• Journal of National Security and Military Science
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• s.1
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• pp.35-70
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• 2003

President Lee, Syngman was ROK supreme commander at the Korean war. But, it is doubt that he executed his authority and responsibility by the ROK constitution and law. At the phase of the Korean War conduct, his role may be divided into 'military operation execution one' and 'political-diplomacy one'. He appointed unqualified person to the important position of the national defence, didn't make war execution system, and was not make to meet the war. And, after transferring the ROK force operation commanding authority to the Commander in Chief, UN Command, his role was extremely trivial at the military operation execution phase. Any way, he intended to recover the inferior national strength and military capacity with USA aid, and concentrated his effort toward diplomacy with USA. At last, he succeeded in making a mutual defence treaty and gained a big result to harden Korea national security after war. In sum, president Lee was shrewd politician and diplomat than military leader. And, it can be evaluated that he supplemented the lost part of military affairs side with diplomat one.

• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.56
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• pp.219-236
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• 2011

Since the end of the $19^{th}$ century, Korean English-language newspapers have been published in Korea to inform readers about Korea and Korean people's point of view concerning world problems. Among them was the Korean Republic (KR), the former name of the Korea Herald, founded on August $15^{th}$, 1953 (Korean Liberation Day from Japanese colonial rule). This newspaper was started especially to report on international affairs, just after the Armistice agreement was signed on July $27^{th}$, 1953, at the initiative of the first president of the Republic of Korea, Syngman Rhee. He vehemently expressed his and the Korean people's opinion about Korean problems in world politics where big powers were dominating and deciding small countries' destinies. This paper is written to show that Korean English-language newspapers were used as tool of public diplomacy not only for the readers of target countries but also for Korean readers, well before the media diplomacy theory became popular several decades later. In the deplorable world situation where Korea was colonized and divided into halves by the wills of the super powers, the Korean media participated actively via dialogue in English to solve the Korean problem. This paper studies the editorials of the KR for one year, the year just after its foundation. Vis-a-vis the United States, the KR defended its political system of free democracy by insisting on the Korean people's hopes, the reunification of the peninsula and acquiring American assistance in economic and military areas. Regarding Japan, Korea had doubt about its expansionist policy by way of rearmament. First, the Korean government tried to defend its territorial waters, including Dokdo Island. As for multi-lateral relationships, Korea was concerned about the spread of communism to its territory in the world where socialism was dominating.