View source for Division of Korea

{{Short description|Separation of North and South Korea}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=November 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
[[File:Korea DMZ.svg|thumb|upright=1.4|Closeup of the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone]] that surrounds the Military Demarcation Line]]
[[File:Korea demilitarized zone map - 1969.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The [[Korean Peninsula]] was divided along the [[38th parallel north]] from 1945 until 1950 and along the [[Military Demarcation Line]] from 1953 to present.]]
{{History of Korea}}
The '''division of Korea''' began at the end of [[World War II]] on 2 September 1945, with the establishment of a Soviet occupation zone and a US occupation zone. These zones developed into separate governments, named the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ([[North Korea]]) and the Republic of Korea ([[South Korea]]), which fought [[Korean War|a war]] from 1950 to 1953. Since then the division has continued.

By the early 20th century, both countries were one single nation: the [[Korean Empire]]. During World War II, the [[Allies of World War II|Allied leaders]] had already been considering the question of [[Korea]]'s future following [[Surrender of Japan|Japan's eventual surrender]] in the war. The leaders reached an understanding that Korea would be removed from Japanese control but would be placed under an [[United Nations trust territories|international trusteeship]] until the Koreans would be deemed ready for self-rule.<ref name=Lee2006>{{cite book| title = The Partition of Korea After World War II: A Global History | last = Lee | first = Jongsoo | year = 2006| publisher = Palgrave Macmillan|  location = New York | isbn = 978-1-4039-6982-8 }}</ref>{{rp||5–17}} In the last days of the war, the [[United States]] proposed dividing the Korean peninsula into two occupation zones (a U.S. and [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] one) with the [[38th parallel north|38th parallel]] as the dividing line. The Soviets accepted their proposal and agreed to divide Korea, which led to the declaration of [[General Order No. 1]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fry |first1=Michael |title=National Geographic, Korea, and the 38th Parallel |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/130805-korean-war-dmz-armistice-38-parallel-geography |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225074751/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/130805-korean-war-dmz-armistice-38-parallel-geography |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 February 2021 |publisher=National Geographic |access-date=15 May 2021 |language=en |date=5 August 2013}}</ref>

It was understood that this division was only a temporary arrangement until the trusteeship could be implemented. In December 1945, the [[Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers]] resulted in an agreement on a five-year, four-power Korean trusteeship.<ref name=mccune-194703/> However, with the onset of the [[Cold War]] and other factors both international and domestic, including Korean opposition to the trusteeship, negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union over the next two years regarding the implementation of the trusteeship failed, thus effectively nullifying the only agreed-upon framework for the re-establishment of an independent and unified Korean state.<ref name=Lee2006/>{{rp|45–154}} With this, the Korean question was referred to the [[United Nations]]. In 1948, after the UN failed to produce an outcome acceptable to the Soviet Union, [[1948 South Korean Constitutional Assembly election|UN-supervised elections]] were held in the [[United States Army Military Government in Korea|US-occupied south]] only. [[Syngman Rhee]] won the election, while [[Kim Il Sung]] consolidated his position as the leader of Soviet-occupied northern Korea. This led to the establishment of the [[Republic of Korea]] in southern Korea on 15 August 1948, promptly followed by the establishment of the [[Democratic People's Republic of Korea]] in northern Korea on 9 September 1948. The United States supported the South, the Soviet Union supported the North, and each government claimed sovereignty over the whole Korean peninsula.

On 25 June 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea in an attempt to re-unify the peninsula under its communist rule. The subsequent [[Korean War]], which lasted from 1950 to 1953, ended with a [[Korean Armistice Agreement|stalemate]] and has left Korea divided by the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone]] (DMZ) up to the present day.

During the [[April 2018 inter-Korean summit]], the [[Panmunjom Declaration]] for Peace, Prosperity and Reunification of the Korean Peninsula was adopted between [[Kim Jong Un]], the [[Supreme Leader (North Korean title)|Supreme Leader of North Korea]], and [[Moon Jae-in]], then [[President of South Korea]]. During the [[September 2018 inter-Korean summit]], several actions were taken toward reunification along the border, such as the dismantling of guard posts and the creation of buffer zones to prevent clashes. On 12 December 2018, soldiers from both Koreas crossed the [[Military Demarcation Line]] (MDL) into the opposition countries for the first time in history.<ref name=cbsnewsdec12>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/north-korea-south-korea-troops-cross-demilitarized-zone-in-peace-first-time/|title=Troops cross North-South Korea Demilitarized Zone in peace for 1st time ever|website=Cbsnews.com|date=12 December 2018 |access-date=30 December 2018}}</ref><ref name=ecdec12>{{cite web|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/north-and-south-korean-soldiers-enter-each-others-territory/north-invades-the-south/slideshow/67057861.cms|title=North and South Korean soldiers enter each other's territory|website=The Economic Times|access-date=30 December 2018|archive-date=16 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216000253/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/north-and-south-korean-soldiers-enter-each-others-territory/north-invades-the-south/slideshow/67057861.cms|url-status=dead}}</ref> In following years, dialogue broke down and hostilities resumed.

==Historical background==
===Japanese rule (1910–1945)===
{{Main|Korea under Japanese rule}}
When the [[Russo-Japanese War]] ended in 1905, Korea (then the [[Korean Empire]]) became a nominal [[protectorate]] of Japan and was annexed by Japan in 1910. Emperor [[Gojong of Korea|Gojong]] was removed. In the following decades, nationalist and radical groups emerged to struggle for independence. Divergent in their outlooks and approaches, these groups failed to come together in one national movement.<ref>{{cite book| title = The Making of Modern Korea | last = Buzo | first = Adrian | year = 2002| publisher = Routledge|  location = London | isbn = 978-0-415-23749-9 |pages=31–37}}</ref><ref name=Cumings2005>{{cite book | title = Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History| last = Cumings| first = Bruce| author-link = Bruce Cumings| year = 2005| publisher = [[W. W. Norton & Company]]| location = New York| isbn = 978-0-393-32702-1}}</ref>{{rp|156–160}} The [[Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea|Korean Provisional Government]] (KPG) in exile in China failed to obtain widespread recognition.<ref name=Cumings2005/>{{rp|159–160}}

===World War II===
[[File:건국준비위원회.jpg|thumb|[[Lyuh Woon-hyung]] giving a speech in the Committee for Preparation of Korean Independence in [[Seoul]] on 16 August 1945|left]]
At the [[Cairo Conference]] in November 1943, in the middle of [[World War II]], [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], [[Winston Churchill]] and [[Chiang Kai-shek]] agreed that Japan should lose all the territories it had conquered by force. At the end of the conference, the three powers declared that they were "mindful of the enslavement of the people of Korea, ... determined that in due course Korea shall become free and independent."<ref name="cairo_communique">{{cite news|url=http://www.ndl.go.jp/constitution/e/shiryo/01/002_46/002_46tx.html|publisher=Japan National Diet Library|title=Cairo Communique, December 1, 1943|date=1 December 1943|access-date=10 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206020831/http://www.ndl.go.jp/constitution/e/shiryo/01/002_46/002_46tx.html|archive-date=6 December 2010|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name = "Savada">{{cite book | chapter-url = http://countrystudies.us/south-korea/8.htm | chapter = World War II and Korea | editor1-first = Andrea Matles | editor1-last = Savada | editor2-first = William | editor2-last = Shaw | title = South Korea: A Country Study | location = Washington, DC | series = GPO | publisher = Library of Congress | year = 1990 | access-date = 2006-05-16 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110629082133/http://countrystudies.us/south-korea/8.htm | archive-date = 2011-06-29 | url-status = live }}</ref> Roosevelt floated the idea of a [[trusteeship]] over Korea but did not obtain agreement from the other powers. Roosevelt raised the idea with [[Joseph Stalin]] at the [[Tehran Conference]] in November 1943 and the [[Yalta Conference]] in February 1945. Stalin did not disagree but advocated that the period of trusteeship be short.<ref name=Cumings2005/>{{rp|187–188}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Stueck |first=William W. |year=2002 |title=Rethinking the Korean War: A New Diplomatic and Strategic History |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ |isbn=978-0-691-11847-5|page=20}}</ref>

At the Tehran and Yalta Conferences, Stalin promised to join his [[Allies of World War II|allies]] in the [[Pacific War]] in two to three months after [[Victory in Europe Day|victory in Europe]]. On 8 August 1945, two days after the [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|first atomic bomb]] was dropped on [[Hiroshima]], but before the second bomb was dropped at [[Nagasaki]], the USSR [[Soviet–Japanese War|declared war on Japan]].<ref name = "Walker">{{cite book | last = Walker | first =  J Samuel | title = Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs Against Japan | url = https://archive.org/details/promptutterdestr00walk | url-access = registration | publisher = The University of North Carolina Press | year = 1997 | location = Chapel Hill | page = [https://archive.org/details/promptutterdestr00walk/page/82 82] | isbn = 978-0-8078-2361-3}}</ref> As war began, the Commander-in-Chief of Soviet Forces in the Far East, Marshal [[Aleksandr Vasilevsky]], called on Koreans to rise up against Japan, saying "a banner of liberty and independence is rising in [[Seoul]]".<ref name="auto5">{{cite news|url=https://www.nknews.org/2018/11/how-kim-il-sung-became-north-koreas-great-leader|title=How Kim Il Sung became North Korea's Great Leader|first=Fyodor|last=Tertitskiy|author-link= Fyodor Tertitskiy|publisher=[[NK News]]|date=6 November 2018|access-date=15 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181115195059/https://www.nknews.org/2018/11/how-kim-il-sung-became-north-koreas-great-leader|archive-date=15 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Soviet troops advanced rapidly, and the U.S. government became anxious that they would occupy the whole of Korea. On 10 August 1945 two young officers – [[Dean Rusk]] and [[Charles Bonesteel]] – were assigned to define an American occupation zone. Working on extremely short notice and completely unprepared, they used a ''[[National Geographic]]'' map to decide on the [[38th parallel north|38th parallel]] as the dividing line. They chose it because it divided the country approximately in half but would place the capital Seoul under American control. No experts on Korea were consulted. The two men were unaware that forty years before, [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] and pre-revolutionary [[Russian Empire|Russia]] had discussed sharing Korea along the same parallel. Rusk later said that had he known, he "almost surely" would have chosen a different line.<ref>{{Cite book| last1= Oberdorfer| first1=Don| last2=Carlin| first2=Robert | title=The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History | publisher = Basic Books| year = 2014 | page = 5 | isbn = 9780465031238}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last1            = Seth
 |first1           = Michael J.
 |title            = A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present
 |url              = https://books.google.com/books?id=WJtMGXyGlUEC
 |publisher        = Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
 |publication-date = 2010
 |page             = 306
 |isbn             = 9780742567177
 |access-date       = 2015-11-16
 |date             = 2010-10-16
 |archive-url      = https://web.archive.org/web/20160101084332/https://books.google.com/books?id=WJtMGXyGlUEC
 |archive-date     = 2016-01-01
 |url-status       = live
}}</ref> The division placed sixteen million Koreans in the American zone and nine million in the Soviet zone.<ref>{{cite book| title = The Making of Modern Korea | last = Buzo | first = Adrian | year = 2002| publisher = Routledge|  location = London | isbn = 978-0-415-23749-9 |page=53}}</ref> Rusk observed, "even though it was further north than could be realistically reached by US forces, in the event of Soviet disagreement&nbsp;... we felt it important to include the capital of Korea in the area of responsibility of American troops". He noted that he was "faced with the scarcity of US forces immediately available, and time and space factors, which would make it difficult to reach very far north, before Soviet troops could enter the area".<ref>{{cite book| last = Goulden| first = Joseph C| title = Korea: the Untold Story of the War| publisher = [[McGraw-Hill]]| location = New York| year = 1983| page = 17| isbn = 978-0070235809}}</ref> To the surprise of the Americans, the Soviet Union immediately accepted the division.<ref name="auto5" /><ref name="auto1">{{cite book |author= Hyung Gu Lynn |date= 2007 |title= Bipolar Orders: The Two Koreas since 1989 |publisher= Zed Books |page=18}}</ref> The agreement was incorporated into [[General Order No. 1]] (approved on 17 August 1945) for the surrender of Japan.<ref name="auto1" />

=== Liberation, confusion, and conflict ===
On 10 August, Soviet forces entered northern Korea.<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |last=Li |first=Xiaobing |title=The Cold War in East Asia |date=2018 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-138-65179-1 |location=Abingdon, Oxon}}</ref>{{Rp|page=82}} Soviet forces began amphibious landings in Korea by 14 August and rapidly took over the northeast of the country, and on 16 August they landed at [[Wonsan]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Seth |first1=Michael J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uJHyoC2Pt60C |title=A Concise History of Modern Korea: From the Late Nineteenth Century to the Present |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2010 |isbn=9780742567139 |series=Hawaìi studies on Korea |publication-date=2010 |page=86 |access-date=2015-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519014155/https://books.google.com/books?id=uJHyoC2Pt60C |archive-date=2016-05-19 |url-status=live}}</ref> Japanese resistance was light, and Soviet forces secured most major cities in the north by 24 August<ref name=":022" />{{Rp|page=82}} (including [[Pyongyang]], the second largest city in the Korean Peninsula after Seoul).<ref name="auto1" /> Having fought Japan on Korean soil, the Soviet forces were well-received by Koreans.<ref name=":022" />{{Rp|page=82}}  

Throughout August, there was a mix of celebration, confusion, and conflict, mainly caused by the lack of information provided to the Koreans by the Allies. The general public did not become aware of the division of Korea until around when the Soviets entered Pyongyang.<ref name=":02" />

Meanwhile in Seoul, beginning in early to mid August, General [[Nobuyuki Abe]], the last Japanese [[Governor-General of Korea]], began contacting Koreans to offer them a leading role in the hand-over of power. He first offered the position to [[Song Jin-woo (journalist)|Song Jin-woo]], the former head of ''[[The Dong-a Ilbo|The Dong-A Ilbo]]'' newspaper, who was seen as a champion of Korean independence activism within the peninsula. Song refused the position, which he saw as equivalent to the role of [[Wang Jingwei]], the ruler of the [[Wang Jingwei regime|Japanese puppet state]] in China. He instead preferred to wait until, as many expected and hoped, the KPG returned to the peninsula and established a fully domestic Korean government. On 15 August, Abe instead offered the position to [[Lyuh Woon-hyung]], who accepted it, to the chagrin of Song. That day, Lyuh announced to the public that Japan had accepted the terms of surrender laid out in the [[Potsdam Declaration]], to the jubilation of the Koreans and the horror of the around 777,000 Japanese residents of the peninsula. With a budget of 20,000,000 yen from the colonial government, Lyuh set about organizing the [[Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence]] (CPKI). The CPKI began taking over the security situation in the city and coordinating with local governments throughout the peninsula. However, the organization ended up being composed of mostly leftists, which infuriated Song even more. Lyuh attempted on multiple occasions to convince Song to join or support the CPKI, but their meetings reportedly ended in angry arguments each time.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Son |first=Sae-il |date=2010-03-29 |title=孫世一의 비교 評傳 (73) |trans-title=Son Sae-il's Comparative Critical Biography |url=http://monthly.chosun.com/client/news/viw.asp?ctcd=I&nNewsNumb=201004100072 |access-date=2023-07-25 |website=[[Monthly Chosun]] |language=ko}}</ref>

For the weeks before the American arrival in Seoul, the capital was awash with waves of rumors, some of which may have been spread by Japanese soldiers to distract the public while they prepared to leave the peninsula. On multiple occasions, rumors that Soviet soldiers were about to arrive via rail to Seoul caused either mass panic or, for some left-leaning Koreans, celebration. Even the Soviet Ambassador in Seoul was confused and phoned around to check whether Soviet soldiers were coming. Another rumor, spread both by fliers and a pirate radio broadcast, alleged the creation of a "[[Dongjin Republic]]" ({{Korean|hangul=동진공화국|hanja=東震共和國|labels=no}}), with [[Syngman Rhee]] as president, [[Kim Ku]] as prime minister, [[Kim Il Sung]] as minister of military affairs, and Lyuh as foreign minister.<ref name=":02" />

On 16 August, young officers of the Japanese military in Seoul fiercely protested the decisions of the colonial government. Despite assurances from the colonial government to the CPKI of minimal interference from the Japanese in their affairs, the military declared that they would firmly punish any unrest, to the protest of the CPKI.<ref name=":02" />

On 6 September a congress of representatives was convened in Seoul and founded the short-lived [[People's Republic of Korea]] (PRK).<ref>{{cite book| title = The Making of Modern Korea | last = Buzo | first = Adrian | year = 2002| publisher = Routledge|  location = London | isbn = 978-0-415-23749-9 |pages=53–57}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey | url = https://archive.org/details/koreastwentieth00robi/page/105 | url-access = registration | last = Robinson | first = Michael E | year = 2007 | publisher = University of Hawaii Press | location = Honolulu | isbn = 978-0-8248-3174-5 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/koreastwentieth00robi/page/105 105–106] }}</ref> In the spirit of consensus, conservative elder statesman Syngman Rhee, who was living in exile in the U.S., was nominated as president.<ref name="auto6">{{cite news|url=https://www.nknews.org/2018/08/why-russian-plans-for-austria-style-unification-in-korea-did-not-become-a-reality|title=Why Soviet plans for Austria-style unification in Korea did not become a reality|first=Fyodor|last=Tertitskiy|author-link= Fyodor Tertitskiy|publisher=[[NK News]]|date=8 August 2018|access-date=15 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181115195117/https://www.nknews.org/2018/08/why-russian-plans-for-austria-style-unification-in-korea-did-not-become-a-reality|archive-date=15 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Song announced his own {{Ill|National Foundation Preparation Committee|ko|국민대회준비위원회}} (NFPC) on 7 September to directly counter the PRK. However, the NFPC had a minimal role in Korean politics and ended up aligning itself with the KPG after its return.<ref name="enjk">{{cite web |last=송 |first=남헌 |title=송진우 (宋鎭禹) |trans-title=Song Jin-woo |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0031073 |access-date=2023-07-24 |website=[[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]]}}</ref>

==Post–World War II==
===Division (since 2 September 1945)===

====Soviet occupation of northern Korea====
{{Further|Soviet Civil Administration|Provisional People's Committee for North Korea}}
[[File:Welcome Celebration for Red Army in Pyongyang2.JPG|thumb|right|Welcome celebration for the [[Red Army]] in [[Pyongyang]] on 14 October 1945]]

The Soviets received little resistance from the Japanese during their advance across northern Korea and were aided by various Korean groups.<ref name="Cumings">{{Cite web|last=Cumings|first=Bruce|title=The North Wind: The Origins of the Korean War|url=http://faculty.washington.edu/sangok/NorthKorea/Cumings,_Bruce_-_The_North_Wind.pdf}}</ref> When Soviet troops entered [[Pyongyang]] on August 24, they found a local branch of the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence operating under the leadership of veteran nationalist [[Cho Man-sik]].<ref>{{cite book| title = The Making of Modern Korea | last = Buzo | first = Adrian | year = 2002| publisher = Routledge|  location = London | isbn = 978-0-415-23749-9 |pages=54–55}}</ref> The Soviet Army allowed these "People's Committees" (which were of varying political composition) to function. In September 1945, the Soviet administration issued its own currency, the "Red Army won".<ref name="auto5" />

As a result of the destruction caused to the Soviet Union during the Second World War, the Soviets lacked the resources and will to create a full [[satellite state]] in Korea and Koreans enjoyed a higher level of autonomy than Soviet-controlled Eastern European states. The Soviets had brought with them a number of Koreans who had been living in the Soviet Union, some of whom were members of the Soviet Communist Party, with the intention of creating a socialist state.<ref name="Cumings" /> Unlike in the south, the former Japanese occupying authorities offered virtually no assistance to the Soviets, and even destroyed factories, mines and official records.<ref name="Cumings" />

After the massive loss of troops in Europe, the Soviet army recruited new soldiers, who were badly equipped when they landed in Korea, some even lacking shoes and uniforms. During the Soviet occupation, they lived off the Korean land, and looted Japanese colonials and Korean capitalists, sending part of the loot back home. In addition to looting, Soviet soldiers were accused of rape, although the accusations were inflated in the south by fleeing Japanese colonials. Korean peasants sometimes joined the looting, indicating that the looting was based in class disparities, rather than racial disparities. These abuses lessened after the arrival of [[military police]] in January 1946.<ref name="Cumings1981" /> 

In 1946, Colonel-General [[Terentii Shtykov]] took charge of the administration and began to lobby the Soviet government for funds to support the ailing economy.<ref name="auto5" /> Shtykov's strong support of Kim Il Sung, who had spent the last years of the war training with Soviet troops in [[Manchuria]], was decisive in his rise to power.<ref name="Lankov2" /> In February 1946 a [[provisional government]] called the [[Provisional People's Committee of North Korea]] was formed under Kim Il Sung. Conflicts and power struggles ensued at the top levels of government in Pyongyang as different aspirants manoeuvred to gain positions of power in the new government.<ref name="Robinson" />

In December 1946, Shtykov and two other generals designed the election results of the Assembly for the Provisional Committee without any Korean input. The generals decided "exact distribution of seats among the parties, the number of women members, and, more broadly, the precise social composition of the legislature."<ref name="Lankov2">{{cite book|last=Lankov|first=Andrei| author-link = Andrei Lankov|date=2013-04-10|title=[[The Real North Korea: Life and Politics in the Failed Stalinist Utopia]]|page=7|publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> The original 1948 [[North Korean constitution]] was primarily written by Stalin and Shtykov.<ref name="Lankov2" />

In March 1946 the provisional government instituted a sweeping land-reform program: land belonging to Japanese and collaborator landowners was divided and redistributed to poor farmers.<ref name="Robinson">{{cite book| title = Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey | url = https://archive.org/details/koreastwentieth00robi | url-access = registration | last = Robinson | first = Michael E | year = 2007 | publisher = University of Hawaii Press |  location = Honolulu | isbn = 978-0-8248-3174-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/koreastwentieth00robi/page/106 106]}}</ref> Organizing the many poor civilians and agricultural labourers under the people's committees, a nationwide mass campaign broke the control of the old landed classes. Landlords were allowed to keep only the same amount of land as poor civilians who had once rented their land, thereby making for a far more equal distribution of land. The North Korean land reform was achieved in a less violent way than [[Land reforms by country#China|in China]] or [[Land reform in North Vietnam|in Vietnam]]. Official American sources stated: "From all accounts, the former village leaders were eliminated as a political force without resort to bloodshed, but extreme care was taken to preclude their return to power."<ref name="Cumings1981">{{cite book |last=Cumings |first=Bruce |title=The Origins of the Korean War: Liberation and the Emergence of Separate Regimes, 1945–1947 |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1981 |isbn=0-691-09383-0 |pages=390}}</ref> The farmers responded positively; many collaborators, former landowners and Christians fled to the south, where some of them obtained positions in the new South Korean government. According to the U.S. military government, 400,000 northern Koreans went south as refugees.<ref>{{cite book | first=Allan R. | last=Millet | title=The War for Korea: 1945–1950 | year=2005 | page=59}}</ref>

Key industries were nationalized. The economic situation was nearly as difficult in the north as it was in the south, as the Japanese had concentrated agriculture and service industries in the south and heavy industry in the north.{{Confusing-inline|date=November 2023|reason=did they mean wasn't nearly as difficult, instead of, economic situation was nearly as difficult. This is referring to the 2nd to last paragraph}}

Soviet forces were withdrawn on 10 December 1948.<ref>{{cite book
 |last1            = Gbosoe
 |first1           = Gbingba T.
 |title            = Modernization of Japan
 |url              = https://books.google.com/books?id=qfnP-Za9FwEC
 |publisher        = iUniverse
 |publication-date = 2006
 |page             = 212
 |isbn             = 9780595411900
 |access-date       = 2015-10-06
 |quote            = Although Soviet occupation forces were withdrawn on December 10, 1948, [...] the Soviets had maintained ties with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea [...]
 |date             = September 2006
 |archive-url      = https://web.archive.org/web/20160428033822/https://books.google.com/books?id=qfnP-Za9FwEC
 |archive-date     = 28 April 2016
 |url-status       = live
}}</ref>

====US occupation of southern Korea====
{{Main|United States Army Military Government in Korea}}

[[File:Surrender of Japanese Forces in Southern Korea.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Japanese handed over the government to the [[US army]] in [[Seoul]] on 9 September 1945]]
With the American government fearing Soviet expansion, and the Japanese authorities in Korea warning of a power vacuum, the embarkation date of the US occupation force was brought forward three times.<ref name="Cumings2005" /> On 7 September 1945, [[Douglas MacArthur|General Douglas MacArthur]] issued Proclamation No. 1 to the people of Korea, announcing U.S. military control over Korea south of the 38th parallel and establishing English as the official language during military control.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1945, The British Commonwealth, The Far East, Volume VI - Office of the Historian |url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1945v06/d776 |access-date=2022-06-23 |website=history.state.gov}}</ref> That same day, he announced that Lieutenant General [[John R. Hodge]] was to administer Korean affairs. Hodge landed in [[Incheon]] with his troops on 8 September 1945, marking the beginning of the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK). American soldiers committed  rape and looting, on a smaller scale than the Soviets. The racism amongst Americans against Koreans was widespread.<ref name="Cumings1981" />

MacArthur as [[Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers]] ended up being in charge of [[United States Army Military Government in Korea|southern Korea]] from 1945 to 1948 due to the lack of clear orders or initiative from Washington, D.C. There was no plan or guideline given to MacArthur from the [[U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff|Joint Chiefs of Staff]] or the [[U.S. State Department|State Department]] on how to rule Korea. Hodge directly reported to MacArthur and GHQ (General Headquarters) in Tokyo, not to Washington, D.C., during the military occupation. The [[Operation Blacklist Forty|three year period]] of the U.S. Army occupation was chaotic and tumultuous compared to the very peaceful and stable [[Occupation of Japan|U.S. occupation of Japan]] from 1945 to 1952. Hodge and his [[XXIV Corps (United States)|XXIV Corps]] were trained for combat, not for diplomacy and negotiating with the many diverse political groups that emerged in post-colonial southern Korea: former Japanese collaborators, pro-Soviet communists, anti-Soviet communists, right wing groups, and Korean nationalists. None of the Americans in the military or the State Department in the Far East in late 1945 even spoke Korean, leading to jokes among Koreans that Korean translators were really running southern Korea.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/MacArthur%20Reports/MacArthur%20V1%20Sup/ch3.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110228122907/http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/macarthur%20reports/macarthur%20v1%20sup/ch3.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 February 2011 |title=Reports of General MacArthur: MacArthur in Japan: The Occupation: Military Phase: Volume 1 Supplement|access-date=26 March 2021|at=Chapter III}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://history.army.mil/books/pd-c-02.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210112101925/https://history.army.mil/books/pd-c-02.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 January 2021 |title=CHAPTER II:The House Divided |website=history.army.mil |access-date=26 March 2021}}</ref> The [[Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea]], which had operated from China, sent a delegation with three interpreters to Hodge, but he refused to meet with them.<ref name="Hart-Landsberg 1998 71–77">{{cite book |last=Hart-Landsberg |first=Martin |title=Korea: Division, Reunification, & U.S. Foreign Policy |url=https://archive.org/details/korea00mart |url-access=registration |year=1998 |publisher=Monthly Review Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/korea00mart/page/71 71–77]}}</ref> Likewise, Hodge refused to recognize the newly formed [[People's Republic of Korea]] and its People's Committees, and outlawed it on 12 December.<ref>{{cite book| title = The Making of Modern Korea | last = Buzo | first = Adrian | year = 2002| publisher = Routledge|  location = London | isbn = 978-0-415-23749-9 |page=57}}</ref>

Japanese civilians were repatriated, including nearly all industrial managers and technicians; over 500,000 by December 1945 and 786,000 by August 1946. Severe price inflation occurred in the disrupted economy, until in summer 1946 [[rationing]] and [[price controls]] were imposed.<ref name="mccune-194703">{{cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2752411 |title=Korea: The First Year of Liberation |author=George M. McCune |journal=Pacific Affairs |volume=20 |issue=1 |publisher=University of British Columbia |doi=10.2307/2752411 |date=March 1947 |pages=3–17 |jstor=2752411 |access-date=5 January 2022|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In September 1946, [[Autumn Uprising of 1946|thousands of laborers and peasants rose up]] against the military government. This uprising was quickly defeated, and failed to prevent scheduled [[1946 South Korean legislative election|October elections]] for the South Korean Interim Legislative Assembly. The opening of the Assembly was delayed to December to investigate widespread allegations of electoral fraud.<ref name="mccune-194703" />

Ardent anti-communist [[Syngman Rhee]], who had been the first president of the Provisional Government and later worked as a pro-Korean lobbyist in the US, became the most prominent politician in the South. Rhee pressured the American government to abandon negotiations for a trusteeship and create an independent Republic of Korea in the south.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stueck |first=William W. |year=2002 |title=Rethinking the Korean War: A New Diplomatic and Strategic History |url=https://archive.org/details/rethinkingkorean0000stue |url-access=registration |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ |isbn=978-0-691-11847-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/rethinkingkorean0000stue/page/49 49], 55–57}}</ref> 

USAMGIK and later the newly formed South Korean government faced a number of left-wing insurgencies, some supported by North Korea, that were eventually suppressed. Over the course of the next few years, between 30,000<ref>{{cite book | first=Arthur | last=Millet | title=The War for Korea, 1945–1950 | year=2005}}</ref> and 100,000 people were killed. Most casualties resulted from the [[Jeju uprising]].<ref>{{cite book|first1=Jon|last1=Halliday|first2=Bruce|last2=Cumings|title=Korea: The Unknown War|publisher=Viking Press|year=1988|isbn=0-670-81903-4}}</ref>

===US–Soviet Joint Commission===
[[File:Anti-Trusteeship Campaign.jpg|thumb|{{Ill|Anti-trusteeship Movement|ko|신탁 통치 반대 운동}} protests in the South (December 1945)]]
In December 1945, at the [[Moscow Conference (1945)|Moscow Conference]], the Allies agreed that the Soviet Union, the US, the Republic of China, and Britain would take part in a [[United Nations Trust Territories|trusteeship]] over Korea for up to five years in the lead-up to independence. This invigorated the {{Ill|Anti-trusteeship Movement|ko|신탁 통치 반대 운동}}, which demanded the immediate independence of the peninsula. However, the [[Communist Party of Korea|Korean Communist Party]], which was closely aligned with the Soviet Communist party, supported the trusteeship.<ref>{{cite book| title = The Making of Modern Korea | last = Buzo | first = Adrian | year = 2002| publisher = Routledge|  location = London | isbn = 978-0-415-23749-9 |page=59}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = Korea| last = Bluth | first = Christoph | year = 2008| publisher = Polity Press| location = Cambridge| isbn = 978-07456-3357-2 |page=12}}</ref> According to historian [[Fyodor Tertitskiy]], documentation from 1945 suggests the Soviet government initially had no plans for a permanent division.<ref name="auto6" />

A {{ill|Soviet-US Joint Commission|ko|미소공동위원회}} met in 1946 and 1947 to work towards a unified administration, but failed to make progress due to increasing [[Cold War]] antagonism and to Korean opposition to the trusteeship.<ref>{{cite book| title = The Making of Modern Korea | last = Buzo | first = Adrian | year = 2002| publisher = Routledge|  location = London | isbn = 978-0-415-23749-9 |pages=59–60, 65}}</ref> In 1946, the Soviet Union proposed [[Lyuh Woon-hyung]] as the leader of a unified Korea, but this was rejected by the US.<ref name="auto6"/> On 19 July 1947, Lyuh, the last senior politician committed to left-right dialogue, was assassinated by a 19-year-old man named Han Chigeun, a recent refugee from North Korea and an active member of the nationalist right-wing group, the [[White Shirts Society]].<ref>{{cite book| title = The Making of Modern Korea | last = Buzo | first = Adrian | year = 2002| publisher = Routledge|  location = London | isbn = 978-0-415-23749-9 |page=65}}</ref>

Meanwhile, the division between the two zones deepened. The difference in policy between the occupying powers led to a polarization of politics, and a transfer of population between North and South.<ref>{{cite book | title = Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey | url = https://archive.org/details/koreastwentieth00robi/page/108 | url-access = registration | last = Robinson | first = Michael E | year = 2007 | publisher = University of Hawaii Press | location = Honolulu | isbn = 978-0-8248-3174-5 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/koreastwentieth00robi/page/108 108–109] }}</ref> In May 1946 it was made illegal to cross the 38th parallel without a permit.<ref name="auto2">{{cite book |author= Hyung Gu Lynn |date= 2007 |title= Bipolar Orders: The Two Koreas since 1989 |publisher= Zed Books |page=20}}</ref> At the final meeting of the Joint Commission in September 1947, Soviet delegate [[Terentii Shtykov]] proposed that both Soviet and US troops withdraw and give the Korean people the opportunity to form their own government. This was rejected by the US.<ref>{{cite book|title = Korea: Where the American Century Began|last = Pembroke| first = Michael|year = 2018| publisher = Hardie Grant| location = Melbourne| isbn = 978-1-74379-393-0|page=43}}</ref>

===UN intervention and the formation of separate governments===
[[File:Demonstration in support of the US-Soviet Joint Commission2.JPG|thumb|South Korean demonstration in support of the {{ill|U.S.-Soviet Joint Commission|ko|미소공동위원회}} in 1946]]
[[File:South Korean general election 1948.JPG|thumb|South Korean general election on 10 May 1948]]
[[File:Syngman Rhee and Douglas MacArthur.jpg|thumb|General MacArthur at the handover ceremony from [[Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers|SCAP]] to President Syngman Rhee on 15 August 1948]]

With the failure of the Joint Commission to make progress, the US brought the problem before the [[United Nations]] in September 1947. The Soviet Union opposed UN involvement.<ref>{{cite book | title = Korea since 1850 | last1 = Lone |  first1 = Stewart| last2 = McCormack | first2 = Gavan | author-link2 = Gavan McCormack | publisher = Longman Cheshire | location = Melbourne | year = 1993 | pages=100–101 }}</ref> The UN passed a resolution on 14 November 1947, declaring that free elections should be held, foreign troops should be withdrawn, and a UN commission for Korea, the [[UNTCOK|United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea]] (UNTCOK), should be created. The Soviet Union boycotted the voting and did not consider the resolution to be binding, arguing that the UN could not guarantee fair elections. In the absence of Soviet co-operation, it was decided to hold UN-supervised elections in the south only.<ref>{{cite book| title = The Making of Modern Korea | last = Buzo | first = Adrian | year = 2002| publisher = Routledge|  location = London | isbn = 978-0-415-23749-9 |page=66}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Jager | first = Sheila Miyoshi| author-link= Sheila Miyoshi Jager | title = Brothers at War – The Unending Conflict in Korea | year = 2013 | publisher = Profile Books | location = London | isbn = 978-1-84668-067-0|page=47}}</ref> This was in defiance of the report of the chairman of the commission, [[K. P. S. Menon (senior)|K. P. S. Menon]], who had argued against a separate election.<ref>{{cite book|title = Korea: Where the American Century Began|last = Pembroke| first = Michael|year = 2018| publisher = Hardie Grant| location = Melbourne| isbn = 978-1-74379-393-0|page=45}}</ref> Some UNTCOK delegates felt that the conditions in the south gave unfair advantage to right-wing candidates, but they were overruled.<ref name=Cumings2005/>{{rp|211–212}}

The decision to proceed with separate elections was unpopular among many Koreans, who rightly saw it as a prelude to a permanent division of the country. General strikes in protest against the decision began in February 1948.<ref name="auto2"/> In April, [[Jeju uprising|Jeju islanders rose up]] against the looming division of the country and full-scale rebellion developed. South Korean troops were sent to repress the rebellion. The repression of the uprising escalated from August 1948, following South Korean independence. The rebellion was largely defeated by May 1949 and 25,000 to 30,000 people had been killed in the conflict,<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title = The Massacre at Mt. Halla: Sixty Years of Truth Seeking in South Korea|last = Kim|first = Hun Joon|publisher = Cornell University Press|year = 2014|isbn = 9780801452390|pages = 13–41}}</ref> and 70% of the villages were burned by the South Korean troops.<ref name=nw000619>{{cite news
|url = http://www.newsweek.com/2000/06/18/ghosts-of-cheju.html
|title = Ghosts of Cheju
|newspaper = [[Newsweek]]
|date = 2000-06-19
|access-date = 2012-09-02
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110615112530/http://www.newsweek.com/2000/06/18/ghosts-of-cheju.html
|archive-date = 2011-06-15
|url-status = live
}}</ref> The uprising flared up again with the outbreak of the Korean War.<ref>{{cite book | title = Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey | url = https://archive.org/details/koreastwentieth00robi/page/112 | url-access = registration | last = Robinson | first = Michael E | year = 2007 | publisher = University of Hawaii Press | location = Honolulu | isbn = 978-0-8248-3174-5 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/koreastwentieth00robi/page/112 112] }}</ref>

In April 1948, a conference of organizations from the north and the south met in [[Pyongyang]]. The southern politicians [[Kim Koo]] and [[Kim Kyu-sik]] attended the conference and boycotted the elections in the south, as did other politicians and parties.<ref name=Cumings2005/>{{rp|211,507}}<ref>{{cite book | last = Jager | first = Sheila Miyoshi | title = Brothers at War – The Unending Conflict in Korea | year = 2013 | publisher = Profile Books | location = London | isbn = 978-1-84668-067-0|pages=47–48}}</ref> The conference called for a united government and the withdrawal of foreign troops.<ref name="auto3">{{cite book|title = Korea: Where the American Century Began|last = Pembroke| first = Michael|year = 2018| publisher = Hardie Grant| location = Melbourne| isbn = 978-1-74379-393-0|page=46}}</ref> Syngman Rhee and General Hodge denounced the conference.<ref name="auto3"/> Kim Koo was assassinated the following year.<ref>{{cite book | last = Jager | first = Sheila Miyoshi | title = Brothers at War – The Unending Conflict in Korea | year = 2013 | publisher = Profile Books | location = London | isbn = 978-1-84668-067-0|pages=48, 496}}</ref>

On 10 May 1948 the south held a [[1948 South Korean Constitutional Assembly election|general election]]. It took place amid widespread violence and intimidation, as well as a boycott by opponents of Syngman Rhee.<ref name="auto4">{{cite book|title = Korea: Where the American Century Began|last = Pembroke| first = Michael|year = 2018| publisher = Hardie Grant| location = Melbourne| isbn = 978-1-74379-393-0|page=47}}</ref> On 15 August, the "[[South Korea|Republic of Korea]]" (''Daehan Minguk'') formally took over power from the U.S. military, with Syngman Rhee as the first president. USAMGIK was formally dissolved and the [[Korean Military Advisory Group]] was formed to train and provide support for the South Korean army. U.S forces started to withdraw in a process that was completed by 1949. In the North, the "[[North Korea|Democratic People's Republic of Korea]]" (''Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk'') was declared on 9 September, with Kim Il Sung as prime minister.

On 12 December 1948, the United Nations General Assembly accepted the report of UNTCOK and declared the Republic of Korea to be the "only lawful government in Korea".<ref>{{cite book| title = The Making of Modern Korea | last = Buzo | first = Adrian | year = 2002| publisher = Routledge|  location = London | isbn = 978-0-415-23749-9 |page=67}}</ref> However, none of the members of UNTCOK considered that the election had established a legitimate national parliament. The Australian government, which had a representative on the commission declared that it was "far from satisfied" with the election.<ref name="auto4"/>

Unrest continued in the South. In October 1948, the [[Yeosu–Suncheon rebellion]] took place, in which some regiments rejected the suppression of the Jeju uprising and rebelled against the government.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/332032.html|title=439 civilians confirmed dead in Yeosu-Suncheon Uprising of 1948 New report by the Truth Commission places blame on Syngman Rhee and the Defense Ministry, advises government apology|publisher=[[The Hankyoreh]]|date=8 January 2009|access-date=2 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511184103/http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/332032.html|archive-date=11 May 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1949, the Syngman Rhee government established the [[Bodo League massacre#Bodo League|Bodo League]] in order to keep an eye on its political opponents. The majority of the Bodo League's members were innocent farmers and civilians who were forced into membership.<ref>{{cite news
 |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/03/117_40555.html 
 |title=Gov't Killed 3,400 Civilians During War 
 |newspaper=[[The Korea Times]] 
 |date=2 March 2009 
 |access-date=19 October 2014 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004181846/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/03/117_40555.html 
 |archive-date=4 October 2012 
}}</ref> The registered members or their families were executed at the beginning of the Korean War. On 24 December 1949, South Korean Army [[Mungyeong massacre|massacred Mungyeong citizens]] who were suspected communist sympathizers or their family and affixed blame to communists.<ref>{{cite news
 |url=http://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/view/at_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0001070694 
 |script-title=ko:두 민간인 학살 사건, 상반된 판결 왜 나왔나?'울산보도연맹' – '문경학살사건' 판결문 비교분석해 봤더니... 
 |newspaper=[[OhmyNews]] 
 |date=2009-02-17 
 |access-date=2012-09-02 
 |language=ko 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503211146/http://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/view/at_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0001070694 
 |archive-date=2011-05-03 
}}</ref>

==Korean War==
{{Main|Korean War}}
This division of Korea, after more than a millennium of being unified, was seen as controversial and temporary by both regimes. From 1948 until the start of the civil war on 25 June 1950, the armed forces of each side engaged in a series of bloody conflicts along the border. In 1950, these conflicts escalated dramatically when North Korean forces invaded South Korea, triggering the [[Korean War]]. The United Nations intervened to protect the South, sending a US-led force. As it occupied the south, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea attempted to unify Korea under its regime, initiating the nationalisation of industry, land reform, and the restoration of the People's Committees.<ref>{{cite book | title = Korea since 1850 | last1 = Lone |  first1 = Stewart| last2 = McCormack | first2 = Gavan | author-link2 = Gavan McCormack | publisher = Longman Cheshire | location = Melbourne | year = 1993 | page=112 }}</ref>
[[File:Korean War bombing Wonsan.jpg|thumb|left|U.S. planes bombing [[Wonsan]], North Korea, 1951]]
While UN intervention was conceived as restoring the border at the 38th parallel, Syngman Rhee argued that the attack of the North had obliterated the boundary. Similarly UN Commander in Chief, General Douglas MacArthur stated that he intended to unify Korea, not just drive the North Korean forces back behind the border.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stueck |first=William W. |year=2002 |title=Rethinking the Korean War: A New Diplomatic and Strategic History |url=https://archive.org/details/rethinkingkorean0000stue |url-access=registration |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ |isbn=978-0-691-11847-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/rethinkingkorean0000stue/page/87 87]–88}}</ref> However, the North overran 90% of the south until a counter-attack by US-led forces. As the North Korean forces were driven from the south, South Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel on 1 October, and American and other UN forces followed a week later. This was despite warnings from the People's Republic of China that it would intervene if American troops crossed the parallel.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stueck |first=William W. |year=2002 |title=Rethinking the Korean War: A New Diplomatic and Strategic History |url=https://archive.org/details/rethinkingkorean0000stue |url-access=registration |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ |isbn=978-0-691-11847-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/rethinkingkorean0000stue/page/89 89]}}</ref> As it occupied the north, the Republic of Korea, in turn, attempted to unify the country under its regime, with the Korean National Police enforcing political indoctrination.<ref name=Cumings2005/>{{rp|281–282}} As US-led forces pushed into the north, China unleashed a counter-attack which drove them back into the south.

In 1951, the front line stabilized near the 38th parallel, and both sides began to consider an armistice. Rhee, however, demanded the war continue until Korea was unified under his leadership.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stueck |first=William W. |year=2002 |title=Rethinking the Korean War: A New Diplomatic and Strategic History |url=https://archive.org/details/rethinkingkorean0000stue |url-access=registration |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ |isbn=978-0-691-11847-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/rethinkingkorean0000stue/page/141 141]}}</ref> The Communist side supported an armistice line being based on the 38th parallel, but the United Nations supported a line based on the territory held by each side, which was militarily defensible.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stueck |first=William W. |year=2002 |title=Rethinking the Korean War: A New Diplomatic and Strategic History |url=https://archive.org/details/rethinkingkorean0000stue |url-access=registration |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ |isbn=978-0-691-11847-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/rethinkingkorean0000stue/page/139 139], 180}}</ref> The UN position, formulated by the Americans, went against the consensus leading up to the negotiations.<ref>{{cite book|title=Korea: Where the American Century Began|first=Michael|last=Pembroke|publisher=Hardie Grant Books|date=2018|pages=187–188}}</ref> Initially, the Americans proposed a line that passed through Pyongyang, far to the north of the front line.<ref>{{cite book|title=Korea: Where the American Century Began|first=Michael|last=Pembroke|publisher=Hardie Grant Books|date=2018|page=188}}</ref> The Chinese and North Koreans eventually agreed to a border on the military line of contact rather than the 38th parallel, but this disagreement led to a tortuous and drawn-out negotiating process.<ref>{{cite book|title=Korea: Where the American Century Began|first=Michael|last=Pembroke|publisher=Hardie Grant Books|date=2018|pages=188–189}}</ref>

==Armistice==
[[File:Korean Peninsula at night 20240124 132602 GMT Iss-070e080670.jpg|thumb|right|The division in 2024 is clearly visible from space with a higher amount of light emitted into space from the South than the North]]

The [[Korean Armistice Agreement]] was signed after three years of war. The two sides agreed to create a {{convert|4|km|mi|abbr=off|adj=mid|-wide}} buffer zone between the states, known as the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone]] (DMZ). This new border, reflecting the territory held by each side at the end of the war, crossed the 38th parallel diagonally. Rhee refused to accept the armistice and continued to urge the reunification of the country by force.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stueck |first=William W. |year=2002 |title=Rethinking the Korean War: A New Diplomatic and Strategic History |url=https://archive.org/details/rethinkingkorean0000stue |url-access=registration |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ |isbn=978-0-691-11847-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/rethinkingkorean0000stue/page/189 189]–193}}</ref> Despite attempts by both sides to reunify the country, the war perpetuated the division of Korea and led to a permanent alliance between South Korea and the U.S., and a permanent U.S. garrison in the South.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stueck |first=William W. |year=2002 |title=Rethinking the Korean War: A New Diplomatic and Strategic History |url=https://archive.org/details/rethinkingkorean0000stue |url-access=registration |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ |isbn=978-0-691-11847-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/rethinkingkorean0000stue/page/188 188]–189}}</ref>

As dictated by the terms of the Korean Armistice, a [[Geneva Conference (1954)|Geneva Conference]] was held in 1954 on the Korean question. Despite efforts by many of the nations involved, the conference ended without a declaration for a unified Korea.

The Armistice established a [[Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission]] (NNSC) which was tasked to monitor the Armistice. Since 1953, members of the Swiss<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vtg.admin.ch/internet/vtg/en/home/themen/einsaetze/peace/korea.parsys.0003.downloadList.53335.DownloadFile.tmp/nnsc2011e.pdf |title=NNSC in Korea |website=[[Military of Switzerland|Swiss Army]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110829125634/http://www.vtg.admin.ch/internet/vtg/en/home/themen/einsaetze/peace/korea.parsys.0003.downloadList.53335.DownloadFile.tmp/nnsc2011e.pdf |archive-date=29 August 2011}}</ref> and Swedish<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.forsvarsmakten.se/en/Forces-abroad/Korea-/ |title=Korea |website=[[Swedish Armed Forces]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825200823/http://www.forsvarsmakten.se/en/Forces-abroad/Korea-/ |archive-date=25 August 2010}}</ref> armed forces have been members of the NNSC stationed near the DMZ. Poland and Czechoslovakia were the neutral nations chosen by North Korea, but North Korea expelled their observers after those countries embraced capitalism.<ref>{{cite book|title=Pacific: The Ocean of the Future|first=Simon|last=Winchester|publisher=William Collins|date=2015|page=185}}</ref>

==Post-armistice relations==
{{main|Korean conflict|North Korea–South Korea relations}}
[[File:2018 inter-Korean summit square.jpg|thumb|Moon and Kim shaking hands over the [[demarcation line]]]]
Since the war, Korea has remained divided along the DMZ. North and South have remained in a state of conflict, with the opposing regimes both claiming to be the legitimate government of the whole country. Sporadic negotiations have failed to produce lasting progress towards reunification.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/06/09/koreas_slow_motion_reunification/|title=Korea's slow-motion reunification|publisher=Boston Globe|date=9 June 2005|access-date=2007-08-13|first1=John|last1=Feffer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070823170140/http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/06/09/koreas_slow_motion_reunification/|archive-date=23 August 2007|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 27 April 2018 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The [[Panmunjom Declaration]] signed by both leaders called for the end of longstanding military activities near the border and the reunification of Korea.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/04/27/the-panmmunjom-declaration-full-text-of-agreement-between-north-korea-and-south-korea/|title=The full text of North and South Korea's agreement, annotated|first=Adam|last=Taylor|date=27 April 2018|via=www.washingtonpost.com|access-date=16 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612232536/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/04/27/the-panmmunjom-declaration-full-text-of-agreement-between-north-korea-and-south-korea/|archive-date=12 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 1 November 2018, [[buffer zone]]s were established across the DMZ to help ensure the end of hostility on land, sea and air.<ref name=nov1>{{cite web|url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20181101002500315|title=Koreas halt all 'hostile' military acts near border|last=이 |first=치동|date=1 November 2018|website=[[Yonhap News Agency]]|access-date=28 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220031255/https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20181101002500315|archive-date=20 February 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=nov1again /> The buffer zones stretch from the north of Deokjeok Island to the south of Cho Island in the West Sea and the north of Sokcho city and south of Tongchon County in the East (Yellow) Sea.<ref name=nov1again>{{cite web|url=https://www.nknews.org/2018/10/two-koreas-end-military-drills-begin-operation-of-no-fly-zone-near-mdl-mnd/|title=Two Koreas end military drills, begin operation of no-fly zone near MDL: MND - NK News - North Korea News|date=31 October 2018|access-date=28 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301214418/https://www.nknews.org/2018/10/two-koreas-end-military-drills-begin-operation-of-no-fly-zone-near-mdl-mnd/|archive-date=1 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=nov1 /> In addition, [[no fly zone]]s were established.<ref name=nov1 /><ref name=nov1again />

In October 2024, the [[Constitution of North Korea|North Korean constitution]] was amended to remove references to reunification and labelled South Korea a "hostile state".<ref name="NoUnity">{{Cite news |last=Ng |first=Kelly |date=17 October 2024 |title=N Korean constitution now calls South 'hostile state' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1wnxlxxwq2o |access-date=25 October 2024 |work=BBC News}}</ref> This was preceded by the destruction of roads connecting the north to the south in a bid to "completely separate" the two states.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 October 2024 |title=Moment North Korea blows up roads connecting to South Korea |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/c70wgxr4zndo |access-date=25 October 2024 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==

===Period dramas===
*''[[Eyes of Dawn]]'' (1991–1992 [[Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation|MBC]] television series)
*''[[Rustic Period]]'' (2002–2003 [[Seoul Broadcasting System|SBS]] television series)
*''[[Seoul 1945]]'' (2006 [[KBS1]] television series)

==See also==
{{Portal|North Korea|South Korea|Modern history}}
* [[List of border incidents involving North and South Korea]]
* [[Korean conflict]]
* [[Korean reunification]]
* [[North Korea–South Korea relations]]
* [[History of North Korea]]
* [[History of South Korea]]
* [[Partition of Vietnam]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Fields, David. ''Foreign Friends: Syngman Rhee, American Exceptionalism, and the Division of Korea.'' University Press of Kentucky, 2019, 264 pages, {{ISBN|978-0813177199}}
* {{cite book|title=The Korean Armistice of 1953 and its Consequences: Part I|date=February 2004|publisher=The Suntory Centre (London School of Economics)|location=London|url=http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/6882/1/The_Korean_Armistice_of_1953_and_its_Consequences_-_Part_I.pdf|author1=Hoare, James |author2=Daniels, Gordon |edition=Discussion Paper No. IS/04/467|chapter=The Korean Armistice North and South: The Low-Key Victory [Hoare]; The British Press and the Korean Armistice: Antecedents, Opinions and Prognostications [Daniels]}}
* Lee, Jongsoo. ''The Partition of Korea After World War II: A Global History.'' Palgrave Macmillan, 2006, 220 pages, {{ISBN|978-1-4039-6982-8}}
* Oberdorfer, Don. ''The Two Koreas : A Contemporary History.'' Addison-Wesley, 1997, 472 pages, {{ISBN|0-201-40927-5}}

==External links==
* [http://www.unikorea.go.kr/ South Korean Ministry of Unification] (Korean and English)
* [http://www.kcna.co.jp/ North Korean News Agency] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041006163736/http://www.kcna.co.jp/ |date=6 October 2004 }} (Korean and English)
* [http://www.kimsoft.com/korea.htm Korea Web Weekly] (English)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20020717170744/http://ndfsk.dyndns.org/ NDFSK] (Mostly Korean; some English)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041009165635/http://www.koreascope.org/ks/eng/ Koreascope] (Korean and English)
* [http://rulers.org/ruljk.html#korea Rulers.org], has list of Post-World War II US and Soviet administrators (English)
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071209162911/http://www.koreanunification.net/ Korean Unification Studies]}}

{{Ongoing military conflicts}}
{{Cold War}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1945 in Korea]]
[[Category:North Korea–South Korea relations]]
[[Category:Territorial disputes of South Korea]]
[[Category:Territorial disputes of North Korea]]
[[Category:Korea–United States relations]]
[[Category:Korea–Soviet Union relations]]
[[Category:North Korea–South Korea border]]
[[Category:Partition (politics)]]
[[Category:Aftermath of the Korean War]]
[[Category:Allied occupation of Korea]]
[[Category:Korean conflict]]