What happens
Dr. Sun-yong, a Korean in Seoul, speaks with a companion as Japanese officials surrender Korea to American forces in 1945, ending forty years of Japanese rule. The Pacific Story presents the episode, which first aired on April 7, 1946, and the story follows the dispute over how Korea should be governed after liberation. Korean political parties argue over the provisional government, the People's Republic, and the division of the country at the 38th parallel between Soviet and American occupation zones. Rumors of Japanese collaborators returning to power and disputes over landholding add to the tension. The transcript ends with the parties still divided and the two zones in conflict.
Seoul, Korea, 1945-1946, following the Japanese surrender and the division of Korea into American and Soviet occupation zones
Characters: Dr. Sun-yong, Singman Rhee, Kim Ku, Park Hwang-yong, Kim Il-soon
Listen for: Dr. Sun-yong's commentary on the political factions and the Korean people's reaction to the division of the country
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.