Controversy over National Foundation Day in South Korea

There is no official "[State was established] National Foundation Day" (Korean: 건국기념일 or 건국절; Hanja: 建國記念日 or 建國節; lit. Anniversary of the establishment of the country/state) in South Korea; there are two major conflicting views on when the country was founded:

The view of April 11, 1919, when the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was established, is regarded as the national foundation day; a view traditionally supported in South Korea, but from the 21st century, it was mainly supported by left-leaning people.
A view of Aug. 15, 1948, when the government of the Republic of Korea was officially established, is regarded as the national foundation day; supported by conservatives after the 21st century.

In addition to this, there is a view that other days are viewed as National Foundation Day.

View of April 11, 1919

Support

The full text of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea says, "Inheriting the legality of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea". Those who see April 11, 1919, as National Foundation Day, are mainly based on the Constitution; the official Republic of Korea calendar [ko] starts on April 11, 1919.^[1]

This view is supported by the Democratic Party of Korea.^[2]

In the 21st century, this view was mainly considered non-conservative, but it was supported by anti-communists in the 20th century; South Korean conservative president Syngman Rhee also showed the view that the Republic of Korea was founded in 1919, not 1948.^[3]

Opposition

Some scholars, including B. R. Myers, have criticized this view as constructing historical revisionism, because the main view is that South Korea is considered a country established in 1948 internationally.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9] [As of the 21st century] Many South Korean conservatives have similar views to Myers.^[10]^[11]

View of August 15, 1948

Support

The starting point of the controversy over National Foundation Day was first started in July 2006 by Professor Lee Young-hoon, a New Right scholar. Lee contributed an article to the Dong-A Ilbo proposing the establishment of National Foundation Day in 1948. Since then, the view that the Republic of Korea was established in 1948 instead of 1919 has gained support from anti-communist conservatives, including New Right scholars.^[12]^[10]

Opposition

Organizations commemorating the Korean independence movement consider the legacy of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea to be of great importance; they believe that declaring 1948, rather than 1919, as National Foundation Day denies the national identity associated with the earlier independence movement.^[13]

Other

View of May 31, 1948

It is to celebrate the 1948 South Korean Constitutional Assembly election, which was democratically implemented for the first time on an independent Korean Peninsula, as a National Foundation Day; this view was supported by former President Kim Dae Jung.^[14]

View of October 3, 2333 BC

In addition, there is a view of Gaecheonjeol as "[state was established] National Foundation Day" (건국기념일), but it is a relatively minority view. The English name for Gaecheonjeol is "National Foundation Day", but in Korean, 건국기념일 or 건국절 presupposes the establishment of a state/country; Gaecheonjeol is the anniversary of the Korean minjok, not the anniversary of the South Korean state.

References

^ 대한민국헌법
^ "정치권 건국절 논란 1919 VS 1948…왜?". KBS News. 2017-08-17.
^ ""1919년 대한민국 건립" 외친 이승만이 '건국의 아버지'라니". The Hankyoreh. 2024-04-23.
^ Myers, Brian Reynolds (21 February 2018). "Constitutional Reform and Inter-Korean Relations: Part 2". Sthele Press. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
^ Myers, Brian Reynolds (26 July 2018). "Confederation (Again)". Sthele Press. Retrieved 25 June 2019. Nor, for that matter, is the new line that the Taehan minguk was not founded in August 1948, but instead came into existence when a provisional government was formed in Shanghai in 1919. I don't need to remind anyone of the internationally accepted criteria for statehood. The Blue House seems more interested in downgrading the republic that fought the North than in making a serious case for the statehood of something else. The original modest budget for the 70th anniversary of the ROK's founding has already been cut. The joint North-South commemoration of the March 1st uprising's 100th anniversary next year is likely to make the festivities this August 15 look subdued in comparison.
^ Myers, Brian Reynolds (7 April 2019). "South Korea's Nationalist-Left Front". Sthele Press. Retrieved 25 June 2019. In closing, let me forestall reductio ad absurdum by again conceding that the left's discourse is by no means uniform. The 'radical' praises the North. The 'moderate' assails those who mistrust it. The one denies the legitimacy of the ROK founded in 1948. The other talks up the ROK-superseding legitimacy of an exile republic said to date back to 1919. But such differences are rhetorical, tactical. The point of the front after all is to appeal to all the constituencies it needs. One of them is the US government.
^ Myers, Brian Reynolds (4 March 2019). "On That March First Speech". Sthele Press. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
^ Myers, Brian Reynolds (11 August 2017). "Low-Level Confederation and the Nuclear Crisis (in 2 parts)". Sthele Press. Yi Hae-sŏng, a young podcaster, was one of many conservatives who lamented Moon's reference to 1919 as the year in which the Republic of Korea was established. With those and other words, the president declared himself the heir to a nationalist and not a constitutional-democratic tradition, a man who will rule more in the spirit of the exile government that strove to liberate the minjok than of the republic that joined America in resisting North Korean aggression.
^ Myers, Brian Reynolds (4 March 2019). "On that March First Speech". Sthele Press. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
^ ^a ^b "한국의 내전(內戰) 구도 - 대한민국 건국 부정세력의 정체". 뉴데일리. 2012-08-07.
^ "김진태 "1948년 건국 부인하면 대한민국 정체성 훼손하는 것"". The Chosun Ilbo. 2024-08-15.
^ "역사에 '색깔' 남기고 '기억' 지운다? 건국절 만들기, 2년 전부터 준비했다". OhmyNews. 2008-08-04.
^ "광복회 기념식 '윤석열 퇴진' 분출…"피로 쓰인 역사, 혀로 못 덮어"". The Hankyoreh. 2024-08-13.
^ "대한민국 50년 - 우리들의 이야기전 개막식 말씀(참으로 위대한 50년만의 민주적 정권교체". Ministry of the Interior and Safety 대통령기록관 [Ministry of the Interior and Safety; Presidential Archives]. 1998-08-14.

[1] 대한민국헌법

[2] "정치권 건국절 논란 1919 VS 1948…왜?". KBS News. 2017-08-17.

[3] ""1919년 대한민국 건립" 외친 이승만이 '건국의 아버지'라니". The Hankyoreh. 2024-04-23.

[4] Myers, Brian Reynolds (21 February 2018). "Constitutional Reform and Inter-Korean Relations: Part 2". Sthele Press. Retrieved 25 June 2019.

[5] Myers, Brian Reynolds (26 July 2018). "Confederation (Again)". Sthele Press. Retrieved 25 June 2019. Nor, for that matter, is the new line that the Taehan minguk was not founded in August 1948, but instead came into existence when a provisional government was formed in Shanghai in 1919. I don't need to remind anyone of the internationally accepted criteria for statehood. The Blue House seems more interested in downgrading the republic that fought the North than in making a serious case for the statehood of something else. The original modest budget for the 70th anniversary of the ROK's founding has already been cut. The joint North-South commemoration of the March 1st uprising's 100th anniversary next year is likely to make the festivities this August 15 look subdued in comparison.

[6] Myers, Brian Reynolds (7 April 2019). "South Korea's Nationalist-Left Front". Sthele Press. Retrieved 25 June 2019. In closing, let me forestall reductio ad absurdum by again conceding that the left's discourse is by no means uniform. The 'radical' praises the North. The 'moderate' assails those who mistrust it. The one denies the legitimacy of the ROK founded in 1948. The other talks up the ROK-superseding legitimacy of an exile republic said to date back to 1919. But such differences are rhetorical, tactical. The point of the front after all is to appeal to all the constituencies it needs. One of them is the US government.

[7] Myers, Brian Reynolds (4 March 2019). "On That March First Speech". Sthele Press. Retrieved 25 June 2019.

[8] Myers, Brian Reynolds (11 August 2017). "Low-Level Confederation and the Nuclear Crisis (in 2 parts)". Sthele Press. Yi Hae-sŏng, a young podcaster, was one of many conservatives who lamented Moon's reference to 1919 as the year in which the Republic of Korea was established. With those and other words, the president declared himself the heir to a nationalist and not a constitutional-democratic tradition, a man who will rule more in the spirit of the exile government that strove to liberate the minjok than of the republic that joined America in resisting North Korean aggression.

[9] Myers, Brian Reynolds (4 March 2019). "On that March First Speech". Sthele Press. Retrieved 26 June 2019.

[건국절-10] "한국의 내전(內戰) 구도 - 대한민국 건국 부정세력의 정체". 뉴데일리. 2012-08-07.

[11] "김진태 "1948년 건국 부인하면 대한민국 정체성 훼손하는 것"". The Chosun Ilbo. 2024-08-15.

[12] "역사에 '색깔' 남기고 '기억' 지운다? 건국절 만들기, 2년 전부터 준비했다". OhmyNews. 2008-08-04.

[13] "광복회 기념식 '윤석열 퇴진' 분출…"피로 쓰인 역사, 혀로 못 덮어"". The Hankyoreh. 2024-08-13.

[14] "대한민국 50년 - 우리들의 이야기전 개막식 말씀(참으로 위대한 50년만의 민주적 정권교체". Ministry of the Interior and Safety 대통령기록관 [Ministry of the Interior and Safety; Presidential Archives]. 1998-08-14.

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Controversy over National Foundation Day in South Korea

View of April 11, 1919

Support

Opposition

View of August 15, 1948

Support

Opposition

Other

View of May 31, 1948

View of October 3, 2333 BC

References

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