星空传媒

For Korea, the end of World War II on August 15, 1945, meant freedom from more than 35 years of colonial rule by Japan. 

The few surviving images from that historic day give us a glimpse into the elation of the Korean people at the return of their independence. One photo shows beaming Koreans 鈭� who had been arrested and tortured for advocating independence 鈭� waving their arms, celebrating their freedom.

In the 75 years since that day, August 15^th has served as a joyous reminder of the end of a dark period in Korean history. shows Koreans dressed in traditional garb dancing and celebrating both the three-year liberation anniversary and the founding of modern-day South Korea.

It remains one of the few national holidays celebrated by both Koreas, called Liberation Day (Gwangbokjeol) in the South and Liberation of the Fatherland Day (Jokukhaebangui-nal) in the North.

This year, South Korean President Moon Jae-in the occasion at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, where he invoked the site's colonial-era past. emblazoned with the words 鈥淲e will remember forever鈥� to the Liberation Tower in Pyongyang.

However, Liberation Day also marks the beginning of Korea鈥檚 division. Soon after August 15^th, the United States and Soviet Union agreed to divide the Korean Peninsula along the 38^th Parallel, with the Soviets sending troops from the north and the United States from the south.

Over the decades, rhetoric on both sides of the Demilitarized Zone has evolved to accommodate this challenging history by framing "liberation" in a nationalistic way.

South Korea: Promoting Progress and Cooperation

For South Korean leaders, this holiday has been both an opportunity to recognize the country鈥檚 accomplishments and an occasion to push the country beyond its difficult history.

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Flickr/Don O'Brien ()

A pattern has emerged, visible in speeches from Presidents Syngman Rhee and Kim Young-sam to more recent leaders such as Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in, whereby South Korean leaders use nationalist rhetoric to create a unified narrative of Korea and purposefully draw attention away from the colonial period while also calling for cooperation with Japan.

In his inaugural speech as the first president of South Korea, Rhee used the 1948 anniversary to say: 鈥淭he country that was lost 40 years ago is found again; the people that died live again.鈥�

This was nationalistic in that it rhetorically included Koreans who had not lived to see the founding of South Korea in his national narrative.

However, the lack of a direct mention of Japan is noteworthy. Rhee, dealing with economic stagnation and political questions over the newly divided peninsula, opted not to attempt to rally public support by targeting Japan.

In 1995, President Kim Young-sam marked August 15^th by announcing plans to destroy the same former colonial administration building where Rhee had given his inaugural speech. However, Kim also connected the destruction of the building to the larger erasure of colonial memory, has noted.

In 2015, President Park Geun-hye condemned the lack of resolution for comfort women victims, a to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's speech given the day before on August 14, 2015. Nonetheless, Park still stressed cooperation and peace with Japan.

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惭辞辞苍鈥檚 in 2019 also followed this pattern. His invocation of a prosperous future for South Korea closely paralleled Rhee鈥檚 when he said, 鈥淩eflecting on the past does not mean clinging to the past but overcoming what had happened and moving toward the future.鈥�

In 2020, he continues to grapple with of COVID-19 and the ongoing impact on the South Korean economy. But Moon also made sure to stress his support for a recent against Japanese companies that profited from wartime forced Korean labor. What remained consistent, however, was his insistence on cooperation and friendship with Japan.

What this tells us is that South Korean leaders, including Moon, are aware of the potency of nationalistic rhetoric and the effects it can have on their regional community. By selectively connecting Korea鈥檚 pre-colonial history with South Korea鈥檚 success after independence, they seek to create a unified, nationalistic narrative about the Republic of Korea.

North Korea: August 15^th Mythmaking

North Korea has also engaged in its own national mythmaking surrounding August 15^th.

Primary source analysis reveals massive shifts from a Soviet-centric liberation narrative to one that aggrandizes the role of President Kim Il Sung. This evolution appears to be based on pragmatic reasoning at the state level. Internally, it supports the Kim family鈥檚 cult of personality and the state鈥檚 emphasis on autonomy. Externally, it mitigated the doctrinal differences brought about by de-Stalinization and fallout caused by the .

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Wikimedia Commons

During the height of Soviet-North Korean relations, roughly 1945 to 1960, the Soviet Union was lauded as the key liberator of North Korea.  , published in August 1955 reads: 鈥淛ust 10 years ago, the courageous Soviet army freed us from the chains of slavery from the malicious Japanese forces.鈥�

The same magazine, exactly three years later, published a similar article entitled Its retelling closely paralleled the previous article, noting, 鈥溾�榃hat kind of army is the Soviet army?鈥� / 鈥楾he Soviet army is an army that liberates a scorned and weak country.鈥欌��

By the 1990s, however, the role of the Soviet Union was significantly diminished in retellings of Liberation Day.

In 1993, as the 鈥減eerless patriot鈥� who 鈥渓ed the Korean people to victory鈥� and liberated the country.鈥� The Soviet Union was reduced to having played a minor supporting role. In the 1998 edition of his memoir, Kim credits the 鈥渓ong, drawn-out resistance by the army and the people of Korea鈥� as paving the way for any kind of success by the 鈥淪oviet operations against Japan.鈥�

These changes occurred in tandem with North Korea鈥檚 emphasis on , a philosophy of self-reliance, as well as fallout within the Soviet-North Korea-China triangle from the 1960s to the 1980s. A notes that North Korea was engaging in a 鈥渘ationalist exaggeration鈥� of the role of the Korean People鈥檚 Resistance Army and a 鈥渄enial of the Soviet Union鈥檚 role as Korea鈥檚 liberator.鈥�

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Library of Congress

Not only did these actions support efforts to solidify Kim鈥檚 cult of personality, but it also allowed North Korea to put meaningful distance between itself and the Soviet Union.

鈥淟iberation of the Fatherland Day鈥� is still celebrated in North Korea today, albeit on a smaller scale than other anniversaries. This year, titles of articles praising Kim Il Sung included 鈥淧resident Kim Il Sung, Savior of National Restoration鈥� and 鈥淜im Il Sung, Peerless Patriot.鈥�

Modifications to retellings of August 15^th in both Koreas speak to differences in how North Korea and South Korea celebrate Liberation Day, despite the shared history. As such, the study of the nationalistic rhetoric in both Koreas around occasions such as Liberation Day is important as a source of insight on national narratives.

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is pursuing a master鈥檚 degree in Asian Studies at the Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service. is a recent graduate of the University of Virginia, where she earned her B.A. in Foreign Affairs and East Asian Studies with a concentration in Korean language. Both are research interns at the 星空传媒 Center鈥檚 Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy.

Follow the Korea Center on Twitter @Korea_Center or on Instagram at .

The views expressed are the author's alone, and do not represent the views of the U.S. Government or the 星空传媒 Center. Copyright 2020, Asia Program. All rights reserved.