Loading subject…
Kim Il Sung
Kim Il Sung (1912-1994) was the communist leader of North Korea from 1948 until his death. Backed by the Soviet Union, he built a one-party state modelled on Stalinist lines and led the June 1950 invasion of South Korea that started the Korean War. After the armistice of 1953, he ruled North Korea as a personal dictatorship and established the Juche ideology of self-reliance.
Syngman Rhee
Syngman Rhee (1875-1965) was the first president of South Korea, serving from 1948 to 1960. An ardent anti-communist backed by the United States, he governed the Republic of Korea authoritarianly and repeatedly called for the forcible reunification of the peninsula. He resigned in 1960 following student-led protests against election fraud.