Kim Chwa-chin (An Alternate East Asia)

Kim Chwa-chin or Kim Chwa-jin (December 16, 1889 – June 24, 1980), sometimes called the "Asian Charles DeGualle" or the "Asian Eisenhower), played an important role in the defense and military strategy of Korea in World War II. Kim Chwa-chin was a Marshall or Five Star General (Wonsu) in the Korean Army where he was the Supreme Commander of the Southern Front, Commander of the First Korean Army (FKA).  He was responsible for the planning of the morale-boosting Second Battle of Salsu, the strategic bombing of Japanese industrial centers and naval shipyards in 1942, the Battle of Seoul, the Battle of Tsuhima and Iki Island.  He collaborated with American General Douglas MacArthur proposing his plans for the Kyushu Campaign with and the Shikoku campaign.

After his Presidency before the war he served as the Chief of Staff of the Kroean Military before leaving to create the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction and successfully running for President in 1952.

Kim has been ranked by the public as the second greatest Korean president (behind Kim Gu) but he still remains a controversial figure in modern Korean political discourse and among the Korean populace in general for his undemocratic ways. While some credit him for sustaining the Miracle on the Han River, which reshaped and modernized Korea, others criticize his authoritarian way of ruling the country and for prioritizing economic growth and contrived social order at the expense of civil liberties.

Early Life and Education
Kim was born to a wealthy family of the Andong Kim lineage in Hongseong County, Chungcheong province. His father was Kim Hyeong-gyu. When Kim was 18, he released 50 families of slaves when he publicly burned the slave registry and provided each family with enough land to live on. This was the first emancipation of slaves in modern Korea.