On this day in military history…

In August 1945, the final days of World War II brought profound change to the Korean Peninsula, particularly in its capital, Seoul. The Japanese Empire, which had occupied Korea since 1910, faced imminent defeat as Allied forces closed in from multiple fronts. Following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet Union’s entry into the war against Japan, the Empire announced its surrender on August 15, 1945. This marked the end of over three decades of Japanese colonial rule in Korea and set the stage for a complex and often contested transfer of authority.

While the surrender was announced in mid-August, the actual handover of power in Seoul occurred in a carefully orchestrated process that spanned several weeks. Japan’s surrender terms, outlined in the Potsdam Declaration, required the disarmament of Japanese forces and the assumption of control by Allied powers. In Korea, this meant a division of the peninsula at the 38th parallel, with Soviet forces occupying the north and American forces the south.

In Seoul, the Japanese governor-general at the time, General Abe Nobuyuki, remained in charge of the administration temporarily to maintain order until Allied forces could take over. This arrangement was consistent with the broader Allied strategy of utilizing existing Japanese structures to prevent chaos in the immediate aftermath of surrender. Abe, aware of the growing unrest and nationalist fervor among Koreans, sought to facilitate a peaceful transition while avoiding violence or political upheaval.

On September 8, 1945, U.S. forces under the command of Lieutenant General John R. Hodge arrived in Incheon and moved into Seoul shortly after. Hodge was the commander of the XXIV Corps and had been designated to accept the surrender of Japanese forces south of the 38th parallel. His arrival marked the formal beginning of American military governance in southern Korea.

The official surrender ceremony took place in Seoul on September 9, 1945. At this event, General Hodge accepted the surrender of General Yoshio Kozuki, commander of the Japanese 17th Area Army in Korea. The ceremony was held at the Japanese General Government Building, a symbol of colonial authority in the heart of Seoul. With this act, Japanese military and administrative control in southern Korea was effectively terminated and transferred to the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK).

Although the Japanese had surrendered to Allied forces, they were instructed to continue certain administrative functions temporarily under Allied supervision to ensure continuity of services. However, this decision was deeply unpopular among Koreans, who had anticipated immediate independence after decades of colonization. The presence of Japanese officials in any capacity after surrender sparked protests and resentment among the Korean populace.

Lieutenant General Hodge and his administration faced significant challenges in managing the transition. He lacked both experience in Korean affairs and access to reliable local allies, as many Korean nationalists and independence activists were viewed with suspicion due to their affiliations with communist or left-leaning groups, particularly in the power vacuum following Japan’s exit. Hodge made the controversial decision to rely on existing Japanese bureaucratic structures and personnel during the early weeks of occupation, which further alienated many Koreans.

Meanwhile, Korean leaders and activists sought to fill the political void. On August 15, 1945, even before Allied forces had arrived, Korean nationalists declared the establishment of the Korean People's Republic (KPR), attempting to create a provisional government to assume control from the Japanese. However, the US military government refused to recognize the KPR, seeing it as an unrepresentative and potentially communist-leaning body. This refusal would later contribute to the growing political polarization on the peninsula.

The Japanese surrender in Seoul in 1945 was thus not a simple handover of power from one occupying force to another. It was a turning point that brought an end to Japanese colonial rule but also marked the beginning of a new era of foreign occupation and division. The arrival of American forces and the assumption of control by General Hodge represented the geopolitical realities of postwar Asia, in which Korea’s fate would be decided more by the strategic interests of global powers than by the will of its own people. This moment laid the groundwork for the subsequent division of Korea and the tumultuous path toward the Korean War and beyond.