United States Army Military Government in Korea The United States Army Military Government in Korea ( USAMGIK ; Korean : 재조선미육군사령부군정청 ; Hanja : 在朝鮮美陸軍司令部軍政廳 ) , was the official ruling body of the southern half of the Korean Peninsula from September 8 , 1945 to August 15 , 1948 . Many of the foundations for the modern South Korean system were laid during this period . The country in this period was plagued by political and economic chaos , which arose from a variety of causes . The aftereffects of the Japanese occupation were still felt in the occupation zone , as well as in the Soviet zone in the North . Popular discontent stemmed from the U . S . Military Government ' s support of the Japanese colonial government ; then once removed , keeping the former Japanese governors on as advisors ; by ignoring , censoring and forcibly disbanding the functional and popular People ' s Republic of Korea ( PRK ) ; and finally by supporting United Nations elections that divided the country . In addition , the U . S . military was largely unprepared for the challenge of administering the country , arriving with no knowledge of the language or political situation . Thus , many of their policies had unintended destabilizing effects . Waves of refugees from North Korea ( estimated at 400 , 000 ) and returnees from abroad also helped to keep the country in turmoil . Background . The short - lived People ' s Republic of Korea had been established in August , in consultation with Japanese authorities , and quickly spread throughout the country . The U . S . Military Government outlawed it in the South shortly after their arrival . The leader of the People ' s Republic , Yeo Un - hyeong , stepped down and formed the Working People ' s Party . The U . S . administration also refused to recognize the members of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea , led by Kim Ku , who were obliged to enter the country as private citizens . Key events . After Japan ' s surrender to the Allies , division at the 38th parallel marked the beginning of Soviet and U . S . command over the North and South , respectively . U . S . forces landed at Incheon on September 8 , 1945 , and established a military government shortly thereafter . The forces landing at Incheon were of the 24th Corps of the US Tenth Army . They were commanded by Lt . General John R . Hodge , who then took charge of the government . Four days before he arrived in Korea , Hodge told his officers that Korea " was an enemy of the United States " . On September 9 , at a surrender ceremony , Hodge announced that the Japanese colonial government would remain intact , including its personnel and its governor - general . After a major outcry , Hodge replaced the governor - general with an American and removed all the Japanese bureau chiefs , though he , in turn , enlisted the former Japanese bureaucrats as advisors . Faced with mounting popular discontent , in October 1945 Hodge established the Korean Advisory Council . The majority of the Council seats were given to members of the Korean Democratic Party which had been formed at the encouragement of the U . S . and was primarily made up of large landowners , wealthy businesspeople , and former officials in the colonial government . A few members of the PRK were offered to join , but they refused and instead criticized the Council appointees for their collaboration with the Japanese . A proposal was made in 1945 for a long - term trusteeship arrangement . In December 1945 , the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to administer the country under the U . S . - Soviet Joint Commission , as termed by the Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers . It was agreed that Korea would govern independently after four years of international oversight . However , both the U . S . and the USSR approved Korean - led governments in their respective halves , each of which was favorable to the occupying power ' s political ideology . From a number of perspectives , it may be argued that not all Koreans necessarilly favoured these arrangements . In the north , Koreans responded with violent insurrections . In the south the interim legislature and the interim government were headed by Kim Kyu - shik and Syngman Rhee , respectively , and the elections for which were met with a large uprising . The USMGIK tried to contain civil violence in the south by banning strikes on December 8 and outlawing the revolutionary government and the people ' s committees on December 12 . Things spiraled quickly out of control however , with a massive strike on September 23 , 1946 by 8 , 000 railway workers in Busan which quickly spread to other cities in the South . On October 1 , police attempts to control rioters in Daegu caused the death of three student demonstrators and injuries to many others , sparking a mass counter - attack killing 38 policemen . In Yeongcheon , a police station came under attack by a 10 , 000 - strong crowd on October 3 , killing over 40 policemen and the county chief . Other attacks killed about 20 landlords and pro - Japanese officials . The US administration responded by declaring martial law , firing into crowds of demonstrators and killing a publically unknown number of people . Education . Among the earliest edicts promulgated by USAMGIK was one reopening all schools , issued in November 1945 . No immediate changes were made in the educational system , which was simply carried over from the Japanese colonial period . In this area , as in others , the military government sought to maintain the forms of the Japanese occupation system . Although it did not implement sweeping educational reforms , the military government did lay the foundations for reforms which were implemented early in the First Republic . In 1946 , a council of about 100 Korean educators was convened to map out the future path of Korean education . Politics . Although the military government was hostile to leftism from the beginning , it did initially tolerate the activities of groups including the Korean Communist Party . The government sought to strike a balance between hard - left and hard - right groups and encourage moderation . However , this frequently simply had the effect of angering powerful leaders such as Syngman Rhee ( on the right ) . At the same time the military government actively disempowered , and eventually banned , popular organizations that the Koreans preferred to the military government such as the People ' s Republic of Korea . Inter - Korean relations . At the time of division , the overwhelming majority of Korean industry was concentrated in the North , while most of the agricultural land was in the South . Power lines and shipping connections were maintained during this period , but were frequently and unpredictably cut off . The North , controlled during this period by the Soviet Union , had the ability to wreak havoc in the South by cutting off the supply of electricity or fertilizer , and frequently did so . Economy . The economy of South Korea did not fare well during this period , although the first foundation - stones of recovery were successfully laid . Serious problems were faced with counterfeit ing during this period .