The Two Koreas

English /  한국어 

This story was originally published in September 2017, and may include outdated information and statistics.

“Little Rocket Man.” “Dotard.” Missile tests. Joint military drills. A sudden interest in Guam. Week after week, key phrases like these dominate news reports of a looming crisis between the United States and North Korea.

Tensions between the two nations have escalated rapidly, with both sides seemingly straining for creative ways to say “total annihilation.” Behind the bellicose rhetoric, however, lies a conflict with roots reaching all the way back to World War II. It is a conflict over control of the Korean Peninsula, pitting the North against the South.

While the Korean War of the early 1950s never formally ended, its aftermath has created starkly divergent worlds for those living on either side of the north-south divide. What follows is a look at life in the two Koreas; how such a night-and-day difference came to be; and where the crisis could go from here.

Following the Second World War, the Korean Peninsula, which had been occupied by the Empire of Japan since 1910, was divided into two separate zones along the 38th parallel. The north was occupied by Soviet troops, while the South was occupied by Americans.

The division was intended to be temporary, but negotiations over reunification broke down and two separate governments were formed: the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the north, led by the enigmatic communist Kim Il-sung, and the Republic of Korea (ROK) in the south, under the democratically elected Rhee Syng-man.

Both governments claimed to be the legitimate rulers of the peninsula. Tensions between north and south gradually mounted, until finally, in June 1950, hundreds of thousands of North Korean troops stormed across the 38th parallel. The unsuspecting South Korean defenders were outgunned and outnumbered, and beat a hasty retreat southward.

The United Nations condemned the invasion, and swiftly deployed a peacekeeping force comprised largely of American troops. (Fifteen other UN nations sent troops to Korea as well, in smaller numbers.) But they were unable to mount an effective defense, and by September they had been hemmed into a small area on the southeastern corner of the peninsula, near the port city of Busan.

To break the siege, U.S. forces launched a bold amphibious assault on the city of Incheon, some 150 miles behind the front line. It was a resounding success. Bolstered by their first major victory of the conflict, allied forces crossed the partition line in late September 1950, and continued their steady northward advance. By the end of October, they had reached the Yalu River on the Chinese border.

But China's young communist government saw the UN forces' encroachment on their border as a security threat. In late October 1950, China sent some 300,000 well-armed and provisioned troops across the Yalu River, to drive the UN (and American) forces back. China's intervention dramatically shifted the momentum of the conflict—just as the UN's intervention had done, months before—and by December, Chinese troops had reclaimed all of the territory captured during the allied offensive.

Over the next two years, the front lines gradually calcified near the 38th parallel, and the war—which, in its initial phases, had witnessed dramatic territorial gains and losses—devolved into one of attrition. By 1953, both sides had grown weary of fighting, and so in July of that year, representatives of the UN, North Korea, and China signed an armistice agreement, suspending hostilities until a permanent peace deal could be reached. South Korea did not sign the armistice, however, and so the war never officially ended. Half a century later, the political situation on the Korean Peninsula remains as tenuous as ever.

The armistice agreement established a Military Demarcation Line (MDL) along the front line, to serve as a de facto border. It also established a 4km-wide demilitarized zone (DMZ) to provide a buffer between the two countries. Since then, both sides have reinforced their positions, adding guard towers, surveillance posts, bombproof bunkers, gun emplacements, electric fences, minefields, and tank traps, all intended to forestall an incursion. The DMZ is the most heavily defended border in the world.

Since 1974, South Korean border guards have discovered at least four underground tunnels dug by North Korean troops to expedite an invasion. Some South Korean leaders worry that there may be a dozen more tunnels.

In North Korea, the Soviet Union appointed Kim Il-sung as head of state in 1948. Kim was a former guerrilla fighter and something of a folk hero for his resistance to the Japanese occupation. 

Espousing communism and his own ideology of self-reliance called juche, the Soviet-appointed premier enjoyed—at least officially—the adoration of North Koreans. Later taking the title of president, Kim Il-sung established what has become a dynasty, with his son and grandson inheriting the country's leadership.

In the South the United Nations encouraged democratic elections starting in 1948. South Korea experienced two coups before settling into a stable pattern of free elections and regular five-year terms of office.

The fact that North Korea has had only three leaders in over 70 years while the South has had a dozen heads of state is emblematic of the strikingly different political and economic forces that reverberate through the two nations.

Although the two Koreas have a largely common heritage, their societies are a study in contrasts. 

South Korea's population is nearly double that of its northern neighbor. Growth rates in both countries have declined, with North Korea's growth slightly outstripping South Korea's at 0.5 percent vs. 0.4 percent.

 Although both nations' populations are largely urban, South Korea's economic growth has fueled a higher rate of urbanization. 

 Family sizes are roughly similar in the North and South, but life expectancy in South Korea is nearly a dozen years longer.

These differences transcend mere statistics—the two countries occupy opposite poles of a cultural spectrum. 

South Korean citizens are able to pursue active roles in civil society, to travel freely, and to voice dissent without fear of reprisals. They welcome technological innovation, enjoy social media, and increasingly incorporate English loanwords into their speech, known as "Konglish."

Conversely, the human and civil rights of North Korean citizens are severely suppressed. The state controls nearly all aspects of daily life, including the media, which it uses to sow mistrust of South Korea and its western allies.

The regime enforces its policies through fear and collective punishment. Citizens convicted of political crimes—and their families—are often banished to labor camps, where up to 40 percent of prisoners perish of starvation. Other suspected criminals, or opponents of the regime, are put to death.

Not even members of the ruling family are safe: in 2013, Kim Jong-un ordered the execution of his uncle, a high-ranking government official, on trumped-up treason charges. Four years later, Jong-un's estranged half-brother was assassinated in Malaysia; evidence suggests that the North Korean leader personally ordered his death.

Under democratic leadership, South Korea has grown into a modern, prosperous country, and today its economy is one of the strongest in Asia and the 14th largest in the world.

North Korea, on the other hand, remains one of the world's most economically isolated countries, trading almost exclusively with China. Its per capita GDP has barely increased since 1948.

The two nations' early years saw economic growth throughout the peninsula. But the North's economy stalled in the 1980s, then collapsed in the 1990s during The March of Suffering. Drought, floods, and inept government policies resulted in the starvation of hundreds of thousands of North Koreans.

 Whereas South Korea is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, only 30 percent of the North Korean population has access to electricity. This disparity is readily visible in nighttime photos of the Korean Peninsula.

The transportation networks of the two Koreas are vastly disparate as well.

As North Korea inches closer to becoming a nuclear power, the already tenuous security situation on the Korean Peninsula has ballooned into a global issue. The tempestuous threats of Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump have only added fuel to the fire.

It's difficult to predict whether these rhetorical jousts might lead to all-out war, but most Koreans—especially those in the South—hope for a peaceful future. Both sides are well-armed, and any conflict would result in incalculable casualties and destruction.

Perhaps one of the most-talked-about aspects of North Korea is its regime’s ongoing pursuit of nuclear weapons, and the missile technology with which nukes can accurately be deployed. The North’s missile program began under Kim Il-sung in 1984. While six tests were conducted that first year, subsequent tests through the 1990s were few and far between. Various diplomatic attempts were made during these years to improve relations between the two Koreas.

The trajectory of North Korea’s missile testing program changed dramatically, however, after Kim Jong-un came to power in 2011. Under his reign, missile tests became more frequent and more often successful, much to the dismay of South Korea and its allies.

The past year alone has seen several significant developments in North Korea’s nuclear pursuit. In August, the DPRK fired a ballistic missile over Japan, where it triggered a national alarm system encouraging residents to take cover. The missile hurtled through Japanese airspace for two minutes before crashing into the Pacific Ocean. North Korea’s willingness to test a missile over Japanese territory marked a notable escalation in regional tensions.

Several days later, seismic indicators registered a 6.3-magnitude, man-made earthquake, signaling the latest test of a nuclear weapon by North Korea. The test was particularly notable for the weapon’s apparent power, which, according to indicators, could be as much as ten times greater than those tested in previous years. Experts remain skeptical that the North has developed missiles capable of carrying a nuclear weapon at all.

But Kim Jong-un seems intent to develop such a missile. In mid-September North Korea fired another test over Japan. At its highest point the missile reached an altitude of 3,700 km, the highest yet in a North Korean test. If the same missile were launched on a more lateral trajectory—instead of the vertical path typical of North Korea's tests—experts suggest it could reach the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. The accuracy of North Korea's missiles, however, remains questionable.

The threat of attack is far more real for the inhabitants of North Korea's neighboring countries, including nearly 100,000 American soldiers deployed in the region to deter such acts of aggression.

International support for the two Koreas is split along familiar geopolitical fault lines. While South Korea is party to a number of free-trade and defense treaties with NATO countries, including the United States, North Korea’s closest ally is China, a country that historically has positioned itself in opposition to the capitalist west. Given that over 80 percent of North Korea’s trade is conducted with China, it is, for all intents and purposes, a client state of the PRC.

But North Korea’s nuclear ambitions—and Kim Jong-un’s vocal disdain for Chinese leadership—have strained the relationship. Although nearly half of Beijing’s foreign aid is directed to North Korea, it has begun to scale back its support. In September 2017, China agreed to implement UN sanctions on North Korea, expelling North Korean companies from its borders and barring further imports of North Korean coal. 

Whether these measures will compel North Korea to abandon its nuclear program is far from certain. The country has adhered to a military-first doctrine since its inception—often at the expense of its citizenry—and so an abrupt deviation from this course seems extremely unlikely.

South Korea, for its part, still hopes for a peaceful solution. But its measured calls for diplomacy have been largely drowned out by the saber-rattling of North Korean and American leaders.

These skyrocketing tensions have left many around the world on edge—particularly in South Korea. For now, it seems that the best that can be hoped for is that things don't get worse.