1. Nation-Building in East Asia and the Pacific Rim

2. I. Postwar Settlements Divisions after WWII
Korea divided between Russian/U.S. zones
Taiwan returned to China - ruled by Nationalist leader, Chiang Kai-Shek, emerges as separate republic
U.S. regained Philippines, quickly grants independence (with military presence)
Europeans retook control of Vietnam, Malay and Indonesia
Japan occupied by U.S. forces
By 1980s, Pacific Rim nations considered developed nations
Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia
Defined by economic growth, political stability
China, Vietnam join ranks later, once turmoil and instability decreased

3. II. Japan
Recovered from WWII quickly (with plenty of aid from U.S.)
New political scene, run by Gen. Douglas MacArthur (until 1952)
Rid Japan of wartime political structure
Military disbanded, police decentralized, officials removed, political prisoners released
Democratization
New constitution - reintroduced parliamentary system, stripped emperor of power
Vote for women, encouraged labor unions, abolished Shintoism as state religion
Reduced teaching of nationalism, introduced rigid examination systems at all levels
Economy
By 1983, only behind U.S. and Germany in terms of growth
Automobiles/electronics – high quality, mass quantity
Why so successful?
Active gov’t encouragement – limit imports, very small
military budget
Education system – highly skilled middle class

4. II. Continued… Why so successful? (continued…)
Labor policies favored union/business cooperation
Group activities encouraged loyalty
Lifetime employment to many workers
Individuals highly motivated – few vacations, dedication to particular firm

5. III. Korea North Korea - People's Democratic Republic of Korea
Communist totalitarian state - Kim Il-Sung leader until 1994
South Korea - Republic of Korea
Parliamentary institutions but authoritarian (relaxed in recent years)
Korean War
N. Korea invades, S. Korea w/ U.N. pushes toward China
China gets involved, pushes back to original borders (38th parallel)
Sign armistice, ends war
Two divergent paths since then
N. Korea - isolated one-man rule
Power to one political party + military, essentially cut off from world
S. Korea - help from U.S. economic aid + military bases
Economy surges, similar to Japan – large corporations aided by gov’t
Tensions continued between two nations with occasional border clashes

6. IV. China
Chiang Kai-shek’s (Nationalist) attacks on communists halted by Japanese imperialism (1930s)
Communists’ guerilla tactics better able to resist Japanese, win public favor
Communist propaganda attack wins converts
Ensuing civil war – Communists win (1949)
Many switch sides – Communists treated soldiers better
Kai-shek retreats to Taiwan, Mao proclaims People’s Republic of China
Communists in power
People’s Liberation Army – administered local politics
Repressed secessionist movements – Tibet and Inner Mongolia
Fought U.S. out of N. Korea
Supported liberation struggle in Vietnam
Elimination of landlord class (3 million executed), became land of peasant farmers
Early 1960s – defeat India in brief war, first nonindustrial nation to develop working nuclear device

7. IV. Continued… 1955 – push the Mass Line approach
Form large agricultural collectives, 90% of China’s peasant population
1958 – Great Leap Forward
Industrialization push at the farms, not cities/factories
Production of steel in “backyard furnaces”
Human-labor intensive, rather than machine based
Initiative failed, forced to import grain, other resources
1960s, 70s – Cultural Revolution
Formation of Red Guard – used to eliminate opposition
Mao faced opposition from his own party – Pragmatists
Many opposed Great Leap Forward
After Mao’s death, China firmly in hands of pragmatists – more open to West, individual enterprise, set on path to modern economic superpower

8. V. Vietnam Long history of resisting colonization
China  France  United States
Rise of Vietnamese Nationalist party (1920s) – committed to violent revolution against French
Communist party of Vietnam rises from original nationalist movement
Led by Ho Chi Minh – educated in France and Russia during/after WWI
Similar problem as China – no large urban work force to rally, becomes peasant revolution
Viet Mihn (communist-nationalist movement) take over north after WWII (southern counterparts called Viet Cong)
Embarrass the French at battle of Dien Bien Phu (1954)
Land, education reforms gain supporters, scares Western powers
United States sees Vietnam as first “domino” – if it falls, all of SE Asia falls
Fail to contain/eliminate communist threat – N. & S. Vietnam unite (1975)

9. Key Vocabulary – ch. 34 Pacific Rim Viet Minh Korean War Hong Kong
People’s Republic of China
Mass Line
Great Leap Forward
Red Guard
Cultural Revolution
Ho Chi Minh
Viet Minh