How Did South Korea Become a Democracy?

Struggle. A lot of struggle.In 1945, Japan finally relinquished Korea from occupation and transferred their authorities to the People's Republic of Korea, which was a social democratic Provisional Government under Lyuh Un Hyung.

However, the Allies quickly came to the realization that they would benefit from dividing the peninsula because the Soviets needed the natural resources from the North and the Americans needed a buffer for Japan in the South.Fast forward to 1948. The unification talks between the United States and the Soviet Union stalled and the Americans pushed for unilateral elections in the South, electing Syngman Rhee, a famous independence activist and statesman, as president.

The Soviets followed suit, having Kim Tu Bong and Kim Il Sung as leaders (Communists liked collective leadership). The South had major defects in governance. First, the political culture there did not see democratization, so no one really understood this liberal democracy.

Myopically, the republic copied its constitution from the Weimar Constitution (the project of revising the constitution continues today). The Americans didn't allow the South to have effective leadership because a major shakedown would mean instability and possible communization. Therefore, pro-Axis collaborators and corrupt officials remained in power as the basic fabric of leadership.

Fast forward once more to 1960. In exposing a rigged election, the citizens of Masan clashed with the police, resulting in more than 870 casualties. One death of a high school student, with a tear gas grenade in his eye.

The vice president defended the confrontation by asking Weren't the guns given to be fired? in a press conference. The battle on the streets of Seoul involved rifles on both sides and a howitzer from the government, but the citizenry prevailed with the help from the academia, the clergy, the students, and the American ambassador.

Rhee (was still in power) resigned and the government leaders involved in the incident received heavy penalties, including death for most. The country reformed to a parliamentary democracy soon after. Some of you thought that I finished my story.

The Second Republic soon crumbled after a military coup d'etat led by a military council including Park Chung Hee assumed power, leaving Park the president for life. He reestablished a presidential republic and instituted a system of indirect democracy. As a result, of constitutional revisions much later, cities like Busan and Masan (again) clashed with the military in 1979, resulting in martial law for those cities.

Then, the head of intelligence shot the president during a dinner. The motive still remains hazy.You all again thought that democracy would flourish soon after (unless you are already familiar with the story).

I really love human optimism. Soon after, another military dictatorship shook the country in political convulsion as Chun Du Hwan and his military government took over the country and finished the task that Park has started, establishing a regime with no regard for the country, the nation, or its people. In Gwangju, a protest met police resistance, quickly escalating in a shootout and a military siege.

The soldiers started to experiment with the citizenry, torturing citizens, including minors. These tortures surpass the amateur brutality of other examples of torture in history, including creative methods like ashtray crafts on people's eyeballs, forcing people to crawl and lick feces in the bathroom, and preparing sashimi with bayonets from victims. The revolt failed, the government successfully covered up the story as a communist insurgency.

Many Koreans still believe that the atrocities were committed by an imaginary communist guerrilla army because their heroes on drugs could not commit such crimes. Years later, the flames of revolution, previously kept alive by college students, erupted again like a volcano in 1987 when a Seoul University student came of a police interrogation dead. The police claimed that the student died from a heart attack after an officer hit a table, but autopsies soon showed blunt force trauma (citation needed) and asphyxiation.

In reality, the police repeatedly shoved the students head into a bathtub until he died. When the word got out, the citizenry of the entire country rebelled in what we now call the June Struggle. The Catholic church revealed the crimes of the police because some of the perpetrators felt indignant over the fact that they received the blame for when other people involved didn't.

Then, word of the cover-up got leaked via a report on toilet paper (classy) and found its way to the Catholic church. The press exploded in a media frenzy, and entire universities poured out in protest. Citizens of Seoul and other cities began to join the battle en masse.

My father participated in the revolution (according to him) because he moved to Seoul to attend a university in 1987 as a freshman. His school boycotted classes, and he couldn't attend lectures or take exams. Apparently, he inhaled enough tear gas to make his decade-old smoking habit a joke and made and threw Molotov cocktails (real classy).

The military couldn't hold back the massive tsunami of the masses and surrendered, leading to the constitution of 1987 - the current constitution. As an addendum, I must add that the democratic bloc dissolved and the military leaders still retained the government in 1987 and then merged with the conservatives (who still retain that streak today).Finally, the republic became democratic in 1987 • Suggested Reading What gear is essential for a new cyclist?

Your question is tagged as u2018Urban Cyclingu2019 and u2018Road Cyclingu2019. Since there are many different forms of cycling, Iu2019ll focus on these two. One of the other answers mentions SPD pedals, foldable spare tyre etc.

These are Mountain biking things. SPD pedals are not that good for road cycling and during the 20 years I have been taking cycling more seriously (though I am no professional racer) I have never suffered a catastrophic tyre damage on road which the rim survived undamaged. I had one couple of years ago but the rim was wrecked.

So the spare foldable tyre would not help. For mountain bikers who ride downhill or enduro this is a good idea to take but not for road cycling and definitely not for urban cycling.For urban cycling where the bicycle is just a mean of transport, you need just the bicycle and preferably a helmet.

Small led lights with a day flash are good if you are riding in a light rain and can be used if you return after dusk. If you have a public transport system where you can take your bicycle with you (or you can call someone to pick you up) you do not even need repair tools or spares. Just do not forget your bicycle lock.

Especially if your bicycle is new or a good looking one, you need a lock which makes it harder to nick than nearby bicycles.For road cycling you need basically this to take with you:And for gear, you need:Cycling padded shortsSpecialized road biking shoes, cleats and pedals (not SPD*)Preferably a good bicycling jersey,Cycling fingerless glovesnThey are fingerless for good control of the combined brake and shift levers on the road bike while protecting your palms when hitting the tarmac which will happen in the beginning - the guys from the video above ride without gloves to avoid tan lines, not a good practice for a beginner. Cycling raincoat which you can pack into a jersey pocketGood helmetnHelmets are not mandatory in most jurisdiction.

Some neurologists argue that they have a lot of patients with brain injuries after cycling accidents caused by the imperfect protection the cycling helmets offer. However the number of people who suffered no head injury at all (or lived to be bitched about by the neurologists) are rather invisible to them. Helmets are expensive and not perfect but they can save your life.

Just donu2019t buy the cheap ones. The difference between $10 and $100 helmet is that the $10 one is a total waste of money not even worth $1.LightsnAsk in a specialized shop.

This is a very broad topic. Basically you can split them into 3 categories: a) to be seen (good just for urban cycling or to be combined with other lights) b) to see the road in front of you c) to blind all the incoming traffic and look like a locomotive (popular with mountain bikers who ride downhill in a crazy speed at night, not suitable for anything else). I have small led lights permanently mounted to my bike but they only make me visible.

Then I have a small 300lm light which I can mount on handlebars or my helmet which offers me a well-lit spot. If I plan to arrive during daylight but I might be late by an hour, I take this, mount it on the handlebars and set it to a full beam. If I plan to arrive at night (or go for a night spin), I mount it on my helmet and I take another 800lm light (with frame-mounted battery).

Then I set the handlebar one for 50% beam in urban areas 75% generally and 100% beam when descending through forest, the helmet-mounted to 50% beam. This gives me roughly 3 hours of ride with a good amount of a reserve time. For riding mountain bike downhills on specialized difficult trails or crazy-speed free-rides you will need more than that, obviously.

All my lights are USB-chargeable so I always depart with full batteries.Cold weather gear:Cross-country skiing pantsnThey can be put over your cycling pants. Neoprene shoe coversCross-country skiing glovesSome thermo long-sleeve t-shirt which you can put under your jerseyLong-sleeved wind-proof jersey if it is really coldCap under helmetSoft-rubber tyres if riding in winterFenders (the winter road salt in your mouth is anything but tasty)* Speaking of pedals, I do ride SPDs because I have a cyclocross bicycle.

For road riding I simply switch tyres. SPDs are made for off-road use, they work even if they are clogged with mud (well, the better quality ones) and the SPD shoes are made in a way you can walk and run in them. The downside is that the system does not hold your foot well in the pedal (there is a lot of play) and the contact surface between the shoe and the pedal is rather small compared to the road one.

Your feet will hurt after 100km ride. The fun thing is that cyclocross or cross-country riders seldom ride such a distance and the rest of us simply think u2018other parts of my body hurt much more than feet so whatu2019. The road-specific shoes and cleats are much better for road use however they are unsuitable for anything else.

Urban cyclists, mountain bikers except cross-country guys and most of the other categories of cyclists simply do not use clipless pedals. And if you are a beginner, check whether you really want to use them. I would suggest you start riding on some affordable normal pedals and switch to clipless when you have a good command of your bicycle for road biking.

For urban cycling, I would not use that. Most of the good bicycles are sold without pedals because the cyclist usually put there their own favourites.