BAUI, ROSSEL B.

BSN 3-A

WHY WAS KOREA DIVIDED INTO NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA?

Mrs. Maria Luisa L. Geslani April 2_, 2011

A divided home, this is what most of the people call the land of Korea. In history, it is the only country that is divided into North and South which do not have the same set and form of government. Like oil and water, people say that it is impossible for the two Koreas to unite as one country. It may seem true, but, if the cause would only be known to both North and South Koreans for their separation, then a miracle of reconciliation and reunification might be possible. Different beliefs, political orientations, and stand are some of the sources of conflict in these two nations but looking back at the past, the division of Koreas roof was a product not of the cultural differences but of war of greatest opposing countries: the Soviet Union and China vs. United Nations and America. Following Japan's surrender at the end of World War II on August 15, 1945, Korea, which had been under Japanese colonial rule, became independent. However, a series of postwar international decisions, reached through discussions that did not involve Korea, led to the division of the peninsula. At the Cairo Conference two years earlier, the Allies, including the United States, China and Britain, had agreed that Korea "in due course shall become free and independent" following Japan's surrender. The Soviet Union and its leader Josef Stalin didn't attend the meeting but agreed to the same principle in declaring war against Japan on August 8, 1945. In February 1945, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Stalin agreed to set up a trusteeship for Korea. By the time of the Allied victory later that year, however, no decision had been reached on how to govern Korea. China and Soviet Union wanted Korea to be a communist country while United States and United nations wanted Korea to be country of democracy. Soviet forces landed in Korea from the north, a move that compelled the United States to come up with a formula for governing the country. Otherwise, the United States felt, the Soviets would

take over the entire Korean Peninsula. After the Soviets had occupied the northern part of the peninsula, the United States tried to create an American occupation zone. U.S. officials hastily drew a line so that the peninsula would be divided approximately in half, while still leaving Seoul under U.S. control. In August 1945, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to divide Korea at the 38th parallel. Unable to settle differences with the Soviet Union on provisional rule, the United States took the matter to the United Nations in the fall of 1947. The UN passed a resolution declaring that free elections should be held and foreign forces should leave. The Soviets abstained on the resolution, but did not exercise their veto power. The Soviets later boycotted the UN-supervised elections south of the border. No such election took place in the north. By 1948, both U.S. and Soviet forces had left the peninsula, leaving Rhee and Kim in control on either side of the border. The Republic of Korea in the south and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea had been established. From 1948 until 1950, military from both sides of the border engaged in bloody skirmishes along the 38th parallel. Then on June 25, 1950, the conflict escalated into war as North Korea launched a full-fledged attack on South Korea, to begin what became known as the Korean War. It ended in an armistice on July 27, 1953 with the opposing armies confronting each other rather close to the 38th parallel. Today, the Koreas remain divided by the military demarcation line and the associated demilitarized zone (DMZ), set up as a buffer zone. The DMZ, which is considerably shorter than the original division, crosses the 38th parallel on an angle from southwest to northeast.

A divided country always spells trouble. There would be one that is economically weak, while the other strong, one with an excess of military capacity, one with less, both distrustful of each other, and both dependent on two powerful allies, the United States and China. That describes North and South Korea. A united Korea is what the country needs. One government for

the Korean people is necessary to make a peaceful country that is not separated by different ideologies. No more division of the land by the 38th parallel, no North or South, just the country of Korea. It should be the policy of the United States and foreign governments to keep their hands off the country and tell both the leaders of North and South Korea to reunite their country themselves with no outside interference. That is the only answer to solve the existing problem. The U.S. and its allies have the economic and military power to defend themselves regardless of the outcome of who would lead a united Korea. Once both people are reunited with their families they would not support a new war.