How did the Korean Peninsula respond to the end of WWII?

The Korean Peninsula was divided into North and South Korea at the end of WWII, leading to political and social upheaval.

At the end of World War II, the Korean Peninsula, which had been under Japanese rule since 1910, was divided along the 38th parallel into two zones of occupation. The Soviet Union occupied the North and the United States occupied the South. This division was intended to be temporary, but it soon became permanent due to rising Cold War tensions between the two superpowers.

In the North, the Soviets installed a communist regime under Kim Il-sung, who implemented a command economy and a totalitarian political system. Land was redistributed from the Japanese and Korean landlords to peasants, which gained Kim significant popular support. However, political dissent was brutally suppressed, and a personality cult was built around Kim.

In the South, the United States established a military government and later supported the election of Syngman Rhee as president. Rhee's government was nominally democratic, but in practice, it was authoritarian and corrupt. Land reform was less comprehensive than in the North, and economic development was slow. The South Korean government faced significant opposition from leftists and other dissidents, which it suppressed with US support.

The division of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of two rival regimes led to the Korean War in 1950, when North Korea invaded South Korea with Soviet support. The war ended in a stalemate in 1953, with the peninsula still divided along the 38th parallel. The war caused immense destruction and loss of life, and it further entrenched the division between North and South Korea.

In conclusion, the end of WWII led to the division of the Korean Peninsula into two rival states, North and South Korea, which had profound and lasting impacts on the region. The division resulted in political and social upheaval, a devastating war, and ongoing tensions that persist to this day.