DOC Catholic and French Forever: Religious and National Identity in Modern France by Joseph F. Byrnes in History

Description

This collection; edited by Distinguished Professor of Korean Studies Bonnie B. C. Oh; helps to fill a considerable gap in the English-language literature on Korea and the United States. Although much has been written about Korea in the Japanese colonial and World War II period and; of course; even more has been made available on the Korean War years; little has been written on the interim period when the United States attempted to rule Korea through a trusteeship.Focused on the occupation and reconstruction of Japan after World War II; the U.S. government conceived a trusteeship for Korea; which would free up American forces to concentrate on Japan. It seemed the perfect solution: it would allow the time needed for Koreans to prepare themselves for independence; it would maintain U.S. involvement and interests in Korea; and it would create the mechanism that could sustain international cooperation. Flawless as it might have seemed; the trusteeship―and its implementer; the American Military Government―did not heed the Korean people's heightened expectation and passion for independence. And it did not handle well the new Soviet-style government it found in place in the north of the peninsula. All together; the various missteps and miscalculations of the American Military Government―and Washington―contributed to the new war to come. Oh and her contributors shed light on this previously unexamained period; and make significant use of Korean-language sources in doing so. Essential reading for scholars; students; and researchers involved with modern Korean Studies; the Cold War; and U.S. military history.