Before WW2 ended in 1945, a number of conferences between the so-called 'allied' powers, tried to cobble together some sort of vision of a post-war world. Poor old Korea, a Japanese controlled state for something like the previous 35 years was not given much thought.
Japan had been given control of Korea as a result of the Russo-Japanese war (1904-05), an event now largely forgotten, but with huge consequences. Both Russia and Japan had heavy losses, but the Japanese emerged as the winners, totally destroying two Russian fleets. A peace was concluded with the so-called 'Treaty of Portsmouth,' was chaired by Theodore Roosevelt. A secret discussion between the Americans and the Japanese set out terms for the 'peace'. The US would recognise Japan's interests in Korea (i.e. we wont oppose your takeover of Korea) if Japan would recognise the US's interests in the Philipinnes, where the US was fighting a vicious war against Filipinno freedom fighters who longed for a free independent Philippines state.
In the outcome, Japan took over Korea and the US took over the Philippines.
There were consequences to this war and its settlement. Let me list some.
In Japan, a spirit of national pride was engendered and the hand of the Imperialists was strengthened. For the first time in modern history, an Asian nation had defeated a European nation.
In Russia, there was even more unrest than prior to the war and the first revolution that eventually led to Russia becoming communist. The new USSR did not forget the defeat by Japan though, Just prior to Pearl Harbour, during their invasion of China that came before WW2, Japan tried to invade part of Mongolia that was under the control of the USSR. The Russians wiped the floor with them. A little later in the Philipinnes and S.E.Asia the Japanese sliced through American and other western armies like a hot knife through butter.
In China, Dr Sun Yatsen, formerly an American admirer became disillusioned with the USA, as a result of what had gone on in the American war in the Phillipines. Sun Yatsen turned to the communist USSR for advice and guidance in building his new party the Guomindang (Best known in the west as the KMT). Sun allowed the newly formed Chinese Communist Party to join his KMT. Sun sent Chiang Kai Shek, his assistant to Russia for training. CKS apparently did not like communism, (although he attempted to build a totalitarian state in China), and after Sun Yatsen's death drove the communists out of east China. A on-going war between the nationalists and the communists neatly saw the communists wiped out. The communists took refuge in north China in Yanan, there they re-built their strength and after the Japanese invasions of china (1931 and 1937) gained experience in guerilla warfare at which they excelled. The Chinese communists were joined by many Koreans - hence the feeling of blood brothership leter in the Korean war. From their base in North China they were able to capitalise on the Russian presence after WW2, and by 1949 win control of all China.
Heavy consequences, weren't they?
So back to the closing days of WW2. Franklin Roosevelt, when Korea was discussed at the international conferences, though they should be under the tutelage of some other state for anothe 30 years - to be taught political maturity. Roosevelt and Churchill, unsure how effective their secret atomic bomb would be, kept pressing Stalin to open a front in Asia. Stalin refused until Germany was defeated. After VE day, he did start his build up in Siberia on the borders of Manchurian China. Secretly without the Japanese Army being aware of what he was doing he built and sent to that proposed fornt, an army of 500,000 with thousands of tanks and thousands of aircraft.
On August 9, 1945 the invasion commenced. The Japanese army in north China folded and within 10 days Russian tanks were on the border of Korea (and, incidently had taken back the sectionsof Sakhalin that had been ceded to Japan in 1905, and which the Japanese now want back- smile). In the meantime, Japan had surrendered, Americans were in Japan figuring out how to control the termination of the war.
They suddenly woke up to the fact that the Russians might soo have control of all of Korea, so they proposed that Korea be divided into two halves of influence. Unexpectedly, (remember the Russians had advanced half-way down the Peninsula), the Russian agreed, and so was born the two Korea's.
During the Japanese control of Korea there emerged two groups. Some co-operated with the Japanese. Some opposed and even fought a guerilla war agains tthe Japanese. Politically, all Koreans wanted Independence, but differed in the sort of Korea they wanted. With the division, some moved North to the Russian controlled zone and some moved south to the American controlled zone. The worst division took place in the areas close to the dividing line.
And, its the story of those people that is told in this "divided families" film project.
link to it at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dividedfamilies/divided-families-film-project
more later: