Person

Syngman Rhee

1875–1965 · 20th century · Also known as Rhee Syng-man

Syngman Rhee was a Korean independence activist and the first President of South Korea, from 1948 to 1960. He was the first president of the Korean Provisional Government in exile in 1919, spent decades in the United States, and returned in 1945 with American support. His authoritarian rule ended when the April Revolution of 1960 forced him into exile.

Syngman Rhee
Image: Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 3 state histories

Provisional Government of the Republic of KoreaPeople's Republic of KoreaUnited States Army Military Government in Korea

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Syngman Rhee. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/syngman-rhee
MLA
“Syngman Rhee.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/syngman-rhee. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Syngman Rhee.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/syngman-rhee.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Syngman Rhee’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/syngman-rhee (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻