Korean Civil War (Napoleon's World)

The Korean Civil War was a conflict on the Korean Peninsula in the 1940s, generally accepted as beginning in June of 1942 with the assassination of King Chunsaek and concluding in the execution of Rhee Syng-man in March of 1945 and Kim il-Sung in February of 1947. Contested between three factions - the Monarchists who supported the claim of Chunsaek's 13-year old son and pretender Yi Gu, led by Rhee; the Communists, led by Kim; and the Republicans, led first by Kim Koo and later Pak Mae-Hyeong, the so-called "Hero of Hanseong." International estimates of total dead in the conflict are between 2.5 to 3 million, although the official Korean statistic (possibly inflated) is over 4 million. Much of the country was in anarchy during the conflict. Pak's Republican faction was victorious and on April 1, 1947 declared the Republic of Korea after successfully obtaining the official abdication and exile of Yi Gu. Pak would be inaugurated as the first President of Korea in September, and he would rule the country until his death in 1973 along with his Korean National Party, modelled on (and supported by) the Kuomintang of neighboring China.