KOREAN RURAL REACTION TO 4.19 MOVEMENT
An Attitude Study
by
USIS, Seoul
Aug. 15, 1960
INTRODUCTION
The main purpose of this study was to learn the attitude of the rural population of Korea to the popular uprising that took place in the capital city of Seoul during the last ten days in April and resulted in the overthrow of the Rhee Regime. General questions which the study was expected to answer included: (a) How much did the rural people of Korea know about the 4.19 Movement, (b) to what degree did they support it, (c) to what extent were they aware of and to what degree they supported American participation in the 4.19 Movement, and (d) what, in the estimation of the rural people are some of the chief problems currently facing the nation.
Interviews were based on 20 sampling points (Each a small town of about 15,000 population) selected to represent all geographical areas of Korea. Each of the twenty sampling points yielded thirteen cases for a total of 260. In the sampling point itself the field worker interviewed one teacher, one student, and one merchant, each of them "N" selected from town lists. In a village approximately two miles north of each sampling point, and in a second village, approximately two miles south, the field worker interviewed a total of two farmers who were also the village or Ri chiefs, three farmers who were also Pang chiefs, (Ri chief assistants) and five ordinary farmers. As in case of the townspeople, the farmer respondents were also "N" selected.
The field work, which was done by specially trained university students, took place between the third and fourth week of May and about three weeks after the downfall of the Rhee regime.
Three possible biases are recognized in this study and should be mentioned. A bias in the direction of town oriented people may have resulted from the fact that all respondents were either townspeople or villagers located near towns. A bias in favor of student groups may have also been producted by the fact that the interviewers were all university students asking questions about an event in which students played a major role. A final bias in the direction of favorable reaction to the 4.19 Movement might have resulted from the fact that the study was done relatively soon after the downfall of the Rhee Regime. The possibility of this bias is mentioned because of the exisence, at the time of the study, of a general atmosphere of elation over the success of the movement, even among those people who had the reputation of being long standing conservatives.
These biases - if they are present - are not due to an oversight of those who planned the study. Isolated mountain villages were not sampled because it was necessary to stay within the limits of the money available for the study. Students were used because in Korea there are no better, as a matter of fact, no other interviewers. Concerning the general "lets get on bandwagon" atmosphere, which prevailed in Korea at the time of the study, the choice was between doing the study at that time or waiting until the general excitement had died down. The former alternative was selected because it had obvious advantages over the latter.
The entire study, with the exception of this report, was done on contract by Prof. Lee Man Gap of Seoul National University. Prof. Lee was chosen because of his general competence and relatively wide experience as an opinion researcher in Korea.
Excluding the Summary Findings and the Appendix the report consists of five parts: (a) Rural Awareness and Knowledge of the 4.19 Movement, (b) Rural Support of the 4.19 Movement, (c) American Participation in the 4.19 Movement, (d) Rural Expectations for the Future, and (e) Conclusion.
SUMMARY FINDINGS
THE CHIEF FINDING OF THIS STUDY WAS THAT THE RURAL MALE POPULATION OF KOREA (AS REPRESENTED BY THE SAMPLE) WAS FULLY AWARE OF THE STUDENT DEMONSTRATIONS THAT TOOK PLACE IN SEOUL DURING THE THIRD WEEK OF APRIL AND GAVE IT THEIR FULL SUPPORT. A SIGNIFICANT PROPORTION OF THE KOREAN PEOPLE WAS ALSO AWARE OF AND GAVE SUPPORT TO THE PART IN THE MOVEMENT PLAYED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OR ITS REPRESENTATIVE, THE AMBASSADOR. THE RURAL PEOPLE OF KOREA FEEL THAT ONE OF THE IMPORTANT PROBLEMS CURRENTLY FACING THEIR NATION IS TO GET THE NEW GOVERNMENT STARTED. MOST KOREANS ARE CONFIDENT THAT THIS MAJOR PROBLEM WILL BE SOLVED RELATIVELY SOON.
Highlights of Findings
1. About seven out of ten male adults in the rural population learned about the 4.19 Movement on the same day it happened or by the end of the next day. Almost all the rest learned about it before the end of the next seven days.
2. Although news of the demonstrations in Seoul came initially to the rural areas via radio, it was widely disseminated by word of mouth.
3. Rural male population agreed overwhelmingly that student grievances were justified with slightly more unanimity of approval for the charge of "rigged" elections and slightly less for the charge that the local autonomy law had violated the rights of the people.
4. Almost seven out of ten knew of the student action which followed the resignation of President Rhee and described this action approvingly as maintaining the public order and cleaning up the street.
5. Slightly less than four out of ten had heard of some foreign action in connection with the 4.19 movement.
6. Almost everybody who had heard of this foreign action identified the country as the United States.
7. Most of those who knew about the U.S. action described it as the sending of an official memorandum to the Korean government expressing concern over political corruption in Korea.
8. About nine out of ten who knew of the U.S. action approved it as action consistent with the best interests of Korea.
9. In the opinion of a majority the biggest problem facing Korea today, now that the Rhee government has been deposed, it to get the new government started as soon as possible.
10. Slightly more than seven out of ten think that Korea's main problem will be solved relatively soon, while slightly less than two out of ten think it will take a long time.
1. RURAL AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE OF 4.19 MOVEMENT
One of the first interests of the survey was to ascertain the degree to which information about the demonstration in Seoul had reached the rural areas, commonly considered to be removed from the capital city by poorly developed communication and transportation. Accordingly respondents were asked to indicate whether or not they were aware of what had happened in Seoul, and if they were, how soon after the event they had learned about it, and by what means the information had come to them.
Regarding the first question, the data showed that by the time of the interviews information about the Seoul uprising had become common knowledge to the entire sample. Thus, when respondents were asked: "Have you heard or read about the 4.19 Movement which happened in Seoul recently?" every person interviewed answered that he had.
Furthermore, the rural people of Korea were not only generally aware of what had happened in Seoul, they were surprisingly well informed on specific aspects of the demonstration. For instance, almost all or 91.6% knew that the demonstration in Seoul, had been led by student groups; a significant proportion, that is, 35.3% were acquainted with the fact that there had been some foreign action in Seoul in connection with the 4.19 Movement (this fact will be treated in detail later in the study); and 168 of the respondents, or 64.6% of the total were informed on the special role taken by the students after the Rhee government had agreed to step down. The table below is presented as an illustration of the general knowledge-ability of the respondents on the 4.19 Movement.
What Students Did after President Rhee Had Resigned
| Cases | % | |
| Took over police task of maintaining order | - | 76 |
| Took various measures to calm public excitement | - | 35 |
| Took over control of traffic | - | 23 |
| Cleaned debris off streets | - | 10 |
| Miscellaneous | - | 10 |
| 168 | 141* | |
| Not asked | 92 | |
| 260 | 141 |
* Some respondents gave more than one answer
Knowledge of the 4.19 Movement, however, did not come all at once. As might easily be expected in an underdeveloped country like Korea, information travels slowly. Thus, as indicated in the table below, the event became known on the day it happened by slightly more than one third of the respondents, on the day following by slightly less than one third, and up to a week later by almost all of the remainder. As shown in the cross tabulation charts in the Appendix, those who learned about the event soonest were the young people, the better educated, those who lived in towns rather than in villages, and in terms of occupation, the teachers, the merchants, and the students.
When Rural People Learned about 4.19 Movement
| Num | % | |
| On the day it happened | 94 | 36.0 |
| Next day | 82 | 31.5 |
| 2-3 days later | 62 | 23.8 |
| One week later | 21 | 8.1 |
| 20 days later | 1 | 4 |
| 260 | 100.0% |
The fact that awareness and knowledge of the 4.19 Movement did not come all at once to the rural population where only one out of eight families own radios (Radio Audience Survey, May 1960 USOM) suggests an important pattern of communication for rural Korea, namely, that word of mouth is still the most frequently used means of transmitting information. This fact was documented in a village study by Prof, Lee Man Gap of Seoul National University who showed in an unpublished report dated March, 1960, that the most important source of news and information is the "able man" (wisest man) of the village with radio and newspapers a relatively poor second and third. It was verified by the present study, as shown in the table below, where word of mouth was the single most frequently stated means by which the greatest number of respondents learned about the 4.19 Movement.
Means by Which the 4.19 Movement Was First Learned
| Cases | % | |
| Word of Mouth | 109 | 41.9 |
| Radio | 104 | 40.0 |
| Newspaper | 45 | 17.3 |
| Other ways | 2 | .8 |
| 260 | 100.0% |
2. SUPPORT OF TEE 4.19 MOVEMENT
Perhaps the central finding of this study is that the rural people of Korea, at the time the study was made, were clearly and strongly critical of the manner in which the Rhee regime had governed the country and overwhelmingly approved the demonstrations of the Seoul students which led finally to the downfall of the Rhee government.
One of the evidences which leads to this conclusion was the large percentage of positive responses to the question: "To what extent, in your opinion, did the student demonstrators have the support of the people of Korea as a whole?" Thus, of the 260 respondents to whom this question was directed, 247 or 95% of the total said that the students had either complete support," "Quite a bit of support," or "Medium support," while the rest said either that the students had little or no support of the general public, or that they didn't know.
Respondent Opinion Regarding 4.19 Movement Support by Korean People as a Whole
| Num | % | |
| Complete support | 159 | 61.2% |
| Quite a bit | 78 | 30.0 |
| Medium support | 10 | 3.8 |
| Very little support | 4 | 1.5 |
| None at all | 3 | 1.2 |
| Don't know | 6 | 2.3 |
| 260. | 100.0% |
The critical sentiments of the rural population regarding the operations of the political party in power was further demonstrated in the responses to a second question in which the respondents were given an opportunity to indicate the degree to which each of eight major student grievances were or were not justified. The answers to these question, listed in the table below, show overwhelming support for all the student grievances with slightly more unanimity of approval for the grievances concerned with liberal party tyranny and corruption, and slightly less for the grievances which dealt with restrictions of personal liberty, such as restricted freedom of speech and press, and the appointment instead of election of local officials.
Respondent Support of Student Grievances
| Justified | Neith/Nor | Unjustified | D.K. | |
| Fraudulent elections | 98.8% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.2 |
| Public Graft and Corruption | 97.7 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 1.1 |
| Liberal Party Use of Hoodlums | 97.3 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 1.9 |
| Police Interfer. in Pol. Life | 96.9 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 1.6 |
| General Police Brutality | 94.3 | 3.8 | 0.0 | 1.9 |
| Restricted Freedom of Speech | 93.9 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 4.2 |
| Restricted Freedom of Press | 92.7 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 4.6 |
| Appoint instead of Election of local Officials | 91.9 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 4.2 |
Still another indication that the rural population was sympathetic to the student demonstration is revealed by the answers to the question: "Do you approve or disapprove of what the students did after President Rhee had resigned?" Thus, of the 170 respondents who knew about the student action which followed President Rhee’s resignation, none disapproved, only seven said they didn’t know, and the rest gave full approval. Although this wide support is not surprising - it is hard to imagine anybody who would disapprove an action so commendable - it nevertheless is important in indicating the general sympathy which the public was showing with the entire student action.
Attitude toward Student Action Following Resignation of Pres. Rhee
| Num | % | |
| Approval | 163 | 62.7 |
| Disapproval | - | 0.0 |
| Don't know | 7 | 1.9 |
| 170 | 64.6 | |
| Not asked | 90 | 35.4 |
| 260 | 100.0 |
3. AMERICAN PARTICIPATION IN 4.19 MOVEMENT
It is of particular interest to this report that the part played in the 4.19 Movement by the United States did not go unnoticed by the rural population of Korea. Thus, as indicated in the two tables below, more than a third of the respondents, had heard or read of some foreign action in connection with the 4.19 Movement, and that of this number all but five had identified the foreign country as the United States.
Have You Heard or Read Anything about Some Foreign Action in Connection with the 4.19 Movement?
| Cases | % | |
| Yes | 97 | 27.3 |
| No | 158 | 60.8 |
| D.K. | 5 | 1.9 |
| 260 | 100.0 |
What Country Was It That Did Something in Connection with the 4.19 Movement?
| Cases | % | |
| USA | 92 | 35.2 |
| Other countries | 5 | 2.0 |
| D.K. | 5 | 2.0 |
| Not Asked | 158 | 60.8 |
| 260 | 100.0 |
At this point in the survey respondents who mentioned either the U.S. or some other foreign country were asked: "What was it that this foreign country did in connection with the 4.19 Movement?" Answers - after screening out the comments of the five respondents who attributed the foreign action to some non-American country - showed a surprisingly good understanding of the actual facts. In the main the answers fell into three catagories: (a) comments indicating knowledge of the official memo which the U.S. government had sent to the Rhee government criticizing the fraudulent election, (b) comments revealing an appreciation of the general moral assistance which the U.S. had given to the student demonstrators, and (c) comments suggesting the belief that the U.S. Government or its representative the Ambassador had urged President Rhee to resign. Below is a table showing the distribution of answers to the question concerning the foreign country action followed by a summary of the comments.
Foreign Action in Connection with 4.19 Movement
| Cases | % | |
| Comments referring to U.S. | ||
| Made general criticism of Rhee Regime | 39 | 15.0 |
| Gave sympathetic support to demonstrators | 28 | 11.0 |
| Urged Pres. Rhee to resign | 12 | 4.2 |
| Miscellaneous | 13 | 5.0 |
| 92 | 35.2 | |
| Comments referring to non-American country | 5 | 2.0 |
| 97 | 37.2 | |
| D.K. | 5 | 2.0 |
| Not asked | 158 | 60.8 |
| 260 | 100.0 |
"What was it that this foreign country (US) did in connection with 4.19 Movement?"
| Cases | % | |
| U.S. Gov't Criticized Governemtn of Sygman Rhee | 39 | 15.0 |
| "U.S. sent memo to ROK criticizing elections" | ||
| "U.S. pointed out. scandalous National Elections" | ||
| "U.S. requested ROK to correct Fraudulent election" | ||
| "U.S. denounced Fraudulent elections" | ||
| "U.S. pointed out to ROK Government that it had done wrong" | ||
| "Ambassador McConaughy showed grave concern over political corruption in Korea" | ||
| "U.S. sent memo to ROK urging freedom of speech" | ||
| "U.S. urged Gov't of Pres. Rhee to show political tolerance" | ||
| "U.S. sent memo to ROK urging basic rights" | ||
| "U.S. showed lack of confidence in Rhee Regime" | ||
| "U.S. rejected dictatorial policies of Rhee Regime." | ||
| "U.S. requested Korean government to clean up corruption and tyranny." | ||
| "Herter showed grave concern over political corruption in Korea." | ||
| "U.S. blamed ROK government for wasteful use of aid." | ||
| "U.S. threatened to cancel American aid unless Ores. Rhee's government reformed." | ||
| "State Department of U.S. applied pressure on Rhee Government to reform." | ||
| "U.S. gave advice to Pres. Rhee through memo delivered by American ambassador." | ||
| "U.S. suggested that despotic and corrupated governmental system be changed." | ||
| U.S. Gave Sympathetic Support to Student Demonstrators | 28 | 11 |
| "U.S. press show sympathy to 4.19 Movement." | ||
| "American public opinion supported Korean students." | ||
| "U.S. government recognized justification of Korean student complaints." | ||
| "Gave great help in restoring people's rights." | ||
| "Sent memo justifying demonstration." | ||
| "Encouraged Korean people's democratic spirit." | ||
| "Advised Korean government to listen to people's Complaints." | ||
| "U.S. support of 4.19 Movement was a good thing." | ||
| "U.S. gave both material and spiritual help to Korean democracy." | ||
| "Supported the students." | ||
| "Helped the students secretly." | ||
| "Inspired students to clean up corruption in ROK Government." | ||
| "U.S. supported 4.19 Movement by rejecting Ambassador Yang's criticism of Demonstration." | ||
| "U.S. denied that "fifth column" had participated in demonstration as claimed by Rhee government." | ||
| U.S. Urged President Rhee to Resign | 12 | 4.2 |
| "U.S. urged President Rhee to resign because people disliked him." | ||
| "U.S. urged Pres. Rhee to resign" | ||
| "Ambassador McConaughy frankly asked President Rhee to resign." | ||
| "U.S. sent memo to Pres. Rhee urging him to resign because Korean did not like him" | ||
| "U.S. invited Pres. Rhee to quit his post and come to U.S. to live." | ||
| "Ambassador McConaughy visited President Rhee and asked him to resign." | ||
| Miscellaneous Comments | 13 | 5 |
| "U.S. temporarilly suspended economic aid to Korea" | ||
| "U.S. announced cessation of aid until false elections were corrected." | ||
| "Ike urged ROK to withdraw martial law." | ||
| "U.S. prevented Korean army from firing on demonstrators" | ||
| "U.S. sent relief medical goods." | ||
| "U.S. should avoid encouraging such a riot in the future." | ||
Totals | 92 | 35.2% |
"What was it that this foreign country (Non-American) did in connection with 4.19 Movement?"
| Miscellaneous Comments | 5 | 2% |
| "Neighboring countries asked ROK not to violate principales of democracy." | ||
| "Nationalist China's government criticized the 4.19 Movement." | ||
| "Foreign countries sent journalists" | ||
| "British showed sympathy to 4.19 Movement through the press" | ||
| "The British Press criticized the disgraceful national elections in ROK." | ||
Grand total | 97 | 37.2% |
In a final question on action by a foreign country, respondents were asked to indicate whether or not they approved of the foreign country action they had described. As indicated in the table below 86% of those who had an opinion of the action they had described said they approved the action and 14% said they did not approve it.
Approval or Disapproval of the Part Played by Foreign Countries in 4.19 Movement
| Cases | % | |
| Approve strongly | 42 | 16.2 |
| Approve somewhat | 34 | 13.1 |
| Neither/Nor | 8 | 3.0 |
| Disapprove somewhat | 9 | 3.5 |
| Disapprove strongly | 4 | 1.5 |
| 97 | 37.3 | |
| Not asked | 163 | 62.7 |
| 260 | 100.0 |
The above table would seem to indicate that approximately one seventh of the respondents disapproved of the United States in connection with the 4.19 Movement. This interpretation, however, is not quite correct. In the first place as seen in the chart below three of the 13 disapproving respondents were not referring to U.S. action but to action by some non-American country. In the second place, as can also be seen in the chart below, a number of the comments carry definite overtones of praise for the U.S. while hardly any are clearly critical of the U.S. The answer to this ambiguity would seem to be that some Koreans tend to disapprove of foreign action even when that action is clearly benefical to their own country. In this connection it is interesting to notice that the thirteen persons who disapproved of the foreign action came primarily from the student catagory and from the upper income bracket.
Comments of Respondents Who Disapproved of What Foreign Country Did
| Cases | % | |
| Comments referring to non-American countries | 3 | 1.5 |
| Foreign countries sent journalists | ||
| The British press criticized the national elections in Korea | ||
| Nationalists China's government criticized the 4.19 Movement | ||
| Comments possibly referring to U.S, interference | 10 | 3.5 |
| U.S. send memo justifying demonstration | ||
| U.S. applied pressure to Pres. Rhee | ||
| U.S. gave advice to Pres. Rhee through memo delivered by American Ambassador | ||
| U.S. press showed sympathy for 4.19 Movement | ||
| U.S. denounced fraudulent elections | ||
| U.S. criticized the disgraceful national elections. | ||
| Ike urged ROK to withdraw martial law | ||
| U.S. helped the demonstrators | ||
| U.S. should avoid encouraging such a riot in the future | ||
| U.S. announced cessation of aid until false elections were corrected. | ||
Total | 13 | 5.0% |
4. EXPECTATION FOR THE FUTURE
It appears to be a tribute to the native intelligence of the Korean rural population that they were not only well informed on what had happened in Seoul during the last weeks of April but even more importantly they had definite opinions concerning the future of Korea. Thus, when respondents, near the end of the interview were asked "What in your opinion, is the greatest problem facing Korea today, now that the government of Syngman Rhee has been deposed?" a surprisingly large percentage, that is, 237 or 91.2% of the total, responded with answers which reflected a positive attitude, while the rest said they didn't know.
Examination of the 330 comments made in response to this question -about one and half comments per respondent - showed that the greatest concern of the rural population, especially farmers and those in the upper income bracket, was with the problem of getting the new government started. Everything they said on this subject revealed their feeling that the fire had been put out, so to speak, and that all their energies were now being directed to putting their damaged house in order.
Getting the new government started, however, was by no means the only interest of the rural people. Many respondents feel that the most important task for Korea is to amend the constitution so that it is more directly in line with democratic principles. This emphasis was found especially among the better educated, the young people, and the teachers.
Other catagories of comments concerning the main problems confronting the nation include Reformation of the Economic and Farm policy, an attitude held most prominently by the older people and the farmers, and Reformation of Government Officials an attitude held most prominently by the college educated, the teachers, and interestingly enough by those in the lowest income bracket.
Lastly, it is significant that relatively few of the comments, all found under the catagory of Miscellaneous, indicated any great concern over such issues as Strengthening the National Defense, Unification of Korea, Development of a national consciousness, or Neutralizing the Police. The various catagories of comments are listed in the table following.
Respondent Opinion on Greatest Problems Facing Korea Today.
| Comments | % | |
| Getting the New Government started | 164 | 63.0 |
| Amending the Constitution | 60 | 23.1 |
| Reforming of Government officials | 39 | 13.7 |
| Improve Economic and Farm policy | 33 | 12.7 |
| Miscellaneous | 34 | 13.1 |
| 330 | 125.6* |
* Some respondents gave more than one comment.
What are the greatest problems facing Korea today, now that the government of Syngman Rhee has been deposed?
| Cases | % | |
| Getting the New Government Started | 164 | 63.0 |
| A new government must be established as soon as possible | ||
| First thing is to elect a new president | ||
| National assemblymen have to be elected | ||
| Election of government officials | ||
| The political situation has to be stabilized | ||
| The social order has to be made secure | ||
| Amendment of the Constitution | 60 | 23.1 |
| Democracy has to be realized through the constitution | ||
| The local law has to be amended so that communities can elect their own officials | ||
| Realization of Democracy | ||
| The law has to be made fair | ||
| The constitution has to be amended | ||
| Reformation of Government Officials | 39 | 13.7 |
| Encourage emergence of "new" politicians | ||
| Punishment of police | ||
| Choosing the right leaders | ||
| Put honest politicians in office | ||
| Selection of competent persons as government workers or leaders | ||
| Eliminate corruption among government officials | ||
| Reformation of the Bureaucracy | ||
| Punishment of anti-democrats, especially the police | ||
| Elimination of the "privilege" class | ||
| Retreat of the old line politicians | ||
| Improving Economic and Farm Policy | 33 | 12.7 |
| To help the farm policy in economical side | ||
| Renovation of Agricultural policy especially its economic side | ||
| Government policy should concern itself with farm policy | ||
| Reformation of the taxation system | ||
| Distribution of the fertilizer | ||
| Adjustment of the food price | ||
| To raise the price of farm products | ||
| To make mountains green and distribute surplus food to the needy | ||
| To help the unemployed | ||
| Miscellaneous Items | 34 | 13.1 |
| Strengthen the national defense | ||
| We should be careful of communists | ||
| We should took out for spies | ||
| Make our country militarilly stronger | ||
| Government should take care of woulded vets | ||
| Elimination of business man's participation in politics | ||
| Extend compulsory education to include Junior H.S. | ||
| Neutralization of police | ||
| Calm the disturbed mind of the people | ||
| Development of a national consciousness | ||
| Unification of Korea | ||
| To maintain the freedom of academy by eliminating scholars attached to the government | ||
Total | 330 | 125.6% |
Finally, it should be pointed out that the rural population appears to have what might be described as a surprising optimism that the problems indicated above will be solved relatively soon. Thus, when the respondents who had assessed Korea’s problems were asked at the end of the interview: "Do you think that Korea’s main problems will be solved soon or don't you think they will be solved soon?" almost two third of those who had an opinion on the subject said the problem would be solved soon.
Respondent Opinion Regarding the Solution of Korea's Chief Problems
| Cases | % | |
| It will be solved very soon | 39 | 15.0 |
| It will be solved but it will take a little time | 113 | 43.5 |
| It will be solved but it will take a long time | 45 | 17.3 |
| It won’t be solved at all | 3 | 1.2 |
| Don't know | 37 | 14.2 |
| 237 | 91.2 | |
| Not asked | 23 | 8.8 |
| 260 | 100.0% |
5. CONCLUSION
As frequently happens with opinion surveys, this study has brought out important sidelights not appreciated when the study was first designed. One of these is the fact that the rural people of Korea, as represented by the sample, are a great deal more intelligent and alert - especially in regard to their basic social, farm, and economic problems - than they are usually given credit for being. This attribute, extremely important for the development of a democracy, became evident when it was noted that the percentage of "no opinion," or "Don't know" was surprisingly low for all structured questions. At the same time comments made in response to open ended questions were numerous and well articulated. It's questionable whether there exists another undeveloped country where the farm population is as well informed on its own problems as the Korean farmer.
Of equal importance with the general alertness mentioned above is the fact, also brought out by this study, that the Korean farmer is much more interested in local and national politics than most people think. This was indicated by the field worker notes which showed that more than eight persons out of ten displayed great interest in the survey and answered all questions frankly. It was revealed also in the politically mature answers the respondent gave to the question concerning the chief problems that confront the nation now that the government of Syngman Rhee had been deposed. It was finally documented by a report prepared for USOM (Radio Audience Survey, page 11, Part 11, May 1960) which showed that even before the April Revolution, what the farmers of Korea wanted more of, in the way of radio programs, was political news. This latter attitude was incidentally, verified by a research worker on a previous study of family life conducted by Prof. Lee in which one of the respondents was reported as saying: Why don’t you supplement some of your questions on family life by some questions on economic and political problems?"
Still another fact brought out by this study is the existence of what might be described as a general interest in democratic government. This somewhat new interest is still vague, but it exists unmistakeably, and appeared to be reflected by the almost unanimous approval given by the respondents to the student charge of government anti-democracy, by the overwhelming approval which the rural people gave to the American charge that the Rhee government was not acting in the best interests of the Korean people, and finally to the emphasis given to democratic procedure in the listing of main corrective actions which the new government would have to take, Korea has still a long way to go before the term "Myn ju-jui" (the Korean equivalent of the English word "Democracy") becomes an operational concept, but the basis of that attitude appears to exists and can be developed.
Fianlly, and of special interest to USIS, is the fact, also brought out by the study, of the presence in the rural population of sub groups which are particularly well-informed and articulate and can therefore be considered as "opinion leaders" or "opinion disseminators." Outstanding among these groups are (a) teachers of the public schools, (b) merchants in the small towns, and (c) students. All three of these groups stood out in their separate catogories as the first to learn of the events that led to the overthrow of the Rhee government; the first to learn about some "foreign action in connection with 4.19 Movement;" most critical of the appointment instead of election of local officials; most critical of the restrictions on freedom of speech and press; most articulate in talking about the main problems that confront the nation; and most confident that the problems of the country would be solved soon.
