History of Korea

Liberation of Korea contributed to the division of Korea and the different development in the two regions. Collaboration was a question which were not answered sufficiantly, even today. Families were divided and many Koreans at the end of the war were miles away from home, usually in mining or military communities in Japan or Manchuria. Also, liberation brought many leaders during the colonial period back to Korea in order to bid for control of the new government. The colonial period brought with it many ill effects which would be felt for a long time to come.

At the end of the Second World War, in 1945, Koreans finnally gained independence from their colonial rulers. Japan had lost the war, and the colony was about to embark on another journey, where it would be divided in two by the contending "super powers," of the United States and The Soviet Union. The 38th parallel became the border between the communist north and the capitalist south as it became one of the fronts for the Cold War. The Berlin wall has fallen, but Korea remains divided. The exploration of these interesting relationships in a geopolitical setting are explored in the next two sections of the Korean History home page. The fact that Korea is still divided is one that will become history in the near future as political leaders attempt to come up with a solution for these questions.

Colonial Period