Echoes of Partition: The Aftermath and Enduring Impacts of the Split at the 38th Parallel

Seventy-eight years after the division of the Korean Peninsula into North and South, the upheaval has left lasting impressions on its people, both explicitly and implicitly.
The Korean Peninsula had been a united territory for centuries under the Joseon dynasty until it fell into the hands of Japan in 1910. In 1945, following the defeat of Japan in World War II, the allied powers agreed to liberate Korea, and divide the Korean peninsula at the38th parallel of latitude, and place it under the international trusteeship until the Koreans were ready for self-rule.