Time for a quick, and probably not very accurate, history lesson. Skip this entry if you a) already know about the history of the Korean peninsula AND b) are likely to find your blood pressure rising because I don't actually know what I'm talking about. Otherwise read on as the importance of knowing some Korean history will become clear later.
In 1910 Japan annexed Korea, a move that Japan says was legal and Korea says wasn't. Opinion on how bad it was is also divided but nobody (except maybe Japan) would call it an enlightened period of rule. There was widespread resistance. A Korean Government in exile was established in China. Uprisings were frequent, reprisals more frequent, and there was an ever tightening military grip. The situation went on for a long time - right up to World War II.
At the end of World War II, Japan was, as everybody knows, on the losing side. The situation in Korea was interesting. There were two clashing political ideologies in the country: in the south, sponsored by the US, and in the north sponsored by the Soviet Union. The solution, supposedly temporary was to split the country, more or less along the 38th parallel with a US led administration in the south and a Soviet led one in the north.
On 25th June 1950 war broke out between the two halves and exactly why that was depends on who you listen to and which version you believe. According the accepted history here in the west the North invaded the South. According, as you'll see later, to the North Koreans it was only in response to a southern invasion of their territory.
What followed was an extremely bloody war that involved not just the principals but also the US, The Soviet Union and China as well as troops from an assorted bunch of United Nations countries, including the UK. Nowadays this war is often called the "forgotten war" because when asked to name the great conflicts of the twentieth century most people start running out of ideas after the two World Wars and Viet Nam have been mentioned. Although estimates vary widely most agree that two million or more died.
And nobody won. (Though both sides would disagree with that, with predictably opposite opinions.) On 27th July, 1953, without any actual conclusion, an armistice agreement was signed and subsequently a demilitarized zone was established around the 38th parallel. The countries remained, and still remain separated.
OK history lesson over. Ten seasons of M*A*S*H notwithstanding, the war itself lasted only three years.
And after lunch, on day one, we got to visit the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum. This is the name used by the DPRK for the conflict that we call the Korean War. And in the next entry I'll tell you all about it.
In 1910 Japan annexed Korea, a move that Japan says was legal and Korea says wasn't. Opinion on how bad it was is also divided but nobody (except maybe Japan) would call it an enlightened period of rule. There was widespread resistance. A Korean Government in exile was established in China. Uprisings were frequent, reprisals more frequent, and there was an ever tightening military grip. The situation went on for a long time - right up to World War II.
At the end of World War II, Japan was, as everybody knows, on the losing side. The situation in Korea was interesting. There were two clashing political ideologies in the country: in the south, sponsored by the US, and in the north sponsored by the Soviet Union. The solution, supposedly temporary was to split the country, more or less along the 38th parallel with a US led administration in the south and a Soviet led one in the north.
On 25th June 1950 war broke out between the two halves and exactly why that was depends on who you listen to and which version you believe. According the accepted history here in the west the North invaded the South. According, as you'll see later, to the North Koreans it was only in response to a southern invasion of their territory.
What followed was an extremely bloody war that involved not just the principals but also the US, The Soviet Union and China as well as troops from an assorted bunch of United Nations countries, including the UK. Nowadays this war is often called the "forgotten war" because when asked to name the great conflicts of the twentieth century most people start running out of ideas after the two World Wars and Viet Nam have been mentioned. Although estimates vary widely most agree that two million or more died.
And nobody won. (Though both sides would disagree with that, with predictably opposite opinions.) On 27th July, 1953, without any actual conclusion, an armistice agreement was signed and subsequently a demilitarized zone was established around the 38th parallel. The countries remained, and still remain separated.
OK history lesson over. Ten seasons of M*A*S*H notwithstanding, the war itself lasted only three years.
And after lunch, on day one, we got to visit the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum. This is the name used by the DPRK for the conflict that we call the Korean War. And in the next entry I'll tell you all about it.
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