Editing History of Korea (section)

===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>