After Korea was freed from Japanese occupation in 1945 Korea became a battleground between two strong powers. The US backed non-communist Koreans in the south and?

the Soviet Union supported communist Koreans in the north. This division led to the establishment of two separate states in 1948: the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). Tensions escalated, culminating in the Korean War in 1950, which solidified the division along the 38th parallel and entrenched the ideological conflict between communism and capitalism in the region. The war ended in 1953 with an armistice, but no formal peace treaty was signed, leaving the Korean Peninsula divided to this day.