미국공보원의 5·10총선거 선전에 관한 고찰

On Propaganda by the USIS in Korea for the National Election on May 10th, 1948

The huge propaganda of the USIS(Unites States Information Service, or Office of Public Information) was one of the most important factors to bring the success of the National Election on May 10 1948. It made a tremendous contribution for the Southern Koreans’participations to the Election. From that time the U.S. government transferred the Korean Peninsula issue to the U.N., to the ending of the Election, all the USAMIG(United States Army Military Government) propaganda machines, especially the USIS, were devoted to the electoral propaganda. The propaganda campaign passed through two stages. The propaganda at the first stage concentrated on the familiarizing with the U.N. and the UNTCOK(UN Temporary Commission on Korea), and getting the U.N.’s decisions accepted by Koreans. At the second stage starting with the passing of the resolution in the U.N. on the unilateral election in Southern Korea, the USIS desperately developed the propaganda to reach the highest degrees of registration and voting of people. The Election propaganda not only contained information on the democratic principles, election systems and voting procedures, but also counteracted the criticisms from the middle-road sects such as the South-North Top Level Conference elements and communist propaganda. For these objectives, the USIS used all kinds of propaganda media including the prints, radio, films. The most effective message of propaganda was that the complete liberation of a nation and unification of the mother land would be made by the full registration and voting. The nature of the Election propaganda was not democratic persuasion to get voluntary supports and true consents from Korean peoples, but the one-sided, forcible mobilization under the oppressive situation for the establishment of pro-american and anti-communistic government in Southern Korea.