People's Republic of Korea
People's Republic of Korea | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945–1946 | |||||||||||||
| Motto: 자주독립국가 (Chaju Tongnip Kukka) "Self-reliant and independent state" | |||||||||||||
| Anthem: 애국가 (Aegukka) "The Patriotic Song" | |||||||||||||
| Capital and largest city | Seoul | ||||||||||||
| Common languages | Korean | ||||||||||||
| Government | Non-functioning government, People's Republic under a provisional government | ||||||||||||
| President | |||||||||||||
• 1945–1946 | Syngman Rhee (nominal) | ||||||||||||
| Chairman of the National People's Representative Conference | |||||||||||||
• 1945 | Lyuh Woon-hyung (temporary) | ||||||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||||||
| 15 August 1945 | |||||||||||||
• Soviet forces stationed in Pyongyang | 24 August 1945 | ||||||||||||
• PRK established | 6 September 1945 | ||||||||||||
• American forces stationed in Seoul | 9 September 1945 | ||||||||||||
• PRK dissolved in the South | 12 December 1945 | ||||||||||||
• Committees co-opted in the North | 8 February 1946 | ||||||||||||
| Currency | Korean won | ||||||||||||
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| Today part of | North Korea South Korea | ||||||||||||
| Korean name | |||||||||||||
| Hangul | 조선인민공화국 | ||||||||||||
| Hanja | 朝鮮人民共和國 | ||||||||||||
| RR | Joseon inmin gonghwaguk | ||||||||||||
| MR | Chosŏn inmin konghwaguk | ||||||||||||
The People's Republic of Korea (Korean: 조선인민공화국) was a short-lived provisional government that was organized at the time of the surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of World War II. It was proclaimed on 6 September 1945, as Korea was being divided into two occupation zones, with the Soviet Union occupying the north and the United States occupying the south. Based on a network of people's committees, it presented a program of democratization of society and the economy.
In the south, the US military government declared the PRK to be illegitimate on 12 December 1945. In the north, under the auspice of the Soviet military government, the Korean Worker's Party led by Kim il-sung took over the People's Committee by incorporating them into the political structure of the emerging Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), and by exerting an ever-increasing direct influence on the agenda and structure of other smaller political parties (such as the KDP and the DIP).