Happy Liberation Day

by Robert Koehler on August 15, 2007

in Korean History, Photos of Korea

{ 1 trackback }

Seoul Prepares for Liberation Day: August 14, 2008 at 1:10 pm

{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }

1 sanshinseon August 15, 2007 at 3:41 pm: Best wishes to Korea and all its citizens on this day, indeed.

But it’s Liberation Day, no? In distinction to Independence Declaration Day on March 1st…? (the actual parallel to the USA’s 4th of July, which is called Independence Day? the US now celebrates both the declaration and its later accomplishment and the new government’s establishment on the same holiday, but Korea still uses three different ones incl July 17th).
2 Robert Koehler August 15, 2007 at 4:00 pm: Good point. Jemok corrected.
3 figbash August 15, 2007 at 7:21 pm: Where did they find a Hawaiian print shirt big enough for the City Hall?^^
4 Paul H. August 15, 2007 at 7:27 pm: The flowers are not meant to be crysanthemums I take it?

What kind? A particular type as a specific national symbol or just a generic flower?
5 Ut videam August 15, 2007 at 7:40 pm: #4 – Looks like the mugunghwa or Rose of Sharon, the national flower.
6 mcnut August 15, 2007 at 9:28 pm: happy liberation day korea

finally negotiated on the deck of the USS Missouri Sept. 2nd 1945
7 Paul H. August 15, 2007 at 9:52 pm: Thanks ut.

Your answer finally stimulated me to look up a definition of “Rose of Sharon”, 40 years or so since first encountering it (as a person’s name in Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath). I knew it had to be a blblical reference of course.

Turns out it’s ambiguous as to exactly which flower the Bible referred to; there are 4 different candidates:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_of_Sharon

Also:

“…Today, the name is also commonly applied to two different plants, neither of which is likely to have been the plant from the Bible:

[1] Hypericum calycinum, an evergreen flowering shrub native to southeast Europe and southwest Asia, and the plant generally referred to in British and Australian English as “Rose of Sharon”; and

[2] Hibiscus syriacus, a deciduous flowering shrub native to east Asia, the plant generally referred to in American English as “Rose of Sharon” and the national flower of South Korea. The flower’s name in Korean is mugunghwa…”
8 sewing August 16, 2007 at 3:11 am: Christo + Copperfield = “Hey! What happened to Seoul City Hall? It disappeared!”

Happy liberation day, Korea. Would it be that those who sacrificed their lives to make its liberation possible be remembered&nmdash;and their memories honoured—for all time.
9 sewing August 16, 2007 at 3:12 am: A solemn statement ruined by bad HTML coding! And again:

Happy liberation day, Korea. Would it be that those who sacrificed their lives to make its liberation possible be remembered—and their memories honoured—for all time.
10 dlatn August 16, 2007 at 6:17 am: Independence, liberation,
while we are talking semantics, isn’t August 15 1945 the day korea was split in two by the US and russia, tearing families apart and precipitating a civil war? the same US that maintains troops here? Or was that the day that the US decided to oppose the legitimate People’s Republic of Korea with force, leading to the slaughter of thousands of independence fighters and innocents from Jeju to the 38th parallel until the outbreak of the Korean War.

Happy National Division Korea, from a smug american.
11 Ut videam August 16, 2007 at 6:28 am: Wow, Bruce Cumings is a sock puppet troll on this blog?
12 MigukNamja August 16, 2007 at 2:07 pm: Re #10:

1. The U.S. and Russia were enemies. Don’t pretend that they conspired to collectively screw Korea over. The U.S. did what it could with a bad situation.

2. ‘Tis better to split families with most living in freedom and prosperity than 100% of families suffering and dying under a dictatorship.

3. The U.S. military will leave anytime the ROK wants it to. However, the ROK government is not stupid enough to turn down free military support, with the DPRK, Japan, and China at its doorstep. Also, good luck hanging on to North Korean land when the U.S. leaves : China is ready to move in and there’s not a damn thing the ROK will be able to do about it in 5 years.

The U.S. helped to make the best of a horrible situation. Don’t blame the U.S.. Blame Russia and the NK dictators.

It amazes me that the country which has given so much (50,000+ lives, tens of billions of dollars in aid) and has allowed more than half of Korea to flourish under a democracy rather than a dictatorship can be so hated by people like you.

Grow up and take responsibility for Korea rather than blame its #1 ally.

Disrespectful, irresponsible, and whining behavior like yours will only end up with Korea being permanently reduced by half with China annexing the rest.

You, sir, are a fool.