Ilminism (), frequently translated as the One-People Principle, One-People Doctrine, or Unidemism, was the

political ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...

of South Korea under its first President,

Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965), also known by his art name Unam (), was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisiona ...

. The ''Ilminist'' principle has been likened by contemporary scholars to the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

ideal of the '' Herrenvolk'' (master race) and was part of an effort to consolidate a united and obedient citizenry around Rhee's strong central leadership through appeals to

ultranationalism Ultranationalism, or extreme nationalism, is an extremist form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its specific i ...

and ethnic supremacy. In general, "Ilminists" often refers to pro-Syngman Rhee (groups).

History

The concept had deep roots in disputes between different members of the

Korean independence movement The Korean independence movement was a series of diplomatic and militant efforts to liberate Korea from Japanese rule. The movement began around the late 19th or early 20th century, and ended with the surrender of Japan in 1945. As independence a ...

during Japanese rule. The debate was between so-called ''culturalists'' (), who argued that Korean backwardness required a strong and patriotic elite to guide the people into cultural civilization and enlightenment, that is, the Koreans needed to ''become'' a proper nation, versus the ''populists'' (), who maintained that the Koreans were ''already'' a sovereign nation and people from whom all legitimacy ultimately derived. Ilminism had been identified as being influenced by the culturalist stream of Korean thinking. The concept was developed primarily by German-educated Minister of Education Ahn Ho-sang, who studied philosophy at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

in Germany during the late 1920s.Vladimir Tikhonov and Pak Noja, "Social Darwinism as History and Reality: 'Competition' and 'The Weak' in Early Twentieth-Century Korea," ''Critical Asian Studies,'' vol. 48, no. 3 (2016). It was connected with the National Defense Student Corps (NDSC), established on 22 April 1949. The nationalist doctrine was influenced by the statist youth groups Ahn had witnessed both as a student in Germany back in the 1920s as well as during the Asia-Pacific War. The doctrine was received unfavorably by various quarters when it first surfaced, but the onset of the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

in 1950 substantially increased its rapport with authorities. After 1952, Ilminism was no longer mentioned, and Syngman Rhee's purges of Ilminist affiliates led to the demise of Ilminism.

Ideology

The ''Ilminist'' Principle became the central ideology of Rhee's National Association and its successor, the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, established in 1951. ''Ilminism'' was based around a four-point political program, including elimination of formal discrimination between the nobility and the masses, the economic equalization of rich and poor through land reform, social and political equality of the sexes, and an end to discrimination between North and South or the urban capital and the rural provinces. An end to partisan politics was posited, in favor of a united people behind a de facto one-party state. ''Ilminism'' was effective in creating a strong

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

nationalism to stand in juxtaposition to the effective appeals to nationalism made through the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland, headed by

Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

and the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), also called the Korean Workers' Party (KWP), is the sole ruling party of North Korea. Founded in 1949 from a merger between the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is ...

Northward reunification

The Ilminists were belligerent anti-communists. Despite U.S. opposition, they insisted on "Northward reunification" (), in which South Korean troops marched North, overthrew the North Korean government on the Korean Peninsula, completely eliminated communist forces, and occupied all areas of the peninsula by force to build a non-communist unified- ROK.''2. 이승만정권·자유당, 극우반공이데올로기 연구''

National Institute of Korean History The National Institute of Korean History (NIKH; ) is a South Korean government organization in charge of researching, collecting, compiling, and promoting materials related to Korean history. It was established as the Office of National History ...

Association for the Propagation of Ilminism

The Association for the Propagation of Ilminism () was a nationalist organization founded in September 1949. The organization aimed at promoting popularism centered on Syngman Rhee, led by former members of the

Korean National Youth Association The Korean National Youth Association () abbreviated as Jokcheong () was a far-right nationalist organization founded on October 9, 1946, and led by Lee Beom-seok (prime minister), Lee Beom-seok. KNYA had an ideology that intersected fascism ...

led by Lee Bum-seok and Ahn Ho-sang. It criticized both

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

and

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

, but had a pro-American tendency. Due to the intensifying

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, anti-capitalism sentiment did not increase during this time period.Hong Tai-young, eds. (2015)
Excessive Nation' and 'Indiscoverable Individual': 'One-people principle' and particularity of Korean nationalism''
KCI dissertation.

History

Ideology

Northward reunification

Association for the Propagation of Ilminism

See also

Footnotes

Further reading