Editing History of Korea (section)

==Modern history==
{{anchor|Modern}}

===Korean Empire (1897–1910)===
{{Main|Korean Empire}}
{{Further|Gwangmu Reform}}

As a result of the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] (1894–1895), the 1895 [[Treaty of Shimonoseki]] was concluded between China and Japan.<ref>{{cite journal | title=A Study of Functionality of the "Symbol" on Nationalism in Modern Korea: Activities of the Independence Club and the Independence Arch (1896–1899) | last=Kim | first=Yong Chan | url=http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/acd/re/k-rsc/ras/04_publications/ria_ja/36_09.pdf | language=ja | journal=Ritsumeikan Journal of International Relations and Area Studies | volume=36 | date=October 2012 | pages=189–205 | access-date=January 21, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313001720/http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/acd/re/k-rsc/ras/04_publications/ria_ja/36_09.pdf | archive-date=March 13, 2014 | url-status=dead }}</ref> It stipulated the abolition of subordinate relationships Korea had with China, in which Korea was a client state of China since the [[Imo Incident]] in 1882.

In 1897, Joseon was renamed the [[Korean Empire]], and King Gojong became [[Gojong of Korea|Emperor Gojong]]. The imperial government aimed to become a strong and independent nation by implementing domestic reforms, strengthening military forces, developing commerce and industry, and surveying land ownership. Organizations like the [[Independence Club]] also rallied to assert the rights of the Joseon people, but clashed with the government which proclaimed absolute monarchy and power.{{sfn|Association of Korean History Teachers|2005b|pp= 51–55}}

Russian influence was strong in the Empire until being defeated by Japan in the [[Russo-Japanese War]] (1904–1905). Korean Empire effectively became a [[protectorate]] of Japan on 17 November 1905, the [[Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905|1905 Protectorate Treaty]] having been promulgated without Emperor Gojong's required seal or commission.{{sfn|Association of Korean History Teachers|2005b|pp= 58–61}}{{sfn|Lee, Ki-baik|1984|pp= 309–317}}

Following the signing of the treaty, many intellectuals and scholars set up various organizations and associations, embarking on movements for independence. In 1907, Gojong was forced to abdicate after Japan learned that he [[Hague Secret Emissary Affair|sent secret envoys]] to the [[Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907|Second Hague Conventions]] to protest against the protectorate treaty, leading to the accession of Gojong's son, [[Sunjong of Korea|Emperor Sunjong]]. Immediately after Sunjong ascended the throne, Empire of Japan forcibly concluded the [[Japan–Korea Treaty of 1907]] in order to further strengthen the authority of the Resident-General, appointing Japanese vice-ministers in each department of the Korean Empire's government and openly interfering in the empire's internal affairs (vice-ministerial politics), and forcibly disbanded the army through a secret agreement.

Soldiers who opposed this joined the [[Righteous army]], and the movement expanded into a nationwide Righteous army war. However, on [[July 12]], [[1909]], Empire of Japan took away the Korean Empire's judicial and police powers through the Japan–Korea Memorandum of 1909, and suppressed the resistance of the Righteous army nationwide with force through the 60-day South Korea big suppression operation. At this operation, about 17,000 Righteous army and civilians were massacred.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0066314 | title=남한 대토벌 작전 (南韓 大討伐 作戰) }}</ref>

In 1909, independence activist [[An Jung-geun]] assassinated [[Itō Hirobumi]], former [[Japanese Resident-General of Korea|Resident-General of Korea]], for Ito's intrusions on the Korean politics.<ref name="hoare pares japanese rule">{{harvnb|Hoare|Pares|1988|pp= 50–67}}</ref><ref>[http://www.korea.net/news.do?mode=detail&guid=45163 An Jung-geun] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101100357/http://www.korea.net/news.do?mode=detail&guid=45163 |date=2019-01-01 }}, Korea.net</ref> This prompted the Japanese to ban all political organizations and proceed with plans for annexation.

===Japanese rule (1910–1945)===
{{Main|Korea under Japanese rule|Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea}}
[[File:Sui-ho Dam under construction.JPG|thumb|[[Sup'ung Dam]] under construction. (July 1942)]]

In 1910, the [[Empire of Japan]] effectively annexed [[Korean Empire|Korea]] through the [[Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910|Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty]]. Along with all other previously signed treaties between Korea and Japan, the annexation treaty was confirmed to be null and void in 1965. While Japan asserted that the treaty was concluded legally, Korea disputed the legality of the treaty, because the treaty was not signed by the Emperor of Korea as required and it violated the international convention on external pressures regarding treaties.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kawasaki|first=Yutaka|title=Was the 1910 Annexation Treaty Between Korea and Japan Concluded Legally?|journal=Murdoch University Journal of Law|volume=3|issue=2|date=July 1996|url=http://www.murdoch.edu.au/elaw/issues/v3n2/kawasaki.html|access-date=2007-06-08}}</ref><ref>[http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/05/11/2010051101277.html Japan's Annexation of Korea 'Unjust and Invalid'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304121002/http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/05/11/2010051101277.html |date=2016-03-04 }}, Chosun Ilbo, 2010-05-11. Retrieved 2010-07-05.</ref> Many Koreans formed the [[Righteous army]] to fight against Japanese rule.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Kim|first=C. I. Eugene|date=1962|title=Japanese Rule in Korea (1905–1910): A Case Study|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/985211|journal=Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society|volume=106|issue=1|pages=53–59|jstor=985211|issn=0003-049X}}</ref>

Korea was controlled by [[Japan]] under a [[Governor-General of Chōsen]] from 1910 until Japan's unconditional surrender to the [[Allies of World War II|Allied Forces]] on 15 August 1945. ''De jure'' sovereignty was deemed to have passed from the [[Joseon|Joseon dynasty]] to the [[Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea]].<ref name="hoare pares japanese rule"/>

After the annexation, Japan set out to suppress many traditional Korean customs, including eventually even the Korean language itself.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EhXrBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT35|title = Moon Living Abroad in South Korea|isbn = 978-1-61238-870-0|last1 = Hopfner|first1 = Jonathan|date = 22 April 2014| publisher=Avalon }}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Economic policies were implemented primarily for Japanese benefit.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://smesindia.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Korea.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114010017/http://smesindia.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Korea.pdf |archive-date=2016-11-14 |url-status=live |title=ECONOMIC GROWTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA, 1945–1992 |author=Jong-Wha Lee |website=smesindia.net}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.japanfocus.org/products/details/2220 |title=Legal Categories, Demographic Change and Japan's Korean Residents in the Long Twentieth Century |author=Yoshiko NOZAKI, Hiromitsu INOKUCHI and Kim Tae-young |website=www.japanfocus.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070125052048/http://www.japanfocus.org/products/details/2220 |archive-date=25 January 2007}}</ref> European-styled [[transport]] and [[communication]] networks were constructed across the nation in order to extract resources and exploit labor. However, much of the built infrastructure was later destroyed during the devastating [[Korean War]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}} The banking system was consolidated and the Korean currency abolished.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Metzler |first=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=veUlDQAAQBAJ&dq=Korean+currency+abolished+by+Japanese&pg=PA53 |title=Lever of Empire: The International Gold Standard and the Crisis of Liberalism in Prewar Japan |date=2006-03-13 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-24420-7 |pages=53 |language=en}}</ref>

The Japanese removed the [[Joseon]] hierarchy and gave the census register to the ''[[baekjeong]]'' and ''[[nobi]]'' who were not allowed to have the census register during Joseon period,<ref>{{cite book|last=Lee|first=Young-hoon|title=大韓民国の物語 (Story of Republic of Korea, Lectures on "Re-acknowledging before and after the liberation)|year=2009|publisher=Bungeishunjū|pages=95}}</ref> The palace [[Gyeongbokgung]] was mostly destroyed, and replaced with the [[Government-General of Chōsen Building]].<ref>{{in lang|ko}} [https://archive.today/20120707043113/http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=722442 After the reconstruction Gyeongbok Palace of 1865–1867] at [[Doosan Encyclopedia]]</ref>

[[File:三一运动.jpg|thumb|the [[March First Movement]] in 1919]]
After [[Gojong of Korea|Emperor Gojong]] died in January 1919, with rumors of poisoning, independence rallies against the Japanese colonizers took place nationwide on 1 March 1919 (the [[March First Movement]]). This movement was suppressed by force and about 7,000 persons were killed by Japanese soldiers<ref group=note>[[Park Eun-sik]] stated this amount is no more than hearsay and an inexact reasoning.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Park|first=Eun-sik|title=朝鮮独立運動の血史 1 (The Bloody History of the Korean Independence Movement)|year=1972|publisher=Tōyō Bunko|pages=169}}</ref> and police.<ref>{{cite web|title=March 1st Movement |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9050797?query=march%20first%20movement&ct= |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211125737/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9050797?query=march%20first%20movement&ct= |archive-date=2007-12-11 }}</ref> An estimated 2 million people took part in peaceful, pro-liberation rallies, although Japanese records claim participation of less than half million.{{sfn|Lee, Ki-baik|1984|pp=340–344}} This movement was partly inspired by United States President [[Woodrow Wilson]]'s speech of 1919, declaring support for right of self-determination and an end to colonial rule after World War I.{{sfn|Lee, Ki-baik|1984|pp=340–344}}

The [[Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea]] was established in [[Shanghai]], China, in the aftermath of the March 1 Movement, which coordinated the liberation effort and resistance against Japanese rule. Some of the achievements of the Provisional Government included the [[Battle of Qingshanli|Battle of Chingshanli]] of 1920 and the [[Yun Bong-gil|ambush of Japanese military leadership in China]] in 1932. In 1920, Imperial Japanese Army massacred about from 5,000 to tens of thousands of Korean civilians at Gando in retaliation to loss at [[Battle of Qingshanli|Battle of Chingshanli]]. This incident is called [[Gando Massacre]]. The Provisional Government is considered to be the ''de jure'' government of the Korean people between 1919 and 1948. The legitimacy of the provisional government is enshrined into the preamble of the [[constitution]] of the [[South Korea|Republic of Korea]].<ref>[http://korea.assembly.go.kr/res/low_01_read.jsp?boardid=1000000035 Constitution of the Republic of Korea: Preamble] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120710041912/http://korea.assembly.go.kr/res/low_01_read.jsp?boardid=1000000035 |date=2012-07-10 }}, The [[National Assembly of the Republic of Korea]].</ref>

So far as primary and secondary education in Korea were classified as being for "those habitually using the Korean language", and for "those habitually using the Japanese language". Thus, the ethnic Koreans could attend the schools primarily for Japanese, and vice versa.<ref>"The New Korea", [[Alleyne Ireland]] 1926 E.P. Dutton & Company pp.198–199</ref>

As of 1926, the Korean language was taught for 4 hours a week for the first and second year of a common school having a six-year course, three for the rest of the course. Both Japanese and Koreans paid school-fees, without exception. The average fee in a common school was about 25 cents a month. The educational assessment levied by District educational bodies, paid by the ethnic Koreans, averaged about 20 cents in 1923, per capita of the Korean population, that levied by school associations, paid by the ethnic Japanese, averaged about 3.30 dollars per capita of the Japanese population comprised within all the school associations in Korea.<ref>"The New Korea", [[Alleyne Ireland]] 1926 E.P. Dutton & Company pp.204,210–211</ref>

The [[Literacy|literacy rate]] of Korea reached 22% in 1945.<ref>G.H.Q. U・S Army Forces, Summation of U・S Army Military Government Activities in Korea Vol.2. No.5-16, 1946, p.32</ref> The school curriculum was radically modified to eliminate teaching of the Korean language and history.<ref name="hoare pares japanese rule"/> The Korean language was banned, and Koreans were forced to adopt Japanese names,{{sfn|Miyata|1992|p={{page needed|date=April 2022}}}}<ref group=note>However, the change of their given names was voluntary</ref><ref>朝鮮総督府官房文書課編 "諭告・訓示・演述総攬" 1941, p.676</ref> and newspapers were prohibited from publishing in Korean. Numerous Korean cultural artifacts were destroyed or taken to Japan.<ref name="Newsweek">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/48765/output/print |title=Korea: A Tussle over Treasures&nbsp;— Who rightfully owns Korean artifacts looted by Japan? |magazine=[[Newsweek]] |access-date=2008-06-06 |author=Kay Itoi |author2=B. J. Lee |date=2007-10-17}}</ref> According to an investigation by the South Korean government, 75,311 cultural assets were taken from Korea.<ref name="Newsweek"/><ref>[https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2010/01/148_36696.html Lost treasures make trip home] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609212755/https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2010/01/148_36696.html |date=2016-06-09 }}, Korea Times, 2008-12-28.</ref>

[[File:Korean Liberation Army.JPG|thumb|alt=Korean Liberation Army alt text|[[Korean Liberation Army]]]]
Some [[Koreans]] left the [[Korea|Korean Peninsula]] for exile in China, the United States, and elsewhere. Koreans in Manchuria formed resistance groups known as [[Korean independence movement|Dongnipgun]] (Liberation Army); they would travel in and out of the Sino-Korean border, fighting [[guerrilla warfare]] with Japanese forces. Some of them would group together in the 1940s as the [[Korean Liberation Army]], which took part in allied action in China and parts of South East Asia. Tens of thousands of Koreans also joined the [[People's Liberation Army]] and the [[National Revolutionary Army]].

The expulsion of the Japanese in 1945 removed practically all administrative and technical expertise. While the Japanese only comprised 2.6 percent of the population in 1944, they were an urban elite. The largest 50 cities contained 71 percent of the Japanese but only 12 percent of the Koreans. They largely dominated the ranks of the well-educated occupations. Meanwhile, 71 percent of the Koreans worked on farms.<ref>Morgan E. Clippinger, "Problems of the Modernization of Korea: the Development of Modernized Elites Under Japanese Occupation" ''Asiatic Research Bulletin'' (1963) 6#6 pp 1–11.</ref>

===Division and Korean War (1945–1953)===
{{Main|Division of Korea}}
[[File:Prison Release of Korean activists.JPG|thumb|Liberation of Korea]]
[[File:Lopez scaling seawall.jpg|thumb|American Marines climbing a sea wall in [[Incheon]] during a decisive moment in the timeline of the [[Korean War]]]]

At the [[Cairo Conference]] on November 22, 1943, the US, UK, and China agreed that "in due course Korea shall become free and independent";{{sfn|Lee|Park|Yoon|2005|p=581}}<ref>[http://timelines.com/perspectives/161a29f9e4be8f94fbe6e8d306d4e9a2 Cairo Conference is held] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413142214/http://timelines.com/perspectives/161a29f9e4be8f94fbe6e8d306d4e9a2 |date=2013-04-13 }}, Timelines; [http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/timeline/factfiles/nonflash/a1140364.shtml Cairo Conference] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110319223311/http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/timeline/factfiles/nonflash/a1140364.shtml |date=2011-03-19 }}, BBC</ref> at a later meeting in [[Yalta]] in February 1945, the Allies agreed to establish a four-power trusteeship over Korea.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/yalta.asp |title=The Avalon Project : Yalta (Crimea) Conference |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202234250/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/yalta.asp |archive-date=2016-02-02 }}</ref> On August 14, 1945, [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] forces entered Korea by amphibious landings, enabling them to secure control in the north. Japan surrendered to the Allied Forces on August 15, 1945.

The unconditional surrender of Japan brought about the liberation of Korea. However, the fundamental shifts in global politics and ideology in the post-war world led to the division of Korea into two occupation zones, effectively starting on September 8, 1945. The [[United States]] administered the southern half of the peninsula and the [[Soviet Union]] took over the area north of the [[38th parallel north|38th parallel]]. The Provisional Government was ignored, mainly due to American belief that it was too aligned with the communists.{{sfn|Robinson|2007|pp= 107–108}} This division was meant to be temporary and was intended to return a unified Korea back to its people after the United States, [[United Kingdom]], [[Soviet Union]], and [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] could arrange a single government.

In December 1945, a conference convened in [[Moscow]] to discuss the future of Korea.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/decade19.asp |title=Avalon Project – A Decade of American Foreign Policy 1941–1949 – Interim Meeting of Foreign Ministers, Moscow |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430221645/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/decade19.asp |archive-date=2009-04-30 }}</ref> A five-year trusteeship was discussed, and a joint Soviet-American commission was established. The commission met intermittently in [[Seoul]] but members deadlocked over the issue of establishing a national government. In September 1947, with no solution in sight, the [[United States]] submitted the Korean question to the [[United Nations General Assembly]]. On December 12, 1948, the General Assembly of the [[United Nations]] recognised the [[South Korea|Republic of Korea]] as the sole legal government of Korea.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/043/66/IMG/NR004366.pdf?OpenElement |title=Resolution 195, UN Third General Assembly |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023061108/http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/043/66/IMG/NR004366.pdf?OpenElement |archive-date=2013-10-23 }}</ref>

On June 25, 1950, the [[Korean War]] broke out when North Korea breached the 38th parallel line to invade the South, ending any hope of a peaceful reunification for the time being. After the war, the 1954 [[1954 Geneva Conference|Geneva conference]] failed to adopt a solution for a unified Korea. Approximately 3 million people died in the Korean War, with a higher proportional civilian death toll than [[World War II]] or the [[Vietnam War]], making it perhaps the deadliest conflict of the Cold War era. In addition, virtually all of Korea's major cities were destroyed by the war.<ref name="Kim p.45">{{cite book|last=Kim|first=Samuel S.|chapter=The Evolving Asian System|title=International Relations of Asia|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1-4422-2641-8|page=45|quote=With three of the four major Cold War fault lines—divided Germany, divided Korea, divided China, and divided Vietnam—East Asia acquired the dubious distinction of having engendered the largest number of armed conflicts resulting in higher fatalities between 1945 and 1994 than any other region or sub-region. Even in Asia, while Central and South Asia produced a regional total of 2.8 million in human fatalities, East Asia's regional total is 10.4 million including the [[Chinese Civil War]] (1 million), the Korean War (3 million), the [[Vietnam War]] (2 million), and the [[Pol Pot]] [[Cambodian genocide|genocide]] in Cambodia (1 to 2 million).}}</ref><ref name="Cumings p. 35">{{cite book|last=Cumings|first=Bruce|author-link=Bruce Cumings|title=The Korean War: A History|publisher=[[Modern Library]]|year=2011|isbn=978-0-8129-7896-4|page=35|quote=Various encyclopedias state that the countries involved in the three-year conflict suffered a total of more than 4 million casualties, of which at least 2 million were civilians—a higher percentage than in World War II or Vietnam. A total of 36,940 Americans lost their lives in the Korean theater; of these, 33,665 were killed in action, while 3,275 died there of nonhostile causes. Some 92,134 Americans were wounded in action, and decades later, 8,176 were still reported as missing. South Korea sustained 1,312,836 casualties, including 415,004 dead. Casualties among other UN allies totaled 16,532, including 3,094 dead. Estimated North Korean casualties numbered 2 million, including about one million civilians and 520,000 soldiers. An estimated 900,000 Chinese soldiers lost their lives in combat.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=McGuire|first=James|title=Wealth, Health, and Democracy in East Asia and Latin America|url=https://archive.org/details/wealthhealthdemo00mcgu|url-access=limited|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2010|isbn=978-1-139-48622-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/wealthhealthdemo00mcgu/page/n217 203]|quote=In Korea, war in the early 1950s cost nearly 3 million lives, including nearly a million civilian dead in South Korea.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Painter|first=David S.|author-link=David S. Painter|title=The Cold War: An International History|url=https://archive.org/details/coldwarinternati00pain|url-access=limited|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=1999|isbn=978-0-415-15316-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/coldwarinternati00pain/page/n40 30]|quote=Before it ended, the Korean War cost over 3 million people their lives, including over 50,000 US servicemen and women and a much higher number of Chinese and Korean lives. The war also set in motion a number of changes that led to the militarization and intensification of the Cold War.}}</ref><ref name="Lewy pp. 450-453">{{cite book|last=Lewy|first=Guenter|author-link=Guenter Lewy|title=[[America in Vietnam]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=1980|isbn=978-0-19-987423-1|pages=450–453|quote=For the Korean War the only hard statistic is that of American military deaths, which included 33,629 battle deaths and 20,617 who died of other causes. The North Korean and Chinese Communists never published statistics of their casualties. The number of South Korean military deaths has been given as in excess of 400,000; the South Korean Ministry of Defense puts the number of killed and missing at 281,257. Estimates of communist troops killed are about one-half million. The total number of Korean civilians who died in the fighting, which left almost every major city in North and South Korea in ruins, has been estimated at between 2 and 3 million. This adds up to almost 1 million military deaths and a possible 2.5 million civilians who were killed or died as a result of this extremely destructive conflict. The proportion of civilians killed in the major wars of this century (and not only in the major ones) has thus risen steadily. It reached about 42 percent in World War II and may have gone as high as 70 percent in the Korean War.&nbsp;... we find that the ratio of civilian to military deaths [in Vietnam] is not substantially different from that of World War II and is well below that of the Korean War.}}</ref>

===Modern Korea (1953–present)===
{{main|History of North Korea|History of South Korea}}

Beginning with [[Syngman Rhee]] in 1948, a series of autocratic governments took power in South Korea with American support and influence.

With the coup of [[Park Chung Hee]] in 1961, a new economic policy began. In order to promote economic development, a policy of [[export-oriented industrialization]] was applied. President Park developed the South Korean economy through a series of highly successful [[Five-Year Plans of South Korea|Five-Year Plans]]. South Korea's economic development was spearheaded by the [[chaebol]], family conglomerates such as [[Samsung]], [[Hyundai Group|Hyundai]], [[SK Group]] and [[LG Corporation]]. The chaebol received state-backing via tax breaks and cheap loans, and took advantage of South Korea's inexpensive labor to produce exportable products.<ref name="pagina12.com.ar">{{Cite web | url=https://www.pagina12.com.ar/104906-corea-del-sur-no-es-un-milagro |title = Corea del Sur no es un milagro &#124; Un Estado muy fuerte, industrialización, extrema flexibilización laboral y conglomerados familiares. El papel de EE.UU| date=30 March 2018 }}</ref> The government made education a very high priority to create a well-educated populace capable of productively contributing to the economy. Despite occasional political instability, the Korean economy subsequently saw enormous growth for nearly forty years, in a period known as the [[Miracle on the Han River]]. The unparalleled economic miracle brought South Korea from one of the poorest states in the world after the Korean War into a fully [[developed country]] within a generation.

South Korea eventually transitioned into a market-oriented democracy in 1987 largely due to popular demand for political reform, and then hosted the [[1988 Summer Olympics]], the second [[Summer Olympic Games]] to be held on the Asian continent, in the following year.

Moving on from cheap, lower-value light industry exports, the South Korean economy eventually moved onto more capital-intensive, higher-value industries, such as [[information technology]], [[shipbuilding]], auto manufacturing, and petroleum refining. Today, South Korea is a leading economy and a technological powerhouse, rivaling even countries such as the United States in [[information and communications technology]]. South Korean pop culture has also boomed abroad in recent years, in a phenomenon known as the [[Korean wave|Korean Wave]].

Due to Soviet influence, North Korea established a communist government with a hereditary succession of leadership, with ties to China and the Soviet Union. [[Kim Il Sung]] became the supreme leader until his death in 1994, after which his son, [[Kim Jong Il]] took power. Kim Jong Il's son, [[Kim Jong Un]], is the current leader, taking power after his father's death in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lee |first1=Sung-Yoon |title=Kim Jong Un’s decade in power: Starvation, repression and brutal rule – just like his father and grandfather |url=https://theconversation.com/kim-jong-uns-decade-in-power-starvation-repression-and-brutal-rule-just-like-his-father-and-grandfather-173809 |website=The Conversation |date=17 December 2021}}</ref> After the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991, the North Korean economy went on a path of steep decline, and it is currently heavily reliant on international food aid and trade with China.

On April 27, 2018, both North and South Korea signed the [[Panmunjom Declaration]] on ending the conflict between the two countries to reunify Korea in the future.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Griffiths |first1=James |title=North and South Korea vow to end the Korean War in historic accord |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/04/27/asia/korean-summit-intl/index.html |work=CNN |date=27 April 2018 |language=en}}</ref> The declaration was suspended by North Korea in 2023<ref>{{cite news |last1=Staff |first1=Al Jazeera |title=North Korea suspends Seoul military agreement, restores troops at border |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/23/north-korea-suspends-seoul-military-agreement-restores-troops-at-border |work=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> and by South Korea in 2024.<ref>{{cite news |title=South Korea Fully Suspends Military Deal With North Korea After Tensions Over Trash Balloons |url=https://thediplomat.com/2024/06/south-korea-fully-suspends-military-deal-with-north-korea-after-tensions-over-trash-balloons/ |work=thediplomat.com}}</ref>