Korea Democratic Party
 | This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: inconsistent: according to the lead section, it was a South Korean party, while the article's body describes a party mainly active in the North. (August 2015) |
Korea Democratic Party 한국민주당 / 한민당 | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Song Jin-woo |
| Founded | 1945 |
| Dissolved | 1949 (banned) |
| Preceded by | None |
| Headquarters | Seoul |
| Newspaper | None |
| International affiliation | None |
| Colours | Red and Green |
| Korea Democratic Party | |
| Hangul | 한국민주당 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 韓國民主黨 |
| Revised Romanization | Han-guk Minjudang |
| McCune–Reischauer | Han'guk Minjudang |
The Korea Democratic Party (hangul: 한국민주당, hanja: 韓國民主黨) was the leading opposition party in the first years of the First Republic of South Korea. It existed from 1945 to 1949, when it merged with other opposition parties. Prominent members included Yun Po-sun. The party supported Syngman Rhee in the election of the president in 1948, but none of its members were included in his cabinet; this snub led to the party joining the opposition.
The party received 12.7% of the vote in the 1948 South Korean general election.[1]
In North Korea
Originally called the Christian Social Democratic Party, the party was formed in opposition to the Soviet ideology of materialism under Christian nationalist leaders Yun Ha Young and Han Kyung Jik on September 9, 1945.[2] It was the first political party formed since Korea was liberated from Japanese occupation. The party had a strong basis in Christian ideals, but later dropped Christian from its name to appeal to a wider section of the Korean public.[2] However, due to pressure on the party from the Soviet government and the departure of Reverend Han Kyong Jik to South Korea, the party was merged into the Korea Democratic Party or Choson Minju-Dang.[2]
On November 13, 1945, and under a new Christian leader, Cho Man Sik, the party organised in Pyongyang with thirty-three members under Cho. Within three months, membership reached 500,000 with branches in all of North Korea's provinces.[2] However, he lacked popular support amongst the people.[3] Ten days later, a student demonstration took place against the growing influence of Communism in North Korea.[2] The new government in North Korea was anti-Christian, confiscating Church land and property and giving it to peasants, which further increased dissent.[4] This led to a popular opposition movement before the division of Korea.
See also
- Minjudang (Democratic Party)
- List of Korea-related topics
- List of political parties in South Korea
Site Link
- Korea Democratic Party Template:Ko
- Korea Democratic Party Template:Ko
- Democratic Peoples Party Template:Ko
- Korea Democratic Party Template:Ko
References
Bibliography
- Kang, Wi Jo. (1997). Christ and Caesar in Modern Korea: A History of Christianity and Politics. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-3247-1
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