Syngman Rhee

@Statesman, Timeline and Facts ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Syngman Rhee was the first president of South Korea South Korean George Washington University Harvard University Princeton University Leaders Political Leaders Presidents Aries Celebrities Syngman Rhee was the first president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea and also the first president of South Korea. He was president for three-terms and his presidency was greatly affected by the Cold War tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Although anti-communist, he was authoritarian and considered himself irreplaceable to his country. He aligned himself with the United States and as a young nationalist, protested against the influence of Russia and Japan on Korea, staunchly supporting its independence by motivating young, nationalistic Koreans to join his Independence Club. He was a strong leader who brought about fundamental and progressive changes, yet he was often controversial in his tactics to maintain his stronghold. As a three-term president, his efforts were often centered on amending the constitution in order to reinstate himself as president. His government was frequently highlighted in the media for its corruption as public awareness of its repressive and fraudulent practices grew, ultimately forcing him to resign

Personal Details

Birthday: March 26, 1875 Died on: July 19, 1965 Nationality: South Korean Famous: Statesman, George Washington University, Harvard University, Princeton University, Leaders, Political Leaders, Presidents Spouses: Franziska Donner Universities: George Washington University,Harvard University,Princeton University Princeton University George Washington University Harvard University Notable Alumnis: George Washington University Harvard University Princeton University Information Detail Birthday March 26, 1875 Died on July 19, 1965 Nationality South Korean Famous Statesman, George Washington University, Harvard University, Princeton University, Leaders, Political Leaders, Presidents Spouses Franziska Donner Universities George Washington University,Harvard University,Princeton University Princeton University George Washington University Harvard University Notable Alumnis George Washington University Harvard University Princeton University Founder / Co-Founder Liberal Party Birth Place Haeju Political Ideology Political party -Liberal Religion Protestantism, Methodism Gender Male Sun Sign Aries Born in Haeju Famous as Statesman Died at Age 90

Haeju

Syngman Rhee born at Unsplash Birth Place

Syngman Rhee met his wife, Francesca Donner, an Austrian delegate, at a League of Nations conference in Geneva and they married in October, 1933. Unsplash Personal Life

He died of stroke, on July 19, 1965, at the age of 90 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Unsplash Personal Life

Born on April 18, which bears the lunar date of March 26, 1875 in P'yongsan, North Korea, Syngman Rhee was the only son of an ordinary, rural family. Unsplash Childhood and Early Life

Known as Su-ng-yong in childhood, he moved to Seoul with his family and started his primary education there. Initially attending local schools which taught Chinese classics, he transitioned to a Methodist mission school, ‘Paejae Haktang’. Unsplash Childhood and Early Life

Graduating from high school in 1894, he began by teaching English at the school and found himself drawn to western ideas of enlightenment and reform. He participated in various movements opposed to the obsolete and ineffective government of the Korean regime. Unsplash Childhood and Early Life

In 1896, he along with other young Korean leaders formed the Independence Club. The main aim of the club was to fight for Korean independence from Japan. Unsplash Childhood and Early Life

Arrested during one of his early political protests, he was held in prison from 1899 to 1904, a period which brought about his conversion to Methodism. Unsplash Childhood and Early Life

With his strong nationalist instinct and purpose, Syngman Rhee pursued his objectives for an independent Korea by all means available to him. Through his activism, he was chosen to lead the Korean Provisional Government in exile in Washington DC in 1919, as his efforts at home led to his persecution by the then existing government in Korea. Unsplash Career

Continued strong leadership during WWII earned him a stellar reputation, enabling him to gather resources and galvanize strong-arm squads to form a massive political organization to oust the moderate leaders of Korea. With the assassination of the major leaders, his party won the elections in South Korea and he became the first president in 1948. Unsplash Career

It was an uneasy calm in the Korean Peninsula during the first years of Rhee's presidency, which was soon threatened by the invasion of North Korea's Communist forces on the relatively weaker South Korea in 1950, across the 38th parallel. The fierce and sudden attack forced South Korea to retreat and turn to the United Nations for assistance, which was provided by 15 nations. Unsplash Career

Opposition members of the National Assembly were planning to topple Syngman Rhee in the 1952 elections and exposed many scandals involving embezzlement of funds and massacre of innocent villagers in Kochang under his presidency. However, with all efforts directed toward the goal of resisting North Korea's offensive and defending South Korea’s territory in the peninsula, domestic politics took a back seat. The war lasted three years and cost approximately 5 million lives. Unsplash Career

After the war, Rhee was determined to unify Korea and mounted his efforts in that direction, even opposing United Nation's ruling that South Korea had no power over the 38th parallel. Unsplash Career

Rhee introduced significant social reform through expanded education opportunities at the secondary and university level which benefited the young people of Korea. Unsplash Major Works

In June 1949, he implemented the Land Reform Act which helped millions of sharecroppers become small landowners, thereby reducing socio-economic disparity. Unsplash Major Works

Information	Detail
Birthday	March 26, 1875
Died on	July 19, 1965
Nationality	South Korean
Famous	Statesman, George Washington University, Harvard University, Princeton University, Leaders, Political Leaders, Presidents
Spouses	Franziska Donner
Universities	George Washington University,Harvard University,Princeton University Princeton University George Washington University Harvard University
Notable Alumnis	George Washington University Harvard University Princeton University
Founder / Co-Founder	Liberal Party
Birth Place	Haeju
Political Ideology	Political party -Liberal
Religion	Protestantism, Methodism
Gender	Male
Sun Sign	Aries
Born in	Haeju
Famous as	Statesman
Died at Age	90

Syngman Rhee

South Korean

Mar 26, 1875

Biography

Personal Details

Haeju