drown
him. Following a conversation between U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Philip Habib and Park Chung-hee the
U.S. CIA sent a helicopter to the Korean spy ship on which he was confined. The CIA

    demanded that he not be killed.

16. Park's political career ended in 1979 when

    the head of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) assassinated him.

17. In May 1980, after the the proclamation of martial law, there was a massive uprising in the South
Korean city of Kwangju involving tens of thousands. By official estimate, about 200 civilian pro-
democracy protestors were killed by military forces; Kwangju residents claim about 2000. Which
of the following best describes U.S. behavior during this incident?

    The Carter administration gave prior approval to South Korean contingency plans to use military
    units against the protesters.

18. Which of the following South Korean presidents have been convicted of the crimes of corruption,
participation in the 1979 coup, and involvement in the Kwangju Massacre?

    Both Roh Tae-woo (1987-93) and Chun Doo-hwan (1980-87).

19. Early in his presidency, Jimmy Carter announced plans to withdraw all U.S. troops from South
Korea. What happened to this plan?

    After meeting Park Chung-hee in Seoul in June 1979, Carter announced that U.S. troops would
    remain, and that the U.S. would expand its security relationship with South Korea.

20. After meeting with Chun Doo-hwan in 1985, President Ronald Reagan

    praised Chun for his government's "considerable progress" in "promoting freedom and
    democracy"

21. Like many nations, the DPRK has sought in the past to acquire nuclear weapons. It may have
produced two as of 1992, during the first Bush administration. The Clinton administration negotiated a
deal in 1994 whereby Pyongyang suspended its nuclear program in exchange for oil and the foreign-
sponsored construction of two cool-water reactors. What happened to the agreement?

    Construction of the reactors did not take place; the Bush administration rejected the Clinton policy
    and South Korean president Kim Dae-jung's "sunshine policy" towards the North; and at some
    point North Korea resumed its nuclear weapons program.

22. In 1997 Kim Dae-jung was elected South Korean president and initiated the "sunshine policy" of
rapprochement with North Korea. This led to his meeting in Pyongyang in June 2000 with North Korean
leader Kim Jong-il, in which both leaders agreed to seek reunification without foreign interference.
When Kim met with President Bush the following year in Washington, Bush

    declined to support the "sunshine policy" and demanded that North Korea provide more verification
    of the suspension of its missile program, and withdraw conventional artillery and armor from the
    border with South Korea.

23. South Korea has been counted among the "Four Tigers" because of its strong economic growth
since the 1970s. But in 1997 the won lost half its value and the economy collapsed. Unemployment rose
from 2 to 7 percent. Thereafter, the economy has rebounded due to:

    an IMF agreement raising the percentage of a Korean company's stock that could be owned by
    foreigners from 26 to 50 percent, insuring greater foreign control over the economy.

24. In his State of the Union address (January 29, 2002) President Bush referred to North Korea
as

    part of an "axis of evil"

25. What percentage of South Koreans polled after Bush's speech disagreed with his characterization
of North Korea?

     60%

26. Which, among the following, has most benefited from the acquisition of North Korean missile
technology?

     Pakistan

27. Currently deployed North Korean missiles night possibly reach what part of U.S. territory?

    The Aleutian Islands

28. How many U.S. troops are currently stationed in South Korea?

    about 37,000

29. How many foreign troops are stationed in North Korea?

    none

30. According to official South Korean government figures, how many U.S. soldiers in South Korea
between 1967 and 1998 committed "overt criminal offenses"?

    over 40,000

31. How many "registered" prostitutes service U.S. GIs in South Korea?

    about 18,000

32. U.S. arms sales to South Korea during the Clinton administration were in excess of

    $ 10 billion

33. There is some evidence that North Korea may possess one or two nuclear weapons. What nation
is known to have deployed about 100 tactical nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula between
1958 and 1991?

     U.S.

34. Current South Korean public opinion polls indicate that the foreign country people most fear is

     the U.S.

End of quiz