The day of August 15 has severalmeanings for Koreans.First,it is the
liberation day from Japanese Imperialism(1945), second, the day of the
establishmentofROK government(1948),and lastly thefoundation day ofKorean
state(1948).Everybody knows the firstmeaning and the second onebutdoesn't
know itis also the foundation day ofKorean state when Koreans builta truly
sovereignstatebyademocraticelection.Ofcourse,therehadbeentheProvisional
Government of Korea established in Shanghai, China, in 1919, to wage an
independence movement from Japan,which couldn't represent all the Korean
people.Independencemovementfightersduring Japaneseimperialism(1910to1945)
are officially recognized as patriots by Korean government because of their
contribution to and sacrifice for Korean independence,but contributors to the
foundationofKoreanStatearestillnotrecognizedaspatriots,althoughthelatters
insistthattheircontributionsweregreaterthanthoseoftheformersinleading to
thefoundation ofKorean state.Twoissuesareraisedovertherecognition ofthe
latters as patriots.The firstone is thatsome people ofthem were involved in
pro-Japanese activities,and the second is thatthe formers think the latters'
activitiesfor3yearsoftransitional period ofAmerican military ruleoverKorea
can not be considered as patriotic.To resolve these two issues and achieve
nationalintegration,we should notdowngrade independence movementfighters'
contribution to the foundation ofKorean state,and should exclude pro-Japanese
betrayerswhocontributedtostate-building butserved theinvasion ofJapanof
neighboringcountrie.