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A foundation ceremony for the Republic of Korea at the Capitol Building on Aug. 15, 1948.
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Most Koreans know that Aug. 15 is the day when the country was liberated from Japanese colonial rule in 1945 but not that it is also the day the Republic of Korea was founded in 1948, a poll suggests. But most were in favor of giving more meaning to the date as the nation’s Founding Day in the future and were proud of the history of the republic.
The Chosun Ilbo asked Hankook Research to poll 705 adults across the nation on Sunday. A majority of respondents did not know that the republic was founded on Aug. 15 but when told, 81.1 percent agreed to commemorate Founding Day on the date as well. Some 14.2 percent said no.
Asked how proud they are of the republic’s history since 1948, some 77.3 percent gave positive responses -- "very proud" (31.3 percent) and "fairly proud" (46 percent). Negative responses came from 21 percent -- "not so proud" (17.7 percent) and "not proud at all" (3.3 percent). Respondents in their 20s expressed the least pride (75.2 percent) and people in their 60s the most (83.1 percent).
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President Syngman Rhee, general Douglas MacArthur, and general John Hodge, MacArthur’s representative and military governor of South Korea under the United States Army Military Government in Korea, attend the foundation ceremony for the Republic of Korea at the Capitol Building plaza on Aug. 15, 1948.
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A solid 86.5 percent knew that Aug. 15 marks the anniversary of liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945. But only 32 percent, or fewer than one in three, knew that the republic was founded on Aug. 15, 1948. Some 76.2 percent of those in their 20s, or more than three in four did not know when the republic was founded, the most in all age groups. Some 64.1 percent of college graduates or those with higher academic background did not know when the republic was established.
Asked "What does the date Aug. 15 remind you of first?" 89.2 percent of the respondents said, "independence or liberation." A mere 3.9 percent mentioned the founding, much the same number as ticked "national division" (3.5 percent). In a similar poll by Gallup Korea last year, 87.6 percent of the respondents said "independence or liberation."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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