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87-520: The only way to reach any of the five islands is by ferry. Three round trips are made every day from Incheon Harbor to Baengnyeongdo , with stops at Socheongdo and Daechongdo . Baengnyeondo is about 200 kilometers (about 124.27 mi) by boat from Incheon , making it the farthest island in the archipelago. A one-way trip takes about four hours. Baengnyongdo is only 16 kilometers (about 9.94 mi) from Cape Changsan in North Korea , and Yeonpyeondo

174-459: A National Geographic map to decide on the 38th parallel as the dividing line. They chose it because it divided the country approximately in half but would place the capital Seoul under American control. No experts on Korea were consulted. The two men were unaware that forty years before, Japan and pre-revolutionary Russia had discussed sharing Korea along the same parallel. Rusk later said that had he known, he "almost surely" would have chosen

261-718: A provisional government called the Provisional People's Committee of North Korea was formed under Kim Il Sung. Conflicts and power struggles ensued at the top levels of government in Pyongyang as different aspirants manoeuvred to gain positions of power in the new government. In December 1946, Shtykov and two other generals designed the election results of the Assembly for the Provisional Committee without any Korean input. The generals decided "exact distribution of seats among

348-498: A communications interception site on the island in mid-1951 which was used to intercept Chinese military communications. In December 1951 two Sikorsky H-5s of the USAF 3d Air Rescue Squadron were based on the island and would forward deploy daily to Chodo Airport to operate search and rescue missions before being permanently deployed to Chodo in January 1952. The H-5s were later replaced by

435-503: A different line. The division placed sixteen million Koreans in the American zone and nine million in the Soviet zone. Rusk observed, "even though it was further north than could be realistically reached by US forces, in the event of Soviet disagreement ... we felt it important to include the capital of Korea in the area of responsibility of American troops". He noted that he was "faced with

522-426: A line that passed through Pyongyang, far to the north of the front line. The Chinese and North Koreans eventually agreed to a border on the military line of contact rather than the 38th parallel, but this disagreement led to a tortuous and drawn-out negotiating process. The Korean Armistice Agreement was signed after three years of war. The two sides agreed to create a 4-kilometre-wide (2.5-mile) buffer zone between

609-574: A local branch of the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence operating under the leadership of veteran nationalist Cho Man-sik . The Soviet Army allowed these "People's Committees" (which were of varying political composition) to function. In September 1945, the Soviet administration issued its own currency, the "Red Army won". As a result of the destruction caused to the Soviet Union during

696-565: A pirate radio broadcast, alleged the creation of a " Dongjin Republic " ( 동진공화국 ; 東震共和國 ), with Syngman Rhee as president, Kim Ku as prime minister, Kim Il Sung as minister of military affairs, and Lyuh as foreign minister. On 16 August, young officers of the Japanese military in Seoul fiercely protested the decisions of the colonial government. Despite assurances from the colonial government to

783-454: A prelude to a permanent division of the country. General strikes in protest against the decision began in February 1948. In April, Jeju islanders rose up against the looming division of the country and full-scale rebellion developed. South Korean troops were sent to repress the rebellion. The repression of the uprising escalated from August 1948, following South Korean independence. The rebellion

870-535: A resolution on 14 November 1947, declaring that free elections should be held, foreign troops should be withdrawn, and a UN commission for Korea, the United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea (UNTCOK), should be created. The Soviet Union boycotted the voting and did not consider the resolution to be binding, arguing that the UN could not guarantee fair elections. In the absence of Soviet co-operation, it

957-547: A smaller scale than the Soviets. The racism amongst Americans against Koreans, however, was widespread. In 1946, Colonel-General Terentii Shtykov took charge of the administration and began to lobby the Soviet government for funds to support the ailing economy. Shtykov's strong support of Kim Il Sung, who had spent the last years of the war training with Soviet troops in Manchuria , was decisive in his rise to power. In February 1946

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1044-484: Is also rich in oceanic fauna and bird diversity. The Chinese egret , which is considered to be one of the fifty rarest birds in the world, can be found here. The area hosts a nature reserve for spotted seals , and they can be observed on the rocks and beaches. Seals occasionally attract predators such as the great white shark into the area. Finless porpoisees also live nearby. The Incheon Coast Guard has been investigating illegal whaling targeting minke whales in

1131-660: Is an island in Ongjin County , Incheon , South Korea. It is an inhabited island located near the Northern Limit Line , and is closer to North Korea than it is to the South. Since the 1945 division of Korea , the island has remained under South Korean control. This was affirmed by the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement which ended the Korean War . Since then, the island has hosted both North Korean defectors and skirmishes between

1218-538: Is only 10 kilometers (about 6.21 mi) from the North Korean port of Pupori, making the islands much closer to North Korea . The Northern Limit Line (NLL) was established by the United Nations Command (UNC) on August 30, 1953, following the end of the Korean War . The line stood unopposed until 1973, when North Korean representatives made a claim of 12 nautical miles for their territorial waters, placing

1305-591: The Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers resulted in an agreement on a five-year, four-power Korean trusteeship. However, with the onset of the Cold War and other factors both international and domestic, including Korean opposition to the trusteeship, negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union over the next two years regarding the implementation of the trusteeship failed, thus effectively nullifying

1392-525: The North Korean constitution was amended to remove references to reunification and labelled South Korea an "enemy state". This was preceded by the destruction of roads connecting the north to the south in a bid to "completely separate" the two states. When the Russo-Japanese War ended in 1905, Korea became a nominal protectorate of Japan and was annexed by Japan in 1910. The Korean Emperor Gojong

1479-582: The President of South Korea . During the September 2018 inter-Korean summit , several actions were taken toward reunification along the border, such as the dismantling of guard posts and the creation of buffer zones to prevent clashes. On 12 December 2018, soldiers from both Koreas crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) into the opposition countries for the first time in history. In October 2024,

1566-729: The Tehran Conference in November 1943 and the Yalta Conference in February 1945. Stalin did not disagree but advocated that the period of trusteeship be short. At the Tehran and Yalta Conferences, Stalin promised to join his allies in the Pacific War in two to three months after victory in Europe . On 8 August 1945, two days after the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima , but before

1653-553: The surrender document , thus ending the Pacific Theater of World War II . It was officially divided with the establishment of the two Koreas in 1948. During World War II, the Allied leaders had already been considering the question of Korea 's future following Japan's eventual surrender in the war. The leaders reached an understanding that Korea would be liberated from Japan but would be placed under an international trusteeship until

1740-671: The " Republic of Korea " ( Daehan Minguk ) formally took over power from the U.S. military, with Syngman Rhee as the first president. USAMGIK was formally dissolved and the Korean Military Advisory Group was formed to train and provide support for the South Korean army. U.S forces started to withdraw in a process that was completed by 1949. In the North, the " Democratic People's Republic of Korea " ( Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk )

1827-631: The 2d Korean Marine Corps Regiment under the direction of US Marines. During the war, North Korean refugees settled on the island. On August 16, 1950, a Lockheed P2V-3 Neptune of the US Navy (122940) was ditched 9.7 km (6.1 miles) W of here after being hit by AAA fire and catching fire while attacking an enemy vessel near Chinnampo . All 9 occupants survived and were rescued by HMS Kenya . Following this incident, all patrol aircraft were excluded from attack missions in Korea. In April 1951 Paengyong-do

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1914-658: The Allied Powers ended up being in charge of southern Korea from 1945 to 1948 due to the lack of clear orders or initiative from Washington, D.C. There was no plan or guideline given to MacArthur from the Joint Chiefs of Staff or the State Department on how to rule Korea. Hodge directly reported to MacArthur and GHQ (General Headquarters) in Tokyo, not to Washington, D.C., during the military occupation. The three year period of

2001-706: The Allies agreed that the Soviet Union, the US, the Republic of China, and Britain would take part in a trusteeship over Korea for up to five years in the lead-up to independence. This invigorated the Anti-trusteeship Movement  [ ko ] , which demanded the immediate independence of the peninsula. However, the Korean Communist Party , which was closely aligned with the Soviet Communist party, supported

2088-566: The Americans in the military or the State Department in the Far East in late 1945 even spoke Korean, leading to jokes among Koreans that Korean translators were really running southern Korea. The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea , which had operated from China, sent a delegation with three interpreters to Hodge, but he refused to meet with them. Likewise, Hodge refused to recognize

2175-528: The Bodo League's members were innocent farmers and civilians who were forced into membership. The registered members or their families were executed at the beginning of the Korean War. On 24 December 1949, South Korean Army massacred Mungyeong citizens who were suspected communist sympathizers or their family and affixed blame to communists. This division of Korea, after more than a millennium of being unified,

2262-451: The CPKI of minimal interference from the Japanese in their affairs, the military declared that they would firmly punish any unrest, to the protest of the CPKI. On 6 September a congress of representatives was convened in Seoul and founded the short-lived People's Republic of Korea (PRK). In the spirit of consensus, conservative elder statesman Syngman Rhee, who was living in exile in the U.S.,

2349-711: The Five Islands of the West Sea. Baengneyongdo alone has 13 churches for a population of approximately 5,700. Approximately 75% of the population are religious, compared to only 64% of mainland South Korea . Baengneyongdo was also part of the West Sea missionary route created by the first Catholic priest from Korea, Kim Taegon . 37°41′24″N 126°19′42″E  /  37.69012°N 126.32841°E  / 37.69012; 126.32841 Baengnyeongdo Baengnyeongdo ( Korean :  백령도 ; Korean pronunciation: [pɛŋnjʌŋdo] ), sometimes Baekryeong Island ,

2436-556: The Five West Sea Islands in North Korean territory. North Korea continued to object to the NLL, and declared its own maritime border in 1999, called the "West Sea Maritime Military Demarcation Line," which just barely excludes the islands. The islands are in the middle of the maritime border between North and South Korea . Many of the major military clashes since the Korean War have occurred around these islands. On February 15, 1974,

2523-633: The Joint Commission in September 1947, Soviet delegate Terentii Shtykov proposed that both Soviet and US troops withdraw and give the Korean people the opportunity to form their own government. This was rejected by the US. With the failure of the Joint Commission to make progress, the US brought the problem before the United Nations in September 1947. The Soviet Union opposed UN involvement. The UN passed

2610-540: The Koreans would be deemed ready for self-rule. In the last days of the war, the United States proposed dividing the Korean peninsula into two occupation zones (a U.S. and Soviet one) with the 38th parallel as the dividing line. The Soviets accepted their proposal and agreed to divide Korea. It was understood that this division was only a temporary arrangement until the trusteeship could be implemented. In December 1945,

2697-466: The North Korean forces back behind the border. However, the North overran 90% of the south until a counter-attack by US-led forces. As the North Korean forces were driven from the south, South Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel on 1 October, and American and other UN forces followed a week later. This was despite warnings from the People's Republic of China that it would intervene if American troops crossed

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2784-659: The North Korean navy sank a South Korean fishing boat, killing 13 people and capturing the lone survivor. During the same incident, they also captured another fishing boat with a crew of 14 people. On March 26, 2010, A South Korean navy ship sank near Baengnyeondo , killing 46 crew members. An international investigation blamed a North Korean torpedo for sinking the ship. On November 23, 2010, North Korea fired around 170 artillery shells and rockets at Yeonpyeongdo , killing four South Koreans and wounding 19 others. North Korea accused South Korea of firing artillery shells into its territorial waters while conducting military exercises. This

2871-539: The Second World War, the Soviets lacked the resources and will to create a full satellite state in Korea and Koreans enjoyed a higher level of autonomy than Soviet-controlled Eastern European states. The Soviets had brought with them a number of Koreans who had been living in the Soviet Union, some of whom were members of the Soviet Communist Party, with the intention of creating a socialist state. Unlike in

2958-413: The Soviet Union proposed Lyuh Woon-hyung as the leader of a unified Korea, but this was rejected by the US. Meanwhile, the division between the two zones deepened. The difference in policy between the occupying powers led to a polarization of politics, and a transfer of population between North and South. In May 1946 it was made illegal to cross the 38th parallel without a permit. At the final meeting of

3045-404: The Soviets entered Pyongyang. Meanwhile in Seoul, beginning in early to mid August, General Nobuyuki Abe , the last Japanese Governor-General of Korea , began contacting Koreans to offer them a leading role in the hand-over of power. He first offered the position to Song Jin-woo , the former head of The Dong-A Ilbo newspaper, who was seen as a champion of Korean independence activism within

3132-549: The Swiss and Swedish armed forces have been members of the NNSC stationed near the DMZ. Poland and Czechoslovakia were the neutral nations chosen by North Korea, but North Korea expelled their observers after those countries embraced capitalism. Since the war, Korea has remained divided along the DMZ. North and South have remained in a state of conflict, with the opposing regimes both claiming to be

3219-439: The U.S. Army occupation was chaotic and tumultuous compared to the very peaceful and stable U.S. occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1952. Hodge and his XXIV Corps were trained for combat, not for diplomacy and negotiating with the many diverse political groups that emerged in post-colonial southern Korea: former Japanese collaborators, pro-Soviet communists, anti-Soviet communists, right wing groups, and Korean nationalists. None of

3306-537: The U.S., and a permanent U.S. garrison in the South. As dictated by the terms of the Korean Armistice, a Geneva Conference was held in 1954 on the Korean question. Despite efforts by many of the nations involved, the conference ended without a declaration for a unified Korea. The Armistice established a Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) which was tasked to monitor the Armistice. Since 1953, members of

3393-410: The US, became the most prominent politician in the South. Rhee pressured the American government to abandon negotiations for a trusteeship and create an independent Republic of Korea in the south. On 19 July 1947, Lyuh Woon-hyung , the last senior politician committed to left-right dialogue, was assassinated by a 19-year-old man named Han Chigeun, a recent refugee from North Korea and an active member of

3480-611: The area. In 1895, the island was placed under an administrative district called Baengnyeong-myeon with 17 subdivisions. In 1914, its subdivisions were consolidated into 7. In 1945, it was incorporated into Ongjin County and made part of Gyeonggi Province . During the Korean War, the USAF designated the airfield on Paengyong-do as K-53. The island was defended by the West Coast Island Defense Task Unit composed of men of

3567-543: The capital was awash with waves of rumors, some of which may have been spread by Japanese soldiers to distract the public while they prepared to leave the peninsula. On multiple occasions, rumors that Soviet soldiers were about to arrive via rail to Seoul caused either mass panic or, for some left-leaning Koreans, celebration. Even the Soviet Ambassador in Seoul was confused and phoned around to check whether Soviet soldiers were coming. Another rumor, spread both by fliers and

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3654-623: The commission declared that it was "far from satisfied" with the election. Unrest continued in the South. In October 1948, the Yeosu–Suncheon rebellion took place, in which some regiments rejected the suppression of the Jeju uprising and rebelled against the government. In 1949, the Syngman Rhee government established the Bodo League in order to keep an eye on its political opponents. The majority of

3741-434: The elections in the south, as did other politicians and parties. The conference called for a united government and the withdrawal of foreign troops. Syngman Rhee and General Hodge denounced the conference. Kim Koo was assassinated the following year. On 10 May 1948 the south held a general election . It took place amid widespread violence and intimidation, as well as a boycott by opponents of Syngman Rhee. On 15 August,

3828-488: The former village leaders were eliminated as a political force without resort to bloodshed, but extreme care was taken to preclude their return to power." The farmers responded positively; many collaborators, former landowners and Christians fled to the south, where some of them obtained positions in the new South Korean government. According to the U.S. military government, 400,000 northern Koreans went south as refugees. Key industries were nationalized. The economic situation

3915-693: The geographical location, Christianity went through Baengnyeong Island ahead of other Korean regions. After the Gabo Reform , Kim Seong-jin was exiled to this island, and the first church in Korea was established in 1896. There are ten churches on the island at the present time. Two smaller islands nearby are Daecheong Island and the much smaller Socheong Island . [REDACTED] Media related to Baengnyeong Island at Wikimedia Commons [REDACTED] Baengnyeong Island travel guide from Wikivoyage Division of Korea The division of Korea de facto began on 2 September 1945, when Japan signed

4002-516: The island on 26 March 2010. The 1,200-ton vessel broke in two pieces, with nearly half the crew dying (mainly in the stern section) and a little more than half surviving (mainly in the bow section). A multinational investigation concluded that a North Korean torpedo struck the ship although this conclusion has been challenged by others. The climate of Baengnyeongdo is a monsoon-influenced humid continental climate ( Köppen : Dwa ), with precipitation mainly concentrated from May to September. Owing to

4089-427: The islands. Despite the military conflicts, the North and South have achieved better relations over the islands in recent years. The 2018 Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Reunification, adopted by the leaders of North and South Korea , expanded permissible fishing areas and allowed nighttime fishing around the islands for the first time in 55 years. There are a curious number of churches and cathedrals on

4176-600: The leader of Soviet-occupied northern Korea. This led to the establishment of the Republic of Korea in southern Korea on 15 August 1948, promptly followed by the establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in northern Korea on 9 September 1948. The United States supported the South, the Soviet Union supported the North, and each government claimed sovereignty over the whole Korean peninsula. On 25 June 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea in an attempt to re-unify

4263-541: The legitimate government of the whole country. Sporadic negotiations have failed to produce lasting progress towards reunification. On 27 April 2018 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The Panmunjom Declaration signed by both leaders called for the end of longstanding military activities near the border and the reunification of Korea. On 1 November 2018, buffer zones were established across

4350-481: The loot back home. In addition to looting, Soviet soldiers were accused of rape, although the accusations were inflated in the south by fleeing Japanese colonials. Korean peasants sometimes joined the looting, indicating that the looting was based in class disparities, rather than racial disparities. These abuses lessened after the arrival of military police in January 1946. On the southern peninsula, American soldiers also committed depredations, both rape and looting, on

4437-533: The mainland as part of a peninsula during the Last Glacial Period . The current portion remained above water after sea levels rose. The island does not have significant rivers; these only form during the summer monsoon season . The coast of the island is rocky, and there are tidal flats on the southeastern coast. Changsan Cape in Ryongyon , North Korea, can be seen from Baengnyeong on clear days. The area

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4524-570: The many poor civilians and agricultural labourers under the people's committees, a nationwide mass campaign broke the control of the old landed classes. Landlords were allowed to keep only the same amount of land as poor civilians who had once rented their land, thereby making for a far more equal distribution of land. The North Korean land reform was achieved in a less violent way than in China or in Vietnam . Official American sources stated: "From all accounts,

4611-571: The military government. This uprising was quickly defeated, and failed to prevent scheduled October elections for the South Korean Interim Legislative Assembly. The opening of the Assembly was delayed to December to investigate widespread allegations of electoral fraud. Ardent anti-communist Syngman Rhee , who had been the first president of the Provisional Government and later worked as a pro-Korean lobbyist in

4698-542: The more capable Sikorsky H-19 , two of which were based at Chodo and one on Paengyong-do. On 12 November 1952 several aircraft, believed to be Po-2s , bombed the base in a night attack causing minimal damage. In 1974, Daecheongdo and Socheongdo were split off into Daecheong-myeon. In 1995, Ongjin County was made part of Incheon Metropolitan City. In January 2010, an artillery duel between South Korean ships and North Korean land artillery occurred near Baengnyeong. The South Korean naval vessel ROKS Cheonan sank near

4785-478: The name eventually became Baengnyeongdo. The island is a popular tourist attraction, and has three Natural Monuments of South Korea . Dumujin Coast  [ ko ] is a quartzite cliff about 50 m (160 ft) tall, off the coast of the island. It was carved by erosion from the waves, wind, and rain. The site has long been considered beautiful and scenic, with a 1612 record describing it as seeming like it

4872-416: The nationalist right-wing group, the White Shirts Society . USAMGIK and later the newly formed South Korean government faced a number of left-wing insurgencies, some supported by North Korea, that were eventually suppressed. Over the course of the next few years, between 30,000 and 100,000 people were killed. Most casualties resulted from the Jeju Uprising . In December 1945, at the Moscow Conference ,

4959-416: The nearby quartzite cliffs that have been rounded by erosion over time. Baengnyeongdo is located closer to North Korea than it is to the South. It is 191.4 km (118.9 mi) northwest of Incheon , on the South Korean mainland. It has an area of 46.3 km (17.9 sq mi) and a coastline of 52.4 km (32.6 mi). It is South Korea's 14th largest island. The island was once connected to

5046-463: The newly formed People's Republic of Korea and its People's Committees, and outlawed it on 12 December. Japanese civilians were repatriated, including nearly all industrial managers and technicians; over 500,000 by December 1945 and 786,000 by August 1946. Severe price inflation occurred in the disrupted economy, until in summer 1946 rationing and price controls were imposed. In September 1946, thousands of laborers and peasants rose up against

5133-426: The northeast of the country, and on 16 August they landed at Wonsan . By 24 August, the Red Army reached Pyongyang , the second largest city in the Korean Peninsula after Seoul. Throughout August, there was a mix of celebration, confusion, and conflict, mainly caused by the lack of information provided to the Koreans by the Allies. The general public did not become aware of the division of Korea until around when

5220-404: The only agreed-upon framework for the re-establishment of an independent and unified Korean state. With this, the Korean question was referred to the United Nations . In 1948, after the UN failed to produce an outcome acceptable to the Soviet Union, UN-supervised elections were held in the US-occupied south only. Syngman Rhee won the election, while Kim Il Sung consolidated his position as

5307-434: The parallel. As it occupied the north, the Republic of Korea, in turn, attempted to unify the country under its regime, with the Korean National Police enforcing political indoctrination. As US-led forces pushed into the north, China unleashed a counter-attack which drove them back into the south. In 1951, the front line stabilized near the 38th parallel, and both sides began to consider an armistice. Rhee, however, demanded

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5394-405: The parties, the number of women members, and, more broadly, the precise social composition of the legislature." The original 1948 North Korean constitution was primarily written by Stalin and Shtykov. In March 1946 the provisional government instituted a sweeping land-reform program: land belonging to Japanese and collaborator landowners was divided and redistributed to poor farmers. Organizing

5481-446: The peninsula under its communist rule. The subsequent Korean War , which lasted from 1950 to 1953, ended with a stalemate and has left Korea divided by the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) up to the present day. During the April 2018 inter-Korean summit , the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Reunification of the Korean Peninsula was adopted between Kim Jong Un , the Supreme Leader of North Korea , and Moon Jae-in ,

5568-438: The peninsula. Song refused the position, which he saw as equivalent to the role of Wang Jingwei , the ruler of the Japanese puppet state in China. He instead preferred to wait until, as many expected and hoped, the KPG returned to the peninsula and established a fully domestic Korean government. On 15 August, Abe instead offered the position to Lyuh Woon-hyung , who accepted it, to the chagrin of Song. That day, Lyuh announced to

5655-458: The people of Korea, announcing U.S. military control over Korea south of the 38th parallel and establishing English as the official language during military control. That same day, he announced that Lieutenant General John R. Hodge was to administer Korean affairs. Hodge landed in Incheon with his troops on 8 September 1945, marking the beginning of the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK). MacArthur as Supreme Commander for

5742-407: The public that Japan had accepted the terms of surrender laid out in the Potsdam Declaration , to the jubilation of the Koreans and the horror of the around 777,000 Japanese residents of the peninsula. With a budget of 20,000,000 yen from the colonial government, Lyuh set about organizing the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence  [ ko ] (CPKI). The CPKI began taking over

5829-455: The romance, she was exiled to Baengnyeongdo. Distressed, the man attempted in vain to locate her. One day, the man dreamed that a white crane gave him a piece of paper. The man then awoke to find that he actually did have a paper with the woman's address on it. He then set out to the island, whereupon he found her at the address. The two then lived happily ever after. The island was then dubbed Baekakdo ( 백학도 ; lit.  white crane island);

5916-466: The scarcity of US forces immediately available, and time and space factors, which would make it difficult to reach very far north, before Soviet troops could enter the area". To the surprise of the Americans, the Soviet Union immediately accepted the division. The agreement was incorporated into General Order No. 1 (approved on 17 August 1945) for the surrender of Japan. Soviet forces began amphibious landings in Korea by 14 August and rapidly took over

6003-610: The second bomb was dropped at Nagasaki , the USSR declared war on Japan . As war began, the Commander-in-Chief of Soviet Forces in the Far East, Marshal Aleksandr Vasilevsky , called on Koreans to rise up against Japan, saying "a banner of liberty and independence is rising in Seoul ". Soviet troops advanced rapidly, and the U.S. government became anxious that they would occupy the whole of Korea. On 10 August 1945 two young officers – Dean Rusk and Charles Bonesteel – were assigned to define an American occupation zone. Working on extremely short notice and completely unprepared, they used

6090-422: The security situation in the city and coordinating with local governments throughout the peninsula. However, the organization ended up being composed of mostly left-leaning communists, which infuriated Song even more. Lyuh attempted on multiple occasions to convince Song to join or support the CPKI, but their meetings reportedly ended in angry arguments each time. For the weeks before the American arrival in Seoul,

6177-478: The south, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea attempted to unify Korea under its regime, initiating the nationalisation of industry, land reform, and the restoration of the People's Committees. While UN intervention was conceived as restoring the border at the 38th parallel, Syngman Rhee argued that the attack of the North had obliterated the boundary. Similarly UN Commander in Chief, General Douglas MacArthur stated that he intended to unify Korea, not just drive

6264-466: The south, the former Japanese occupying authorities offered virtually no assistance to the Soviets, and even destroyed factories, mines and official records. After the massive loss of troops in Europe, the Soviet army recruited new soldiers, who were badly equipped when they landed in Korea, some even lacking shoes and uniforms. During the Soviet occupation, they lived off the Korean land, and looted Japanese colonials and Korean capitalists, sending part of

6351-503: The states, known as the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). This new border, reflecting the territory held by each side at the end of the war, crossed the 38th parallel diagonally. Rhee refused to accept the armistice and continued to urge the reunification of the country by force. Despite attempts by both sides to reunify the country, the war perpetuated the division of Korea and led to a permanent alliance between South Korea and

6438-402: The territories it had conquered by force. At the end of the conference, the three powers declared that they were "mindful of the enslavement of the people of Korea, ... determined that in due course Korea shall become free and independent." Roosevelt floated the idea of a trusteeship over Korea but did not obtain agreement from the other powers. Roosevelt raised the idea with Joseph Stalin at

6525-406: The trusteeship. According to historian Fyodor Tertitskiy, documentation from 1945 suggests the Soviet government initially had no plans for a permanent division. A Soviet-US Joint Commission  [ ko ] met in 1946 and 1947 to work towards a unified administration, but failed to make progress due to increasing Cold War antagonism and to Korean opposition to the trusteeship. In 1946,

6612-404: The two countries. The island is now a popular tourist destination, and is known for its scenic cliffs and beaches. It has three Natural Monuments of South Korea . The island's name means "white wing island". There is an origin legend surrounding the name. A man and a woman lived in a village in the nearby Hwanghae Province . The two fell in love, but when the woman's father found out about

6699-457: The war continue until Korea was unified under his leadership. The Communist side supported an armistice line being based on the 38th parallel, but the United Nations supported a line based on the territory held by each side, which was militarily defensible. The UN position, formulated by the Americans, went against the consensus leading up to the negotiations. Initially, the Americans proposed

6786-515: Was carved by the gods. The beach at Sagot Cape  [ ko ] is a sandy beach on the island that is 4 km (2.5 miles) long. At low tide , the exposed surface is considered to have such fine-grained sand with sufficient firmness to serve as a natural runway . Kongdol Beach  [ ko ] is a beach with round, smooth multi-colored pebbles. The pebbles are said to resemble beans (the beach's name literally means "bean rock"), and are made of quartzite. They are likely fragments of

6873-438: Was decided to hold UN-supervised elections in the south only. This was in defiance of the report of the chairman of the commission, K. P. S. Menon , who had argued against a separate election. Some UNTCOK delegates felt that the conditions in the south gave unfair advantage to right-wing candidates, but they were overruled. The decision to proceed with separate elections was unpopular among many Koreans, who rightly saw it as

6960-483: Was declared on 9 September, with Kim Il Sung as prime minister. On 12 December 1948, the United Nations General Assembly accepted the report of UNTCOK and declared the Republic of Korea to be the "only lawful government in Korea". However, none of the members of UNTCOK considered that the election had established a legitimate national parliament. The Australian government, which had a representative on

7047-464: Was largely defeated by May 1949 and 25,000 to 30,000 people had been killed in the conflict, and 70% of the villages were burned by the South Korean troops. The uprising flared up again with the outbreak of the Korean War. In April 1948, a conference of organizations from the north and the south met in Pyongyang . The southern politicians Kim Koo and Kim Kyu-sik attended the conference and boycotted

7134-510: Was nearly as difficult in the north as it was in the south, as the Japanese had concentrated agriculture and service industries in the south and heavy industry in the north. Soviet forces were withdrawn on 10 December 1948. With the American government fearing Soviet expansion, and the Japanese authorities in Korea warning of a power vacuum, the embarkation date of the US occupation force was brought forward three times. On 7 September 1945, General Douglas MacArthur issued Proclamation No. 1 to

7221-632: Was nominated as president. Song announced his own National Foundation Preparation Committee  [ ko ] (NFPC) on 7 September to directly counter the PRK. However, the NFPC had a minimal role in Korean politics and ended up aligning itself with the KPG after its return. The Soviets received little resistance from the Japanese during their advance across northern Korea and were aided by various Korean groups. When Soviet troops entered Pyongyang on August 24, they found

7308-558: Was removed. In the following decades, nationalist and radical groups emerged to struggle for independence. Divergent in their outlooks and approaches, these groups failed to come together in one national movement. The Korean Provisional Government (KPG) in exile in China failed to obtain widespread recognition. At the Cairo Conference in November 1943, in the middle of World War II , Franklin D. Roosevelt , Winston Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek agreed that Japan should lose all

7395-418: Was seen as controversial and temporary by both regimes. From 1948 until the start of the civil war on 25 June 1950, the armed forces of each side engaged in a series of bloody conflicts along the border. In 1950, these conflicts escalated dramatically when North Korean forces invaded South Korea, triggering the Korean War . The United Nations intervened to protect the South, sending a US-led force. As it occupied

7482-421: Was the first deliberate attack by North Korean on South Korean civilians since the Korean War . Because of this, there are approximately 40 civilian bomb shelters on the islands. The islands are considered a nuisance for North Korea , as the southernmost military outpost of North Korea , Haeju , can be seen with the naked eye from Yeonpyeongdo , and the movement of North Korean ships can easily be tracked from

7569-574: Was used as a staging base for a mission to recover wreckage of a downed Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 near the Chongchon River . On 17 April 1951 a USAF Sikorsky H-19 carried a US/South Korean team to the crash site and they photographed the wreck and removed the turbine blades, combustion chamber, exhaust pipe and horizontal stabilizer. The overloaded helicopter then flew the team and samples back to Paengyong-do where they were transferred onto an SA-16 and flown south for evaluation. The USAF established

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