COLUMN
The Struggle for Independence in Southeast Asia
by_ SHIN JONG TAE, former professor at Chosun University
Before World War II, most countries in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam, were colonies of Western powers such as Britain, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the United States. With the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941, Japan began to take them over. These colonial experiences had a significant impact on the countries’political systems after achieving independence. For example, the American political system was transplanted to the Philippines; Myanmar, a former British colony, carried out British-style parliamentary elections since 1922; and, following its independence, formerly Dutch-dominated Indonesia adopted the Dutch political model. On the other hand, while France ruled Cambodia, Laos, and VietNam, the country’s political system did not take root in its colonies. These countries achieved independence without the first-hand experience of Western democracy, and none has established a democratic political system. After the Pacific War ended on August 15, 1945, the decolonization process in Southeast Asia was rife with war, conflict, and chaos.In done sia declared independence on August 17, 1945. However, it was only in 1949, after the four-year war with the Netherlands, that the country was founded in the true sense. At Merdeka Square, in the center of the capital of Jakarta, stands the 137-meter-high National Monument. In the basement of the tower is a diorama display of the original Indonesian Declaration of Independence and the long history of colonial occupation. It was only after shedding a lot of blood and sweat that Indonesia was able to gain full independence.
Malaysia is a resource-rich country located in the Strait of Malacca, which boasts the busiest maritime traffic in the world. However, the country has suffered continuously from being invaded by the world's great powers. After the Portuguese and the Dutch, the British became the new rulers of Peninsular Malaysia in 1814. When the Pacific War broke out in 1941, it was quickly occupied by the Japanese. On August 31, 1957, Malaysia was freed from Britain, but a12-year long state of emergency, which had begun in 1948, was only lifted in 1960.
Singapore was a British colony and later became occupied by the Japanese in 1942. When Japan surrendered in 1945, the country reverted to British control. On August 31, 1963, Singapore became independent from Great Britain and was annexed to the Federation of Malaya. However, Singapore was ousted from the federation on August 9, 1965, and became an independent state. Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime minister, served for 31 years until 1990, and his outstanding leadership transformed Singapore into one of the richest countries in Asia. In 1959, when Lee Kuan Yew took office, the GDP per capita was only $400, but in 2019 it reached $58,000.Viet Nam’s colonial history began with the appointment of the first Governor-General of France in 1863. When the Pétain regime in Vichy France surrendered to Nazi Germany in 1940 during World War II, Japan seized this opportunity to occupy Viet Nam. In effect, this established the dual government of the French Government-General and the Japanese military command. The Vietnamese people bore unbearable suffering as they had to pay separate taxes to France and Japan. This led to the establishment of an independent commun is torganization in VietNam in 1941, headed by Ho Chi Minh. During the Pacific War, two million Vietnamese died in famine after their food resources were excessively plundered by the Japanese army. However, after the Geneva Accords were signed in 1954, Viet Nam was divided into North and South at the 17th parallel north, similar to the Korean Peninsula. It took another 20 years of war between the North and the South before VietNam accomplished its historic, complete independence and reunification on April 30, 1975.
KOREA FOUNDATION
