Syngman Rhee

Born in 1875 during the Joseon period, Rhee converted to Christianity at a Methodist school and became an independence activist, landing in prison in 1899. Released in 1904, he left for the United States, earned American degrees, and moved between Hawaii and exile politics in Shanghai, serving twice as president of the Korean Provisional Government before returning to US-controlled Korea in 1945. Elected by the National Assembly in July 1948, he steered South Korea through the Korean War - refusing to sign the armistice because he wanted the peninsula reunited by force. His government battled illiteracy but lagged economically behind the North and leaned hard on American aid. After pushing through constitutional changes to extend his rule and winning an uncontested 1960 election - his opponent died of cancer beforehand - the rigged vice-presidential result sparked the April Revolution; police shot demonstrators in Masan, and Rhee resigned on 26 April. He flew to Honolulu in May, insisting he'd gone for medical treatment, not exile, and died there of a stroke in 1965.