History:

The Korean Peninsula is a region located in Eastern Asia extending south from

the Asian continent for about 683 miles (1,100 km). Today, it is politically divided
into North Korea and South Korea. North Korea is located on the northern part of
the peninsula, and it extends from China south to the 38th parallel of latitude.
South Korea then extends from that area and encompasses the rest of the Korean
Peninsula.

The Korean Peninsula was in the news for much of 2010, and especially toward
the end of the year, because of growing conflicts between the two nations.
Conflict on the Korean Peninsula is not new however as North and South Korea
have long had tensions with one another that dates back before the Korean War,
which ended in 1953.

History of the Korean Peninsula

Historically, the Korean Peninsula was occupied by only Korea, and it was ruled
by several different dynasties, as well as the Japanese and the Chinese. From
1910 to 1945 for example, Korea was controlled by the Japanese, and it was
mostly controlled from Tokyo as a part of the Empire of Japan.

Toward the end of World War II, the Soviet Union (USSR) declared war
on Japan, and by August 10, 1945, it occupied the northern part of the Korean
Peninsula. At the end of the war, Korea was then divided into northern and
southern portions at the 38th parallel by the Allies at the Potsdam Conference.
The United States was to administer the southern part, while the USSR
administered the northern area.
This division started the conflicts between the two areas of Korea because the
northern region followed the USSR and became communist, while the south
opposed this form of government and formed a strong anti-communist, capitalist
government. As a result, in July of 1948, the anti-communist southern region
drafted a constitution and began to hold national elections which were subjected
to terrorism. However, on August 15, 1948, the Republic of Korea (South Korea)
was officially founded, and Syngman Rhee was elected as president. Shortly after
that, the USSR established a Communist North Korean Government called the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) with Kim Il-Sung as its
leader.

Once the two Koreas were formally established, Rhee and Il-Sung worked to

reunify Korea. This caused conflicts though because each wanted to unify the area
under their own political system and rival governments were established. Also,
North Korea was heavily supported by the USSR and China and fighting along
the border of North and South Korea was not uncommon.
The Korean War
By 1950, the conflicts on the border of North and South Korea led to the
beginning of the Korean War. On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South
Korea and almost immediately the United Nations member states began to send
aid to South Korea. North Korea was, however, able to quickly advance south by
September 1950. By October though, U.N. forces were able to move the fighting
north again and on October 19, North Korea's capital, Pyongyang was taken. In
November, Chinese forces joined North Korean forces and the fighting was then
moved back south and in January 1951, South Korea's capital, Seoul was taken.

In the months that followed, heavy fighting ensued, but the center of the conflict
was near the 38th parallel. Although peace negotiations began in July of 1951,
fighting continued throughout 1951 and 1952. On July 27, 1953, peace
negotiations ended, and the Demilitarized Zone was formed. Shortly after that,
an Armistice Agreement was signed by the Korean People's Army, the Chinese
People's Volunteers and the United Nations Command, which was led by the U.S.
South Korea however, never signed the agreement, and to this day an official
peace treaty has never been signed between North and South Korea. 

Today's Tensions
Since the end of the Korean War, tensions between North and South Korea have
remained. For example according to CNN, in 1968, North Korea unsuccessfully
attempted to assassinate South Korea's president. In 1983, a bombing in
Myanmar that was linked to North Korea killed 17 South Korean officials, and in
1987, North Korea was accused of bombing a South Korean airplane. Fighting has
also repeatedly occurred both land and sea borders because each nation is
continually trying to unify the peninsula with its own system of government.
In 2010, tensions between North and South Korea were especially high after a
South Korean warship was sunk on March 26. South Korea claims that North
Korea sunk the Cheonan in the Yellow Sea off the South Korean island of
Baengnyeong. North Korea denied responsibility for the attack and tensions
between the two nations have been high ever since.

Most recently on November 23, 2010, North Korea launched an artillery attack
on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong. North Korea claims that South Korea
was conducting "war maneuvers," but South Korea states that it was conducting
maritime military drills. Yeonpyeong was also attacked in January 2009. It is
located near a maritime border between the countries that North Korea wants
moved south. Since the attacks, South Korea began practicing military drills in
early December.
To learn more about the historic conflict on the Korean Peninsula and the Korean
War, visit this page on the Korean War as well as North Korea and South Korea
Facts from this site.

Although the two Koreas have a largely common

heritage, their societies are a study in contrasts. 

Kim Il-sung effectively founded North Korea in 1948 and his family dynasty has ruled the
country ever since, with control passing from father to son.

In the same period South Korea has managed six republics, a revolution, a couple of
coups and the transition to free and fair elections. In total 12 presidents have led the
country, covering 19 terms of office.

In the South the United Nations encouraged democratic elections starting in

1948. South Korea experienced two coups before settling into a stable pattern
of free elections and regular five-year terms of office.

Until 1973 North and South Korea were pretty evenly matched in terms of wealth.

Since then, South Korea has rocketed ahead to become one of the world's leading
industrial producers, with companies like Samsung and Hyundai becoming global
household names.

North Korea stagnated in the 1980s as the country stuck rigidly to its state-run system.

Whereas South Korea is one of the most technologically advanced countries

in the world, only 30 percent of the North Korean population has access to
electricity. This disparity is readily visible in nighttime photos of the Korean
Peninsula.
South Korean citizens are able to pursue active roles in civil society, to travel
freely, and to voice dissent without fear of reprisals. They welcome
technological innovation, enjoy social media, and increasingly incorporate
English loanwords into their speech, known as "Konglish."

Conversely, the human and civil rights of North Korean citizens are severely
suppressed. The state controls nearly all aspects of daily life, including the
media, which it uses to sow mistrust of South Korea and its western allies.

Under democratic leadership, South Korea has grown

into a modern, prosperous country, and today its
economy is one of the strongest in Asia and the 14th
largest in the world. North Korea, on the other hand,
remains one of the world's most economically isolated
countries, trading almost exclusively with China. Its per
capita GDP has barely increased since 1948.

South Korea has been voted onto the UN Human Rights Council,... becoming one of 14 new
members to earn a seat at the table. Following a secret ballot held at the UN General Assembly in
New York on Thursday,... South Korea won a seat for the 2020 to 2022 term. It's the country's fifth
time as a member of the council,... and the first since the 2016-2018 term. The UN Human Rights
Council consists of 47 member states,... and is responsible for promoting and protecting human
rights around the world.

South Korea’s “North Korean Human Rights Act” came into effect on September 4,
2016. The law requires that the government establish a foundation to support research
on the rights situation in North Korea, develop a strategy to promote rights in the
North, fund groups working on issues of North Korean human rights, and create the
Center for North Korean Human Rights Records under the Ministry of Unification
(MOU) to do research and act as an archive of North Korean human rights violations
for possible use in future prosecutions. 

The MOU created the database center and developed a required three-year plan of
action that “consistently seeks to offer humanitarian assistance regardless of political
situations and will simultaneously make efforts to improve North Korea's human
rights record.”  However, at time of writing, the foundation had not yet been
established.

In the North, only members of public and educational services are allowed to surf the World
Wide Web — and then only under strict controls. One phenomenon occurring as a result is
Wi-Fi tourism: North Koreans buying properties close to foreign embassies in a bid to
access their Wi-Fi. Housing prices in Pyongyang have shot up as a result.
North Korea does have its own intranet, called Kwangmyong. It's not connected to the rest
of the world and was primarily built to browse fan pages of the leading Kim dynasty, North
Korea's ruling family.