Syngman Rhee Essay

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Syngman Rhee was born on March 26th 1875, in Kaesong, Korea. Rhee went to a Methodist school, where he learned English. Then in 1898 Rhee was arrested and imprisoned until 1904 for taking part in a protest against the Korean Monarchy. On his release he went to the United States, When Rhee was released he traveled to the United States and went to Princeton University. Where in 1910 he received a Ph.D. becoming the first Korean to earn a doctor's degree from an American university. In 1910 Rhee returned home and that is the same year in which Korea was annexed by Japan. After Rhee worked at a YMCA and as a high school principal we moved to Hawaii. While in Hawaii Rhee was a spokesman for Korean independence, he spent the next thirty years in Hawaii. Then out of the blue in 1919 Rhee was elected president of the Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai. After he became president he moved to Shanghai, but returned to Hawaii the year after moving to Shanghai. Rhee was kicked out of his presidency 20 years later by a younger Korean. Then Rhee moved to Washington D.C. After World War II, Rhee returned to Korea. There he campaigned for a policy of immediate independence and unification of the country. He soon built up a mass political organization supported by strong-arm squads and a following among the police. With the assassination of the major moderate leaders, including Song Jin Woo and Chang Duk Soo, Rhee remained the most influential leader, and his new party won the elections in South Korea. So in 1948 Rhee became president of the Republic of Korea. Rhee was reelected three years after that. During the Korean War Rhee Helped the UN during the Korean War, this lasted three years. Hoping that the UN forces would continue to fight and eventually unite North and South Korea under one government. In spite of his authoritarian policies, he failed to prevent the
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