Today Is Liberation Day! -- And National Founding Day?
The argument over when the Republic of Korea was founded has some confounding ideological components.
August 15 is celebrated as the day Japan surrendered and is thus celebrated as liberation day in multiple Asian countries, including the Republic of Korea. Gwangbokjeol (광복절) means “the day the light returned.” The “return” of the light is a key point. Korea had been an independent and unified country—and even briefly an “empire”—for centuries before th…
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Korean Policy and Culture: The US-Korea Policy Project to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.