Divided Korea: The Politics of Development, 1945-1972 Book

In 1945, the United States and the Soviet Union decided to temporarily separate Korea into two halves for the purpose of receiving the surrender of Japanese troops in the Korean peninsula. But the temporary division did not end. More than fifty years later, Korea is still divided into two different nations, one following a communist model, with the other attempting to adopt a western democracy model.

Korea thus became a test area for those two dominant systems. Divided Korea: The Politics of Development 1945-1972 is a study concerned with both of the systems under the sponsorship of two different foreign powers, through the efforts of different leadership groups, from the moment of collapse of the Japanese governing body on the Korean peninsula on August 15, 1945 to 1972. In comparing the developments in the two Koreas, the author was especially concerned with the role played by political leaders, the contrasting uses of political tools, the relative influence played by factors both within and without the society, and the contrasting processes of consolidation of power by the newly established political elites and the institutionalization of two distinct systems.

To gain a close look at how the two different systems were developing their roots in new places, Divided Korea: The Politics of Development 1945-1972 could provide the most fundamental study. And it may prove to be a good way to predict the future of the Korean peninsula.