Why was Korea divided into North and South? History of the division of Korea 38th parallel Korea

The Korean Peninsula has been a unified Korea for centuries. The country was ruled by generations of royal dynasties. After the Russo-Japanese War, Korea was occupied by Japan and thus came under Japanese colonial rule for as long as 35 years.

In November 1943, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Chiang Kai-shek met at the Cairo Conference to discuss the fate of Japan's colonies and agreed that Japan should lose all territories (including Korea) it had captured through military intervention.

After the end of World War II, the division of the country into two parts began. Washington saw Moscow's desire to expand its influence in Korea. Fearing this, the Americans decided to speed up measures to spread their own influence.

In August 1945, the United States and the Soviet Union, two allies “by name,” as some American historians say, divided control of the Korean Peninsula “into two zones of occupation.”

The Americans decided that the northern border would be the 38th parallel north latitude. A military government was formed south of this border, which was directly supported by the United States. In August 1948, the leader of the anti-communist movement, Rhee Seung Manstal, was president of South Korea, and American troops left the peninsula.

In August 1945, “Soviet Civil Administration” was established in North Korea. In February 1946, a provisional government (the Provisional People's Committee of North Korea) was formed, headed by Kim Il Sung. Soviet troops also left the peninsula in 1948.

Thus, both the USSR and the USA retreated, and the Koreans had to sort things out among themselves. However, the peninsula was also affected by the Cold War, and any attempts at reunification, if they were undertaken, would not meet the interests of either Washington or Moscow.

In 1948, the United States called on all Koreans, under the auspices of the United Nations, to vote and determine the future of the peninsula. After the North refused to participate, the South formed its own government in the city of Seoul, led by the energetic anti-communist leader Singman Rhee.

The North responded in kind by installing former communist guerrilla Kim Il Sung at the helm, who became the first premier of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), with its capital in Pyongyang.

At the same time, both leaders did not hide their intentions to unite Korea under their own influence. The Constitutions of both Korean states, adopted in 1948, clearly stated that the goal of each of the two governments was to extend its power throughout the country.

All this resulted in an open armed conflict - Korea. war of 1950-1953. Despite the huge sacrifices - about 2.5 million people died in this war, both sides were unable to resolve the controversial issue of which regime represents the “true” Korea.

The division became even sharper. Since 1953, movement between North and South Korea has been restricted. The border was, in fact, tightly closed.

Nevertheless, the conflict helped firmly establish the United States as North Korea's permanent military adversary, as the US military bombed villages and towns from the northern half of the peninsula.

The North's efforts to develop a nuclear program have also markedly heightened tensions with South Korea and its allies, particularly the United States.-

Despite recent efforts to negotiate diplomatically under South Korea's new President Moon Jae-in, the two rival countries remain in a bitter standoff ahead of the 2018 Olympics.

Even as South Korean officials began welcoming athletes from around the world to the Winter Games, North Korean officials staged a military parade at Pyongyang's historic Kim Il Sung Square, during which, according to CNN, four of the latest missiles took off into the sky, watched by Kim Jong-un's balcony.

The eyes of people from all over the world are focused on South Korea. This reaction is caused by the recent opening of the Winter Olympic Games held in the resort city of Pyeongchang. The situation has become tense since the Olympics began. Unexpectedly, North Korea took part in it. In what way will events develop and will the two warring states find a common language?

Although North and South Korea agreed to fly under the same flag and compete as one hockey team for the benefit of this “Peace Olympics,” the unified country has been divided for more than 70 years, since the Korean Peninsula became an unexpected victim of the escalating Cold War between two rival superpowers: the Soviet Union. Union and the United States.

Divided Korean People

For centuries, the peninsula represented a unified Korea, ruled by generations of royal dynasties. Occupied by Japan after the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 and formally annexed five years later, Korea fell under Japanese colonial rule, which lasted a full 35 years until the end of World War II, when the division into two countries began.

“The basis of the catalyzing incident is a confrontation that actually arose without the participation of the Koreans between the Soviet Union and the United States. Korea was divided into two occupation zones,” says Michael Robinson, professor emeritus of East Asian studies and history at Indiana University, who has written extensively on modern Korea and its history.

In August 1945, the two allies "in name only" (as Robinson claims) shared control of the Korean Peninsula. Over the next three years (1945-1948), the Soviet army and its proxies established a communist regime in the area north of 38° north latitude or the 38th parallel. A military government was formed south of this line, which was directly supported by the United States.

According to Robinson, while Soviet policies were enormously popular with most workers and peasants in the North, many middle-class Koreans fled south of the 38th parallel, where most of the Korean population lives today. Meanwhile, the US-backed regime in the south clearly favored anti-communist right-wing elements.

The result of the division

“The final outcome is that the Soviet Union and the United States retreated, and the Koreans could only sort things out among themselves,” explains the professor. - The trouble is, this country was affected by the “Cold War, and everything that contributed to the creation of a single state, all sorts of attempts to reunite two antagonistic societies, interfered with both the Soviet Union and the United States, which never yielded to each other in the political arena.”

Formation of opposing governments

Korean War

The Korean War (1950-1953), which killed at least 2.5 million people, failed to resolve the controversial issue of which regime constituted the “true” Korea. Nevertheless, the conflict helped firmly establish the United States as North Korea's permanent military adversary, as the US military bombed villages and towns from the northern half of the peninsula.

"The US soldiers leveled the country," Robinson says. “They destroyed every city.” The truce that ended that conflict in 1953 left the peninsula divided. As before, there was a demilitarized zone running approximately along the 38th parallel.

Unlike the Cold War division between East and West Germany, the division in Korea was too sharp. Since 1953, movement between North and South Korea has been restricted.

Robinson describes the border as "hermetically sealed," which helps explain the two countries' very different political paths and the persistence of misunderstandings between them.

Economic development of South Korea and regression of North Korea

Maintaining strong ties with the West and the US military presence have contributed to the development of a strong economy in South Korea. Over the past decades, the country has made great strides towards becoming a full-fledged democratic state.

Meanwhile, North Korea remained an isolated “hermit state,” especially after the collapse of the Soviet bloc in the early 1990s. This is a country with a poorly developed economy. It is a virtual police state, ruled by one family for three generations.

The North's targeted efforts to develop a nuclear program have also markedly heightened tensions with South Korea and its allies, particularly the United States.

Repeated escalation of conflicts

Political scientists characterize relations between the North and the South as extremely unstable, subject to periods of rise and sharp decline.

The situation on the island especially worsened in October 2006 and May 2009, when underground nuclear weapons tests were carried out in the DPRK. They caused a storm of indignation among the international community. The UN responded to Pyongyang with two resolutions that demanded that the DPRK cease its activities in the field of nuclear testing. The country had to solve the problem of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Armed clashes have repeatedly occurred in North and South Korea, causing casualties on both sides.

Peak escalation

The aggravation of relations peaked in March 2010, when the South Korean corvette Cheonan sank in the Yellow Sea near Pangnendo Island. This water area was under the control of Seoul. There were 104 people on board.

In November of the same year, again in the Yellow Sea, a water border was divided between the two warring countries. The result was the largest armed conflict. As Seoul reported, the island was shelled from the northern side, and as a result, two soldiers from the South were killed and 14 were injured.

A new round of the crisis was the DPRK's nuclear tests in February 2013. The UN did not hesitate to impose sanctions against the country.

Modern Korea

Despite recent efforts to negotiate diplomatically under South Korea's new President Moon Jae-in, the two rival countries have faced a bitter standoff ahead of the 2018 Olympics. Even as South Korean officials began welcoming athletes from around the world to the Winter Games, North Korean authorities staged a military parade at historic Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang.

Four of the country's newest missiles, the Hwasong-15, flew through the sky during the parade as Kim watched from the balcony, CNN reported. After that, he began to tell the audience about the horrors of imperialism.

Accordingly, the parade commemorated the day the modern ruler's grandfather, Kim Il Sung, formed the Korean People's Army (KPA) in 1948. This is a fateful year in the history of the division of Korea.

"Since 1948, the Koreans have had two government organizations, each of which claims to be the legitimate political conduit for all Korean people," Robinson says. “And frankly, nothing has changed since then.”

Why was Korea divided into North and South? April 13th, 2018

Korea split into two states after World War II. More than seventy years have passed since that time, but the situation has not moved from a dead point: the countries have still not concluded a full-fledged peace treaty and are in constant combat readiness. What led to the split of a single nation, civil war and the transformation of former fellow citizens into enemies?

Korea before division

The 19th century was a turning point for most Asian states. Europeans and Americans became interested in previously closed countries, so they began to invest money in their development. One of them was Japan, which, thanks to American investments, was able to make a leap in development.

This period was associated with the destruction of past traditions, the eradication of samurai culture and rearmament according to modern standards.

With the help of the West, the country was able to accumulate enough forces to defeat Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century and seize neighboring territories, turning them into colonies. A similar fate befell Korea in 1910.

The Japanese are distinguished by a rather radical form of nationalism and an intolerant attitude towards foreigners. Therefore, the seizure of the territory of the Korean Peninsula was an extremely pragmatic plan. The small territory of Japan was expanded, the amount of land for agricultural cultivation and the construction of enterprises increased, and the army was replenished with “cannon fodder.”

However, it cannot be said that Japan only caused harm to Korea: under its rule, the level of medicine, education, and military training in the country increased, and life expectancy almost doubled.

At the same time, the traditional culture of the Korean people - language, beliefs, customs - was brutally suppressed. People were not treated with respect, and those who were dissatisfied were punished very severely. Naturally, resistance arose in society, which was secretly supported by other countries.

Liberation from Japan

In the mid-thirties, an active guerrilla movement began in the country under the leadership of Kim Il Sung, who would then become the leader of North Korea. He studied in China and the Soviet Union, and these countries, which were building communism in their countries, began to sponsor the underground movement. Thus, in Korea, one part of the government was born that adhered to socialist principles.

She was opposed by another camp, headed by Syngman Rhee. With the support of Western countries (primarily America, which by this time had “quarreled” with Japan), he also fought against the invaders, but politically he adhered to a different line - democratic.

Thus, in the then unified Korea, two opposing camps were formed, which in the future began to fight for power.

A new stage in the country began in 1945, when Japan announced surrender after nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She was no longer able to hold the captured territories, so she abandoned the encroachments.

However, liberated Korea did not remain unattended for long: by the end of the year, America and the Soviet Union had drawn a border in the country that separated the zones of their political influence. The northern part went under the protection of the USSR, and the southern part - to the United States.

Official division

The American government was the first to claim Korean territory. In August 1945, it announced the creation of an occupation zone that occupied the south of the peninsula to the 38th parallel. At this time, there was no official government in Korea. The country was ruled by a Provisional Government, which consisted mainly of pro-communist politicians. America was dissatisfied with this situation, so it supported the democratic branch of government. Until 1948, US representatives were in Korea. After this, they officially appointed Syngman Rhee as president and left the peninsula.

A similar situation unfolded in northern Korea, but instead of United States troops, the situation was controlled by the Soviet army. In October, a significant portion of the Koreans who fled during the Japanese occupation returned to the peninsula. Among them was Kim Il Sung, who already had a high status in the communist branch of government.

First, he was appointed Minister of Defense under the USSR Commandant in Korea, and in 1948, when Soviet troops left Korea, he became the full-fledged leader of the newly formed DPRK.

The people of Korea were dissatisfied that immediately after liberation from Japanese rule, the country was captured by new foreigners. In documents that described the attitude of the USSR and the USA towards Korea, the word “guardianship” was used. However, in the Korean translation, the same word was most often used as in relation to the Japanese authorities, which was closer in meaning to “occupation”. However, the lack of a material base, a strong army and a unified government made the fight impossible.

Life with the Border and the Civil War

In 1948, an official border was drawn on the peninsula, on which a demilitarized zone was formed.

Initially, it ran along the 38th parallel, but after the Korean War it acquired its modern shape. Immediately after the division, it was assumed that the country would be split into two parts temporarily - until the situation improved and new agreements were signed. However, the participating parties immediately knew that it would not be possible to reunify Korea peacefully. The USA and the USSR, by controlling territories, maintained influence in Southeast Asia, and no one wanted to lose such an advantage.

To expand its sphere of influence, North Korea, with the unofficial support of the Soviet Union and China, began military action in 1950, which later became known as the Korean War. The main goal of the DPRK was to seize the southern part of the peninsula and establish communist power on it.

By this time, North Korea was many times more developed and equipped than the agricultural South, so the authorities were counting on a quick and easy victory. However, UN countries led by the United States began to fight on the side of the South. Unexpectedly for both sides, the conflict dragged on.

The losses in the war were enormous; with the help of aviation, entire cities were razed to the ground - including Pyongyang, which was one of the richest historical cities in Korea. At the same time, the captured territories quickly returned back to the original owners. This “marking time” lasted three years, and it became clear to the enemies that further battles would bring nothing but new casualties. Therefore, in 1953, South and North Korea signed an armistice.

After the war

Officially, the war between the Republic of Korea and the DPRK has not yet stopped. In the mid-1960s, governments signed a treaty of cooperation and non-aggression, but North Korea tore it up in the 1990s in response to sanctions and military exercises between South Korea and America. At the same time, according to documents, the South and the North consider the opposite parts of the peninsula to be temporarily occupied and assume that one day they will extend their influence over them. The North wants the establishment of the Juche system, and the South wants democratic principles.

However, this is the situation only on paper. In practice, North and South Korea have diverged so far in terms of economic and mental development that unification seems unlikely.

In the north they are convinced that southerners are traitors who “sold out” to the Americans, and in the south they are convinced that northerners are poor savages who have no place in modern society and, especially, in the same country as them.

However, such pessimistic sentiments do not mean that there is no hope for reconciliation. As the situation with the Olympic Games has shown, both countries are striving to feel like a single nation, at least for a while. At different ends of the peninsula live families separated during the war, who want, if not to reunite, then at least see each other.

The country shares a common language, history, cultural traditions and mentality, so there is always a chance for reconciliation.

Korea, in World War II. The USA and the USSR signed an agreement on joint governance of the country. The dividing line between the zones of influence of the two superpowers ran along the 38th parallel (English) Russian. After the Korean War (1950-1953), the two young states were separated by a demilitarized zone.

Historical background

Annexation of Korea by Japan (1910-1945)

World War II (1939-1945)

The American authorities were suspicious of the self-proclaimed Provisional Government, considering it too leftist, and therefore treated favorably the anti-communist movement in the country. In August 1948, its leader, Syngman Rhee, became President of the Republic of Korea and American troops left the peninsula.

DPRK

Disputed territory of the Yellow Sea

The land demarcation line was agreed upon and recognized by the parties to the conflict. However, in the Yellow Sea the demarcation line was not agreed upon. The Republic of Korea controls a number of islands along the coast of the DPRK and considers the waters around the islands its own. North Korea does not dispute that the islands belong to the Republic of Korea, but considers the maritime zone around the islands its own. As a result, both sides consider the presence of ships of another state in this area as a violation of the border with corresponding consequences in the form of conflicts leading to military clashes. The situation is complicated by regular military exercises between South Korean forces and the US Navy in the disputed region. The DPRK perceives training exercises as shelling of its sovereign territory.

Prospects for the merger

In the late 1980s, North Korean President Kim Il Sung proposed organizing some kind of unified Korean state - the Democratic Confederate Republic of Koryo.

In December 1991, the Agreement on Reconciliation and Non-Aggression, Cooperation and Exchange between North and South was signed in Seoul. This Agreement specifically noted that relations between the DPRK and the Republic of Korea are not ordinary interstate relations, but temporarily established in the course of progress towards reunification. The parties committed themselves to abandon military-political confrontation, ensure detente and peace, and promote national interests. It was decided to form a Joint Military Commission of the North and South to develop military confidence-building measures. The agreement provided for economic cooperation, primarily in the development of resources, trade exchange, and joint investments with the aim of proportionate development of the national economy and improving the well-being of the entire Korean nation. The intention of the parties was expressed to ensure free movement and contacts of people, correspondence, meetings, and reunification of separated families and relatives. It was also proposed to restore interrupted railways and highways, and open water and air routes.

Shortly before this, in September 1991, both countries were admitted to the UN.

Since this time, the DPRK and the Republic of Korea have been taking very small steps towards unification in the form of limited representative and cultural contacts between the population, resolving technical issues regarding the joining of infrastructures, and joint performance in some types of big sports (at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championship the united Korean team), at cultural events and the like.

On February 5, 2014, as a result of a meeting between representatives of the governments of the DPRK and the Republic of Korea in the border village of Panmunjom, an agreement was reached to organize family reunification in North Korean territory from February 20 to 25, 2014.

According to official data from the Republic of Korea, 73 thousand South Korean citizens are awaiting family reunification, and only a few hundred families will be able to do this during the scheduled meeting.

At a conference in Yalta in February 1945, it was decided that the USSR would enter the war against Japan. In July 1945, at the Potsdam Conference, it was decided to define the 38th parallel as the dividing line between the armed forces of the United States and the USSR on the Korean Peninsula in order for them to accept the surrender of the Japanese army.

On August 9, 1945, the USSR declared war on Japan. Soviet troops fought fierce battles and by August 25 completed the liberation of Korea, achieving the surrender of Japanese troops. After the signing of the act of surrender of Japan (September 2, 1945), American troops landed in the southern part of the peninsula, which did not take part in the fighting on land for the liberation of Korea.

In December 1945, a meeting of the foreign ministers of the USSR, USA and Great Britain was held in Moscow, at which a decision was made to create a Provisional Korean Democratic Government and trusteeship of Korea. In order to form a government, a Joint Commission was formed from representatives of the American command in the south and the Soviet command in the north. It was supposed to resolve the issue of trusteeship over the Korean Peninsula by four powers - the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and China (for 5 years). However, the Joint Commission was unable to form a Provisional Korean Government.

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution establishing a Provisional Commission on Korea to hold elections in the country under UN supervision. The 1948 elections took place only in the south of Korea, but were recognized as legitimate by the UN Interim Commission.

After the creation of the Republic of Korea was proclaimed on August 15, 1948 in Pyongyang, a decision was made to hold elections to the highest authority - the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) - throughout Korea. The SNC, at its first session in September 1948, proclaimed the establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (September 9, 1948) and adopted the Constitution of the DPRK. By the end of the year, Soviet troops were withdrawn from the territory of the DPRK.

Neither the DPRK nor the ROK recognized the legitimacy of each other's existence. Both countries strengthened their defenses and built up their military capabilities. The ratio of the number of personnel of the armed forces and military-technical equipment was in favor of the DPRK. The outbreak of hostilities was preceded by numerous armed incidents in the area of the 38th parallel.

On June 25, 1950, the armed forces of the DPRK - the Korean People's Army (KPA) - launched an offensive, capturing the capital of the Republic of Korea, the city of Seoul. Quickly moving south, KPA units approached the port of Busan, thus occupying almost the entire territory of the ROK.

Then, at the insistence of the United States, on July 7, 1950, a UN Security Council resolution was adopted on sending UN armed forces consisting of 16 states to Korea to assist the ROK. The bulk of the UN military contingent was made up of American forces. In September 1950, a UN military force landed in the city of Inchon, launching a counteroffensive to the north. Soon Seoul was liberated, and on October 20 Pyongyang was captured. UN troops have reached the border with China.

In this situation, on the side of the DPRK in October 1950, Chinese people's volunteers (1 million people), who were actually regular units of the PRC army, entered hostilities. The USSR, which did not officially participate in the war, provided air support in northeast China. The UN troops began to retreat, Pyongyang was liberated (December 6, 1950), and then Seoul was captured (January 4, 1951). During the response operation of the joint UN and ROK forces, Seoul was occupied on March 14, 1951. By June 1951, the front had stabilized in the area of the 38th parallel.

In the summer of 1951, peace negotiations began. The armistice agreement was signed only 2 years later - on June 27, 1953. During this period, hostilities were resumed several times. The parties that signed the Armistice Agreement were representatives of the KPA command and the Chinese People's Volunteers, on the one hand, and the command of the UN troops, on the other. The Republic of Kazakhstan is not a party to the Agreement. In April 1954, in accordance with the provisions of the Armistice Agreement, a meeting of foreign ministers on post-war settlement issues in Korea was held in Geneva. However, the parties failed to reach any compromise.

Losses on both sides as a result of military operations were significant: according to various estimates, from the DPRK and Chinese people's volunteers - up to 4 million people, the armed forces of the Republic of Korea - more than 400 thousand people, the USA - 142 thousand people, troops of other countries - 17 thousand people . Serious damage was caused to the economy in the south and north of the peninsula - the bulk of industrial enterprises and housing stock were destroyed. A particular problem was the problem of separated families - during the fighting, as a result of population migration, members of many families found themselves on opposite sides of the 38th parallel.