On this page, find sources on America's relationship with Korea as a whole, along with a brief history of the division of the North and South.
On the North Korea and South Korea pages, find resources on the United States' relationships with those individual countries.
On the PyeongChang Olympics 2018 page, find resources on the 2018 Winter Olympics that briefly united the North and the South (and see the final medal counts!)
At the end of World War II, Korea was divided along the 38th Parallel, creating North Korea and South Korea. The Korean War broke out in 1950 when North Korean forces crossed this line into South Korea. The war lasted for three years, resulting in United Nations intervention (led by the United States) and millions of lives lost. The U.S. sought to influence South Korea, which eventually became a democracy in the 1990s, while North Korea remains under a dictatorship. The path toward reconciliation between the two Republics began in 1998, when South Korea's leader helped end a U.S. embargo on North Korea, which allowed for aid during a famine in the northern country that had killed thousands.
-Paraphrased from the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World
Source: United States Marine Corps., Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Source: US Navy, Good Free Photos, public domain
Source: Army Sgt. Amber I. Smith, U.S. Army, public domain
Source: U.S. Department of State, Flickr, public domain
Source: Senior Airman Kristin High, US Air Force, Osan Air Base, public domain
Brush up on your Korean history below! Need more books? Use the "Finding Resources at Gumberg" boxes on the following pages to find more!
Print Books: (Follow the links to find out more about the books!)
Korean-American Relations, 1866-1997 by 
The Two Koreas and the United States by 
A Concise History of Modern Korea: from the late nineteenth century to the present by eBooks: (Note: You will have to enter your MultiPass credentials to access these off-campus.)
A History of Korea: From 'Land of the Morning Calm' to States in Conflict by This guide was created by Kelsey O'Rourke, MLIS.
