Chapter 17 Section 3

 Koreans celebrated Japanese defeat in WWII with joy and hope  After WWII, U.S. and Soviets agreed to let Korea regain independence  Troops were sent to Korea to accept Japanese surrender  Soviets occupied above 38 th parallel  U.S. occupied below 38 th parallel  As cold war rivalries increased, Soviets helped communists gain power in the North  Likewise, U.S. back non-communists in the south  Korea officially split into North and South Korea

 Clashes still occurred between the two  UN Involvement  U.S. saw N. Korea invasion as communist threat  UN voted to send troops to S. Korea  With these troops, both the South and the North fought constantly  Aftermath of the War  Stalemate ending  1953 – both signed armistice  Korea was still divided at the 38 th parallel  The war left the two areas in a ruinous state

 Government  With confucian background, authoritarian rule was accepted  Syngman Rhee, 1 st president, and other successors were strict about people’s freedoms  They believed this was necessary to regain stability and promote economic growth  1960 – protests forced Rhee to resign  1980s- democratic elections took place  Today, the government is still suppressive but oppostion groups have also won rights

 Economic Growth  faced great difficulty with rebuilding cities because of the great refugee population  With aid from the U.S., great progress has been made and today it is one of the most industrialized Asian countries  Government has tight control over the market  Exports: automobiles, textiles, & electronics  With industrialization also comes environmental pollution

 Social Change  New middle class emerged  Industry drew farmers to the urban areas  Nuclear families are more common than extended families  Women have more rights and jobs in factories  Many Confucian traditions and values are still in place

 Closed society under communist dictatorship  Kim il Sung established totalitarian state  Complete obedience was to him  Isolated N.Korea to practice self-reliance  Very few imports and exports today  Kim Jong IL took over after his father  After 1995, natural disasters resulted in famine and economic failings  It forced government to increase trade and permit foreign investment

 Hope to reunite land still exists  A nonagression pact has been signed after 1990s  There is still fear and suspicion between the two countries  North Korea has nuclear weapons and missiles which threaten many other countries around the world