Today (March 26) marks the 146th anniversary of the birth of Syngman Rhee. His misfortune was that his character was too great for society at that time. During his life, he dealt with five U.S. Presidents – Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, and Richard Nixon. Four of them rank in the top 10 of greatest U.S. presidents. Such prominent figures in the United States all thought highly of Syngman Rhee, a giant from a small country. In particular, the great strategist Nixon’s compliment of Rhee was high praise indeed.
General Mark Wayne Clark, who served as commander of United Nations Forces in Korea, signed the Military Armistice Agreement on behalf of the U.N. Command on July 27, 1953. He published a book titled “From the Danube to the Yalu” after he left the military. General Clark left a vivid personal portrayal of his experience with Syngman Rhee, who he dealt with for a long period of time. He respectfully portrayed an old fighter who stubbornly pursued his national interests with pride even though the country was fighting a war with the help of the United States. Clark faced various difficulties due to President Rhee, who was opposed to signing the armistice, but the general did not write about Rhee in a hostile way. Clark wrote as if his heart was moved by President Rhee’s patriotism, sophistication, and courage.
Clark said in his book that Syngman Rhee secured a status in Asia comparable to Chiang Kai-shek and Jawaharlal Nehru. Clark explained that Rhee has become a leader in Asia’s anti-communist line-up, and that Rhee became that kind of leader by going through a struggle with communists and even opposing the United States when he felt it was necessary.
Clark described Rhee as an Asian and a strong leader. He added that Rhee had a strong army that was growing, and that Rhee was not only an anti-communist leader but also an anti-colonialist leader. Clark said Rhee was a person who brought dignity and pride to many people living in East Asia. According to Clark, Rhee’s image was created by the fact that he led the war based on his own will instead of being dragged in by strong countries, including South Korea’s allies. Clark added that due to this image and his pride, Rhee did not want to meet with representatives from other Asian countries if they were not the actual leaders of their countries.
During World War II, Clark commanded the Fifth Army in the Italian Campaign. He described Rhee as a masterful leader who was respectful and patriotic. President Richard Nixon was known for fighting against communism while he was a congressman, and he was vice president under President Eisenhower starting in 1953. Nixon visited China in 1972 and promoted reconciliation with Mao Zedong. He constructed a grand strategy of isolating the Soviet Union that contributed to winning the Cold War. This great American strategist also showed his respect to President Syngman Rhee.
Vice President Nixon visited Seoul in the fall of 1953 and carried a personal letter from President Eisenhower. Ellis Briggs, then U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, who met with Nixon, had similar fears as Eisenhower. He was worried that President Rhee, who was against the armistice agreement, would unilaterally attack the North Korean army and bring the United States into the war again.
Briggs believed that Rhee might be misjudging the situation, thinking that United States will have no other option but to help South Korea once he pushes ahead with a unilateral attack on the North. Nixon met with Briggs and other officials at the embassy who had different beliefs.
Arthur Dean, U.S. special ambassador to South Korea, was leading a special negotiating team and told Nixon of his opinion after learning that he was carrying the president’s personal letter. Dean showed his great respect for Rhee.
Dean told Nixon that the United States should not get tough with President Rhee and take weapons away from him. Dean said Rhee is a great leader and that Rhee is a friend who they could trust anytime, while there are many friends of America who act like they are friends only when everything is working fine.
Nixon visited Rhee at his presidential office called Kyung Mu Dai. According to Nixon’s observation, Rhee was lean and had a strong grip as he shook hands. Nixon did not believe Rhee was 78 years old at the time. Rhee was wearing a navy suit with a navy tie. Nixon told Rhee that he wanted to discuss something personally. Rhee ordered the other participants at the meeting to leave the room.
Nixon said that he was representing President Eisenhower and that he had a long record of working as a friend of South Korea. Rhee was staring at Nixon while he was talking. Nixon took President Eisenhower’s personal letter from his pocket and gave it to Rhee. Rhee gently handled the envelope. He then opened the envelope to take out the letter slowly, which looked as if it was a calculated move. Rhee then read the letter out loud. Rhee was charismatic and his pronunciation was perfect. In this letter, President Eisenhower said that he will not allow South Korea to start another war and requested President Rhee promise that he will not do that.
President Rhee put the letter on his lap and stared at it for a long time. When he lifted up his face, there were tears in his eyes. Rhee then said, “It is a very nice letter.”
Rhee started talking. He changed the topic from what was written in the letter. He talked about Japan-related issues and the future of the Asia-Pacific region, and started criticizing the United States for its way of providing grants to South Korea. Nixon brought the topic back to what was in the letter. Nixon said that he honestly believed that the most urgent issue was Rhee accepting President Eisenhower’s request.
“I would like to talk to you honestly as well,” said Rhee. “I express my deepest gratitude for all the help we received from the United States and my personal relationship with President Eisenhower. I would not do something that goes against U.S. policies because of such a relationship.
However, I think it is my duty as a leader of the South Korean people to accomplish unification to liberate our fellow North Korean people, who are living as slaves, through peaceful measures, or through methods of force if necessary.”
Rhee paused for a little bit and then continued.
“I deeply understand how concerned the United States is to keep the peace,” he said. “However, the peace that leaves the Korean Peninsula divided would inevitably lead to war. This war will destroy both South Korea and the United States at the same time, and this is why I cannot agree with such peace.”
At this point, Rhee leaned toward Nixon and told him that “I promise that I will let President Eisenhower know ahead of time before I take any unilateral action.”
Vice President Nixon did not think that this kind of a promise was enough. Nixon asked again that Rhee would promise that South Korea would not make any unilateral (provocative) action without making an agreement with President Eisenhower in advance. The two leaders could not come to an agreement and the meeting ended.
Nixon recorded his talks with Rhee in detail after he returned to the U.S. embassy. He thought things were not working out well. Nixon believed that he should not have Rhee make a misjudgment because of his silence and incompetence. He believed that he had to make Rhee understand that the United States is not going to support South Korea unilaterally taking military measures to unify the Korean Peninsula.
After his meeting with Nixon, President Rhee told reporters, “I will be able to end this problem on the Korean Peninsula by persuading President Eisenhower through Vice President Nixon.” This remark also made Nixon uncomfortable.
Second lady Pat Nixon and Vice President Nixon were invited to a musical performance on their last night in Seoul. During the performance, there was an accident where the stage collapsed. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but children were screaming. The conductor was ashamed of causing such a problem in front of distinguished guests and left the stage. Nixon felt sorry about this incident. He knew how humiliated people in Asia feel when they fail to treat guests properly, and wanted to help.
The vice president and second lady stood up and started clapping. People in the audience started to follow Nixon and began clapping all together. The children’s choir started to laugh again. The conductor returned to the stage and continued his program.
Nixon met with Rhee again the next. Rhee received reports on what happened the previous night and started to treat Nixon very kindly. President Rhee took out a two-page long document when he and Nixon were by themselves. “I typed it personally for security,” Rhee said.
“Once communists start to believe that the United States can control Syngman Rhee, your country is going to lose the most important bargaining power, and it will be when all our hopes will be collapsed. The fear that I will take some kind of action is holding communists in check. Let’s be honest. Communists believe that the United States has been anxious about peace and that it will make a concession to anything to achieve peace. My concern is that they might be right in this regard. However, those communists know that I am different from the United States. I do not think there is a need to remove this fear from them. I will send my response to President Eisenhower tomorrow when you arrive in Tokyo. I would like President Eisenhower to discard the letter after reading it.”
President Rhee handed the two-page long document to Nixon and said he can use it for reporting purposes. It was reported that there was a part that was hand-written by President Rhee.
“Just too many newspapers are reporting that Syngman Rhee is not going to make any unilateral moves. Giving such an impression goes against our policy.”
Rhee and Nixon said farewell at the presidential residence Kyung Mui Dai. According to Nixon’s autoboraphy, Rhee said that whenever he says that South Korea will make unilateral moves, it helps the United States. Rhee also added that he knows well that South Korea cannot unilaterally act and that Seoul has to move in line with the United States. Rhee said that the two countries will win everything if they go together, but lose everything if they do not go along with each other.
Nixon said he left South Korea with his heart moved by the people’s courage and patience and Syngman Rhee’s strength and wisdom. Nixon also added that he thought a lot about President Rhee who emphasized “unpredictability” when dealing with communists. Nixon said that as he traveled and learned more after that, he began to understand the old man’s wisdom more deeply.
Nixon is one of the top three strategists who led the West to win in the Cold War. Truman established the foundation for the victory, Reagan had the Soviets collapse from inside without firing a single shot by putting pressure on them, and Nixon reconciled with China and weakened the influence of the Soviets. Nixon wrote a number of books after he left office due to the Watergate Scandal. He has emphasized that it is a stupid thing to let communists know “what we are not going to do” when dealing with them. Is there a chance that Nixon learned this wisdom from Rhee’s unpredictability theory? Nixon speaking highly of President Rhee is an important fact for understanding this great pioneer who has become a forgotten figure in our country.
Rhee understood world affairs at the highest level, identified the nature of communism the most accurately, and spent his whole life on enlightenment and independence movements. We had the blessing to have someone with the highest education level and intelligence and who was a courageous activist as leader behind the foundation and protection of the country. South Koreans enjoy that blessing free of charge while forgetting about Syngman Rhee.
When are we going to have a leader like Syngman Rhee again – someone who was not perfect but whom we nonetheless must respect?
Cho Gab-je is president of the internet media and publishing company Chogabje.com, was CEO, editor-in-chief, and managing editor of the magazine Monthly Chosun, and was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University
