The Cold War: The Ancient Korean Peninsula

The division of Korea led North Korea led North Korea to invade South Korea to obtain a united, undivided Korea. From 1905 to 1945 the Korea Peninsula was under Japanese control.

In 1945, during World War II era, North Korea shared the peninsula of Korea with South Korea. The divided peninsula was heavily influence by United States, United Nation, and (USSR) Russia. Russia had great influence with the northern peninsula of Korea, while United States and United Nation held grounds in southern Korea. All three nation took control of the upper and lower regions after defeating the Japanese armed forces. In web article EveryCulture 2017, states “In 1945, upon the surrender of the Japanese armed forces, Korea was partitioned into Northern

It should be noted that North Korea’s communist ally and veto holder, the Soviet Union, was absent from this meeting in protest of the communist China’s exclusion from the Security Council. A United Nations defense force led by the United States, came to the of South Korea and in a rapid counter-offensive, they were able to push the North Koreans back past the 38th parallel close to Yalu River along the border with China. Warnings from Communist China that it would intervene should UN forces push past the 38th parallel were ignored by UN Commanders and true to their word, the Chinese Intervened on behalf of the North pushing UN and ROK forces back to the 38th parallel. In 1953, the war ended with an armistice that restored the border between the Koreas near the 38th Parallel and created the Korean Demilitarized Zone, a 4 Km wide buffer zone between the two Koreas (Edwards 2005).

In 1915, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded the Korean Peninsula, and until 1945, Korean remained under Japanese rule. But after the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II, Korea

The division of Korea into South Korea and North Korea was the result of the 1945 Allied victory in World War II, leaving the countries in disagreement with a 2.5 mile gap separating the countries. Following this, the Korean War occurred between North and South Korea, in which a United Nations force led by the United States of America fought for the South, and China fought for the North, making the USA an instant enemy of North Korea. In July 1953, the Korean War came to an end.

While World War II ended all worries and hardships Americans faced, events gradually initiated signs of the Cold War which created an increased state of tension that swept all of America and Korea. During the 1940s, the potential Communist invasion of nations worldwide began to create a frightening reality to the people of the United States. The Soviet Union’s exportation of Communism greatly worried America as they wanted to contain Communism from all nations, especially nations in Asia. The Korean peninsula divided into two territories: a north, Soviet supported government, and a south, American supported government, a separation as a result of World War II. The Soviet Union invaded Korea, which had been under Japanese control since 1900; fearing the Soviet’s intention to seize the entire peninsula, the United States responded by quickly sending in their troops to South Korea. Truman’s decision to become involved in conflicts in Korea grew out of the Soviet Union’s radical actions, events in Asia, and internal criticism in the Truman Administration in America, providing him with an opportunity to defend a nation from a communist invasion.

Overshadowed by the previous, long and devastating Second World War, the Korean War became known by Canadian veterans as the "Forgotten War". After Japan's defeat in World War II, Korea was split into two parts, North Korea and South Korea. North Korea was occupied by the communist country of USSR while South Korea was held by the Americans and other democratic nations. War officially broke out on June 25, 1950, when the North Koreans assaulted across the country's division on the 38th Parallel with their men and artillery behind them. North Korea and its leaders wanted to unify the whole country from its division by taking over South Korea under their government. North Korea was allied with China and the Republic of Korea was

On June 25, 1950, communist North Korea invaded the United States ally South Korea. The United States and the United Nation forces headed to South Korea to help defend but are pushed back and practically pushed off the peninsula. General Douglas MacArthur stages a risky but successful counterattack at the port of Inchon. This counterattack helps South Korea push back North Korean forces back to the Yalu River. This causes communist China to enter the war. The war dragged on for many years and finally ended in 1953 with the help of the United States and the United

The Korean War begun far before North Korea had launched their first assault upon South Korea. Nearing of the end of the Second World War, the Korean Peninsula had been under Japanese control. Soon enough it was liberated by both American and Soviet forces, the Soviets occupying the country north of the 38th Parallel, and the Americans south of it. After the war, neither the Koreans, Soviets, nor the Americans could agree on the country's government. This resulted in the foundation of the Republic of Korea (ROK) in the south and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north (Ohn Chang-Il, 23). The fact that neither the States nor the Soviets were willing to compromise on anything was a prime factor in the separation of the Korean Peninsula.

one time supported by the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union. It was primarily the result of the political division of Korea by an agreement of the victorious Allies at the conclusion of the Pacific War at the end of World War II. The Korean Peninsula was ruled by the Empire of Japan from 1910 until the end of World War II

Efforts to unify Korea resulted in more than 100,000 deaths due to guerilla warfare. In April 1950, North Korean leader Kim II Sung persuaded Joseph Stalin to back an invasion of South Korea, convincing Stalin that the United States would not intervene. Stalin agreed to provide arms, equipment, and advisors to the North Koreans (“Korean War”). Kim II Sung did not stop there as he also persuaded the newly communist Chinese to aid the North Koreans. The Korean War, (June 25,1950 – July 27, 1953), occurred when over 75,000 North Korean Army invaded the land across of the 38th parallel. American president Harry Truman was feeling heat after “letting China fall”, so Truman ordered American troops into action on South July, the United Sates entered the conflict on South Korea’s behalf. The next three years would be the darkest and most horrific in Korean history. As seen in American reporter Bill Shinn’s account, “the North Koreans were gruesome…during the occupation of South Korea, they killed over 165,000 civilians. Also, I witnessed a South Korean mass execution of civilians suspected of having helped the communists. Korea was a mess” (“The Forgotten War Remembered: Korea, 1950-1953). This shows the depths of the horror that was perpetrated in Korea for three years.

Before the summer of 1950 could begin North Korea has aggressively defeated and man handled South Korea. The more and more these countries fought, the more tensions flared and the communist was getting better control. President Harry S. Truman didn’t like the fact that the Communist were acting out of order and wanted to put an end to this “New World Order.” President Truman made a public statement June 27, 1950, that the United States would enter the conflict to mitigate communist rule under the measures recommended by the United Nations.

Korea, like Germany, had been occupied by Soviet and United States forces at the end of World War II. Korea was split in half via the 38th parallel after the Japanese Empire fell near the end of the conflict. The soviets occupied the north side of the line and the Americans occupied the south. “By the end of the decade, two new states had formed on the peninsula. In the south, the anti- communist dictator Syngman Rhee (1875-1965) enjoyed the reluctant support of the American

Under Yi Sŏng-Gye’s son King Sejong, considered Korea’s greatest ruler, inventions like the rain gauge, the use of a movable type, and the birth of Korean alphabet called Hangeul, still in use today, surfaced. (Piddock, 27-28) They ruled the entire peninsula for 500 years. Then Korea was annexed by neighbors Japan in 1910. Korea continued to be under Japan until 1945 when it was liberated at the end of World War II. (“North Korea”, Culturegrams) “With the defeat of Japan in 1945, the Allies agreed to divide the Korean Peninsula between the Soviet Union and the United States at the thirty-eighth parallel as a temporary measure.” (Piddock, 30) The Soviet Union received the Northern part of Korea, and the United States the South. “.. Soviet forces closed off northern Korea at the thirty-eighth parallel and placed Korean communists in power there.” Evidently, North Korea was bound to turn communist.

Consequently, in the southern half the Republic of Korea (ROK) was established under the leadership of Syngman Rhee in May 1948 with the backing of the United States; the Soviet Union, on the other side, supported the establishment of the Democratic People`s Republic of Korea (DPRK) led by Kim Il-Sung. With the formation of two different governments in one nation, the division of Korea was now absolute. The leftist communist ideology prevailing in the north and the pro-American rightists in the south drove the country into an inevitable polarization.