38th Parallel: A Brief History Of The Korean Peninsula

At the end of World War Two, Korea was divided into two sections. These sections were labeled as South Korea and North Korea. The dividing point was at the 38th parallel. Soviets occupied North Korea, and the U.S. troops occupied South Korea. The United States had troops there to keep the peace, so to say.

The Korean War wasn't just a war between South and North Korea, it also involved the United Nations, China, and the USSR. The Cold War was a war between the USSR and the USA. The reason it is called the Cold War is because it wasn't really a war, it was just a bunch of threats with nuclear weapons. In this paper I will talk about some of the biggest battles in the Korean War: the battle of Pusan Perimeter, the battle of Inchon, and the battle of Chosin Reservoir.

The Korean War (1950-1953) emerged after World War II where the world powers at the time, the United States and Allies-UN Forces and the Soviet Union had conflicting visions for what the postwar world should look like. The shaping of the Korean Peninsula was first on their agendas. The Soviet Union vision was to unify Korea through the expansion of Communism, which made sense strategically with Communist China and the Soviet Union in Korea’s backyard. However, the unification of Korea would only happen via civil war. North Korea would have to invade South Korea and inflict their will by means of armed force. Conversely, as one can imagine the UN-Forces vision was to prevent the expansion of Communism and unify North and South Korea in a single country protected by the United States. (Alexander, 2013) Over a period of three years, the conflicting world powers would duke it out. North Korea would strike first by engaging in civil war and South Korea with UN Forces assistance would help stop their onslaught. Next, uninformed the UN Forces would head into North Korea on the offensive, only to be met by prepared communist forces, which leads to retreat of the UN Forces and ultimately a stalemate. (Hammel, 1981)

The Korean peninsula has always been in a rough location. It is located between China and Japan, trapped. It could be reasonably compared to the rope in a tug-of-war game, having been occupied by one or the other for a large majority of time. In 1910, Japan had annexed Korea and were occupying the region. Their occupation stayed firm until Japan’s ultimate defeat in World War 2. One may think that Japan leaving the region would mean that Korea would receive its sovereignty back. However, they ended up becoming more divided than ever. After World War 2, the Soviet Union and the United States became involved in what is commonly known as the Cold War. The Soviet Union was communist. The U.S. wanted to keep communism from spreading. The Cold War

After World War II, the Korean territory was free to be taken over. Russia took the Northern territory and the United States took the Southern territory. Both superpowers would influence both territories into their own image. When the two countries pulled out in 1947, Korea was left with two regimes with very different ideologies. North under the influence of communism while South under democratic direction. In just a couple of years, tensions rose with both sides wanting to overpower each other. Threats became more serious, spies multiplied in number, and violence between the regions had increased along the 38th parallel, the boundary between North and South Korea. Soon one side would draw first blood and would spark a war.

The Korean War was an episode in the Cold War. It seemed to be a war between South and North Korea, but America and Russia were using it to fight parted from having a ‘hot war’. The Cold War too was a conflict of different convictions and belief– communism versus capitalism – each held with practically religious doctrine, shaped the premise of a global power struggle with both sides battling for strength, abusing each open door for development anyplace in the world. I intend to cover the causes of the Korean War, as well as the effects, and the end result?

In a war without a clear endgame, who really wins? This was a question that ran through the minds of many soldiers during the Korean War. In a fight that felt as if it were brought on by bureaucrats in Washington, it must have been extremely difficult to see a purpose. A man must look deep within himself to figure out what he is truly fighting for. Was he fighting for his country? Blood lust? His fellow man? War is a heavy burden, with consequences to every decision made. It is a soldier’s job to find his responsibly in war and live with the decisions he’s made.

On September 28, 1950, the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment arrived in Pusan, South Korea in what would be Australia’s major contribution in the war effort against invading forces from the north of the Korean peninsula, to the Korean People’s Army (KPA). “Following Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies’ endorsement of UNSC Resolution 82, this would see the beginning of a three year conflict in which Australia would commit 17,000 troops and suffer over 300 fatalities, only five years after the end of the Second World War, (AWM, 2016)”. In what was predicated as Australia’s commitment to providing peacekeeping troops for the United Nations to preserve the freedom of South Koreans, the Korean War would eventually play a fundamental role in solidifying Australia’s shift in vital military alliances, in particular the post WWII development of the United States in surpassing the United Kingdom as a key protector of Australia.

When the Japanese empire was dismantled at the end of World War Two, Korea fell victim to the Cold War. It was divided into two spheres of influence along the 38th parallel. The Americans controlled south of the line - the Russians installed a communist regime in the north, later ceding influence to

The ancient Korean empire controlled the entire peninsula for thousands of years, until 1910, when the more dominant and capable Japanese army invaded and attained authority over the isle through a signed treaty. The leadership of Korea remained in the hands of Japan until they were defeated by the US in World War Two. As Korea emerged from four decades of brutal Japanese rule, the peninsula was then split halfway between the Soviet Union (who dominated the north) and the US (who had controlled the south) in 1948. This divide between territories was mainly a product of the Cold War and both nations sought to gain territory in order to prevail. The Soviets appointed a man by the name of Kim Il Sung as the leader of the North, who demonstrated

On August 4th, 2015, two South Korean soldiers were injured by a North Korean landmine, prompting the South for the first time in eleven years to resume anti-North propaganda broadcast via loudspeakers across the border. These conflicts provoked cross-border fire and heated rhetoric, however China and the United States are usually at the ready to ease friction between the North and South. For the past 60 years the flames of the North and South Korean conflict have kept burning ever since the spark of the Korean War. Although a majority of the fire has been extinguished with the 1953 armistice ending the Korean War, the flames of the Korean conflict still live, causing occasional burns and damage between nations. The political influences of the United States significantly affected the conflict between North and South Korea during the Korean War and have continued to affect this conflict for the past 60 years by means of military involvement, oppression of communism, and conflicting interests with other nations.

By 1950, North Korea and South Korea started the Korean War and ended in 1953. Between North and South of Korea, there is two and a half mile wide border called 38th parallel north, which divides the citizens from each other. In North Korea, they have Prison Camps for any citizens who violate the laws. Their government watches every movement the citizens makes. North Korean Refugees across the border line of China and North Korea to escape to find freedom.

Korea, located on the Korean Peninsula in North-East Asia, consists of two separate states – North Korea and South Korea. What makes it a peninsula is the fact that it has the Yellow Sea on its western coast, the East China Sea on it southern coast, and the Sea of Japan on its eastern coast. Its neighbors, and only land access, are China to the northwest and Russia to the northeast. Occupying a land mass of over 84,000 square miles, Korea has a mixture of plains, mountains, and coastlines. The combination of such varied geography provides many elements to consider when analyzing Korea’s physical environment. This essay will seek to provide a general understanding of the geography, climatology, and biogeography of the components that make

Korea is a 750-mile-long peninsula located in the eastern part of the Asian continent bordering the East Sea and the Yellow sea. Seoul is the country’s capital. Nowadays the country is split into South and North Korea, There are many mountains in South Korea. They are small compared to many others around the world. Over millions of years, their peaks have been worn down by harsh weather such as wind and rainfall. Most of them are below 3,300 feet. On South Korea 's Jeju Island high humidity and rainfall. This has caused tropical evergreen jungles. The peninsula is also surrounded by roughly 3,000 volcanic islands. (National Geographic)

In 1897 King Gojong ended the Joseon dynasty and began The Great Han Empire as an independant country with himself as the Emperor. Growth of the country was greatly encouraged and Seoul constructed new roads and buildings as well as introducing new amenities such as electricity, telephones, trains, and a railway. As citizens were now able to travel, those who had lived abroad worked to replicate advancements they had seen in places such as Washington. A waste removal system was implemented and recreational parks were created.