Events from the year 1948 in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Incumbents

*President:

Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (, ; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...

(starting 31 July) *Vice President:

Yi Si-yeong Seongjae Yi Si-yeong (Chosŏn'gŭl: 이시영; Hanja: 李始榮, December 3, 1868 – April 19, 1953) was a Korean politician, independence activist, educator and neo-Confucianist scholar. He was the first vice president of South Korea from ...

(starting 24 July) *Prime Minister:

Yi Pom-sok Lee Beom-seok (October 20, 1900 – May 11, 1972) was a Korean independence activist and the first prime minister of South Korea from 1948 to 1950. He also headed the Korean National Youth Association (조선민족청년단, 朝鮮民族靑� ...

(starting 31 July)

Events

* August 1945 –

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

– Due to Korea being under Japanese rule during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Korea was considered belligerent against the Allies. The surrender of Japan led to the division of Korea into southern and northern occupation zones. The southern being administered by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and the area north of the 38th parallel being administered by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. The division was to be temporary and was meant to return a unified Korea back to its people after the United States,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, Soviet Union, and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

could implement a single government for Korea. Due to differing opinions between the two parties on the implementation of Joint Trusteeship over Korea, two separate governments were established in

with two opposing ideologies; the

Democratic People's Republic of Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...

(DPRK) and the

First Republic of Korea The first Republic of Korea () was the government of South Korea from August 1948 to April 1960. The first republic was founded on 15 August 1948 after the transfer from the United States Army Military Government that governed South Korea sin ...

– both claiming to be the legitimate government of the entire Korean peninsula. *

January 7 Events Pre-1600 *49 BC – The Senate of Rome says that Caesar will be declared a public enemy unless he disbands his army. This prompts the tribunes who support him to flee to Ravenna, where Caesar is waiting. * 1325 – Alfonso IV ...

- UNCOK visits South Korea. * January 30th-Korea sends ski athletes for the

1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (german: V. Olympische Winterspiele; french: Ves Jeux olympiques d'hiver; it, V Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, V Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. Moritz ...

. * February 7th-United strike against the UNCOK, now known as the 2/7 incident happened. * February 26th-United nations resoluted that the votes will go on only in South Korea. *

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of Marc ...

– land reform is enacted as a short-term measure to cease the spread of Communist influence in the U.S. zone driven by the Communist threat and expanding land redistribution in North Korea in the spring of

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

. * April 3rd- Jeju uprising. An uprising led by communist Kim Dalsam occurred against the South Korean Interim Government (SKIG) on Cheju-do (Jejudo) Island in South Korea. Government policemen fired at the demonstrators on Cheju-do (Jejudo) Island; communist rebels attacked 12 police stations in response, which resulted in approximately 50 government policemen fatalities. * May 10th – First general election held in a democratic manner under the United Nation's "supervision to elect the 198 members of the National Assembly". Legislative elections were held in South Korea in a U.S.-administered territory. In the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

, independent candidates won 85 out of 200 seats. The National Alliance for the Rapid Realization of Korean Independence (NARRKI), led by

, won 55 seats while the

Korea Democratic Party The Korea Democratic Party (, KDP) was the leading opposition party in the first years of the First Republic of Korea. It existed from 1945 to 1949, when it merged with other opposition parties. The U.S. military government has defined the ...

(KDP) won 29 seats. The legislative elections, however, were boycotted by

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

political groups. About 30 United Nations observers watched the elections from

May 7 Events Pre-1600 * 351 – The Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus breaks out after his arrival at Antioch. * 558 – In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses, twenty years after its construction. Justinian I imm ...

May 11 Events 1601–1900 *1812 – Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is Assassination of Spencer Perceval, assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the British House of Commons. *1813 – William Lawson (explorer), William Lawson, Grego ...

. About 400 U.S. military officers and government officials also watched the elections. There were approximately 600 fatalities in election-related violence between

and May 1948. *

July July is the seventh month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the fourth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honour of Roman general Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., it being the mont ...

-National Assembly enacted a Constitution;

Rhee Syngman Syngman Rhee (, ; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...

and Yi Si-Yeong (independence fighters) elected as South Korea's first President and Vice President. *

August 12 Events Pre-1600 * 1099 – First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid forces led by Al-Afdal Shahanshah. This is considered the last engagement of the First Crusade. * 1121 – Ba ...

, 1948 –

March 21 Events Pre-1600 * 537 – Siege of Rome: King Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the ''Vivarium'', by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas an ...

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

– John J. Muccio served as a United States Special Representative to Korea. *

August 15 Events Pre-1600 * 636 – Arab–Byzantine wars: The Battle of Yarmouk between the Byzantine Empire and the Rashidun Caliphate begins. * 717 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik begins the Second Arab Siege of Constant ...

– Republic of Korea (ROK) was formally established as a liberal democracy. This inherited the legitimacy of the PGK. The United Nations recognized the ROK as the only legitimate government in Korea. The Provisional Military Advisory Group (PMAG) is established by the U.S. government which "consisted of 100 U.S. military advisers commanded by Brigadier General William Lynn Roberts to train the South Korean military." *

September 9 Events Pre-1600 * 337 – Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans succeed their father Constantine I as co-emperors. The Roman Empire is divided between the three Augusti. *1000 – Battle of Svolder, Viking Age. * 1141 – ...

, 1948 – Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was proclaimed as a communist country; Kim Il-sung, (officer in the Soviet Russian Army) became the President. *

–

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

– regime of Syngman Rhee was responsible for at least 200,000 deaths through political murder and massacre; about 30,000 of those were killed due to the suppression brought upon by the Cheju Rebellion.

Births

*February 2, 1948–

Kwon Yang-sook Kwon Yang-sook (; ; born February 2, 1948 (Lunar December 23, 1947) was the First Lady of South Korea from 2003 to 2008. She is the widow of the ninth president of South Korea, Roh Moo-hyun, who committed suicide on May 23, 2009. Career She is a ...

:First lady of South Korea *26 March 1948–

Kyung Wha Chung Kyung Wha Chung (born 26 March 1948) is a South Korean violinist. Early years and education Kyung Wha Chung was born in Seoul as the middle of the seven children in her family. Her father was an exporter, and her mother ran a restaurant. She b ...

*May 5, 1948–

Kim Hoon Kim Hoon is a South Korean novelist, journalist and critic. Life Kim was born on May 5, 1948, in Seoul, Korea. After graduating from Whimoon High School, Kim Hoon entered Korea University in 1966. He joined Hankook Ilbo as a journalist in 197 ...

:Korean novelist *June 14, 1948–

Do-ol Do-ol is the pen name of the contemporary South Korean philosopher Kim Yong-ok (sometimes given as To-ol Kim Young-oak). Career and education Dr. Kim Yong-ok (literally "Gold Dragon Jade"), best known by his pen-name “Do-ol” (stone-head, a ...

:Korean philosopher * 28 July – Song Min-soon. *August 26-

Jeon Tae-il Jeon Tae-il (; 28 September 1948 – 13 November 1970) was a South Korean sewing worker and Human rights defender, workers' rights activist who committed suicide by Self-immolation, self-immolation at the age of 22 in protest at the poor working ...

:Korean worker's right activist *September 14-

Chung Mong-hun Chung Mong-hun (September 14, 1948 – August 4, 2003) was the 5th son of Chung Ju-yung, the founder of the South Korean Hyundai conglomerate. After the death of his father, he took over part of his father's role and became the chairman of Hy ...

:Korean businessman

Deaths

*November 16-

Min Yeong-chan Min Yeong-chan (3 December 1873 – 16 November 1948), was scion of the powerful Min clan of the late Joseon period in Korea. Along with his elder brother Min Yeong-hwan, Yeong-chan served in a number of official positions towards the end of th ...

:Korean politician. Also was an official during the Japanese colonial days. *December 10-

Na Hye-sok Na Hye-seok (, 28 April 1896 – 10 December 1948) was a Korean feminist, poet, writer, painter, educator, and journalist. Her pen name was Jeongwol (). She was a pioneering Korean feminist writer and painter. She was the first female professional ...

:Korean painter

References

Years of the 20th century in South Korea 1940s in South Korea

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Incumbents

Events

Births

Deaths

See also

References