| On August 15, 1945, Japan unconditionally surrendered to the Allies.
The Second World War ended and Korea was freed from the Japanese colony.
But the joy of liberation did not last long.
Korea was divided into two: the US army was stationed in South Korea, while the Soviet army occupied North Korea.
Two independent governments were established in South and North Korea, from the boundary of 38 degrees north latitude.
The tension between two parts of Korea became intensified.
On June 25, 1950, the Korean War broke out with the invasion of North Korea, with support from China and Soviet.
The war has left the tremendous tragedy of fratricidal war.
The war had lasted for three years and one month. Even though the war ended, Korea still remained divided from the boundary of DMZ, the area two kilometers wide from 38 degrees north latitude, which is the symbol of the division of the Korean peninsula. The division has lasted for more than 50 years. The DMZ is 155 miles long and represents the only place in the world having such an intensified conflicts of ideologies. Originally, no military arms and facilities were allowed in the DMZ. But, as a matter of fact, the strong military forces hold out against each other in the DMZ. Many land mines are buried there. But the most tragic phenomenon is that many families have been separated due to the Korean War. Today, the separated family members in South Korea amount to about 7,670,000. The number of separated family members increases to about 10,000,000 when such family members in North Korea are counted. They have been separated for more than 50 years. They are not allowed to exchange news with each other. Telephone calls, letter writing, and personal meetings are prohibited. They do not even know whether their family members in the other side are still alive. |