After the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II,
Japanese rule was brought to an end. The Korean peninsula was divided into two
occupied zones in 1945 along the 38th parallel, with the northern half of the
peninsula occupied by the Soviet Union and the southern half by the United
States. The 38th parallel north—which
divides the Korean Peninsula roughly in half—was the original boundary between
the United States and Soviet brief administration areas of Korea at the end of
World War II. Upon the creation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK, informally North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (ROK, informally South
Korea) in 1948, it became a de facto international border and one of the most
tense fronts in the Cold War.
Initial hopes for a unified, independent Korea evaporated as
the politics of the Cold War resulted in the establishment of two separate
nations with diametrically opposed political, economic, and social systems.
There was sporadic unrest in the South. In September 1946,
South Korean citizens had risen up against the Allied Military Government. The
South declared its statehood in May 1948 and two months later the ardent
anti-Communist Syngman Rhee became its ruler. The People's Republic of Korea
was established in the North on 9 September 1948.
Soviet forces withdrew from the North in 1948 and most
American forces withdrew from the South the following year. This dramatically
weakened the Southern regime and encouraged Kim Il-sung to consider an invasion
plan against the South.
Both the North and the South remained heavily dependent on
their sponsor states from 1948 to the outbreak of the Korean War. The conflict,
which claimed over three million lives and divided the Korean Peninsula along
ideological lines, commenced on June 25, 1950, with a full-front DPRK invasion
across the 38th parallel, and ended in 1953 after international intervention
pushed the front of the war back to near the 38th parallel.
In the Armistice Agreement of July 27, 1953, the DMZ was
created as each side agreed to move their troops back 2,000 m (2,200 yards)
from the front line, creating a buffer zone 4 km (2.5 mi) wide. The Military
Demarcation Line (MDL) goes down the center of the DMZ and indicates exactly
where the front was when the agreement was signed.
Since the Armistice was signed, it has been monitored by
members of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC). Since 1953,
members of the Swiss[5] and Swedish[6] Armed Forces have been members of the
NNSC stationed near the DMZ.
Soldiers from both sides may patrol inside the DMZ, but they
may not cross the MDL. Sporadic outbreaks of violence due to North Korean
hostilities killed over 500 South Korean soldiers and 50 U.S. soldiers along
the DMZ between 1953 and 1999.
After Korea was divided by the UN, the two Korean powers
both tried to control the whole peninsula under their respective governments.
This led to escalating border conflicts on the 38th parallel and attempts to
negotiate elections for the whole of Korea.[47] These attempts ended when the
military of North Korea invaded the South on 25 June 1950, leading to a
full-scale civil war. With endorsement from the United Nations, countries
allied with the United States intervened on behalf of South Korea.
After rapid advances in a South Korean counterattack,
North-allied Chinese forces intervened on behalf of North Korea, shifting the
balance of the war. Fighting ended on 27 July 1953, with an armistice that
approximately restored the original boundaries between North and South Korea.
More than one million civilians and soldiers were killed in the war.
How do I understand the issue of geography/borders?
I think the border between North and South Korea symbolizes
many different things. It divides two
very different economies and symbolizes differences between the two
countries. The border also shows a great
divide in disagreements because these two countries have been fighting over
territory for quite some time and eventually they had to have a border between
them because they couldn’t become one unified country. Other countries had to intervene to help
settle these conflicts and I believe that this border shows two opposite
countries. This border issue is
connected to books we’ve read in class because we’ve seen issues of human sex
trafficking and this actually occurs very frequently between the border of
China and North Korea. China’s alliance
with North Korea affects us because we are also allies of China and so we’re
currently looking to China for help in hopes of settling things between us and
North Korea right now.
Sources:
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