With Japan’s surrender in the Pacific War in August 1945, four decades of Japanese colonial rule ended and U.S. and Soviet troops came to be stationed on the Korean Peninsula south and north of the 38th parallel, respectively. This resulted in the division of Korea into two separate countries.

On June 25, 1950, North Korea attacked the South on all fronts, igniting a three-year internecine war. The tragic war was stopped with the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement on July 27, 1953. The peninsula has remained divided ever since, but a mood for peace has recently developed after years of tension.