According to History, during World War II, the Korean Peninsula was controlled by the Japanese empire. By the time the war was over and the Japanse had been defeated, the United States and the Soviet Union gained control of the peninsula. Much like they did in Germany, where the country was divided into halves, with each taking control of one, the Korean Peninsula was divided along the 38th parallel. The Soviets took the northern half, which became North Korea, and the United States took the southern half, South Korea.
As was the case for a large portion of the 20th century, the two halves of the Korean Peninsula represented the two warring political ideologies of the day, with North Korea adopting communism. Meanwhile, in South Korea, an anti-communist dictator named Syngman Rhee came into power, and received the United States' backing, even if they did so reluctantly.
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