The 38thth parallel is a popular name given to latitude 38 N—the latitude marker which roughly separates North Korea from South Korea. The 38thth parallel was chosen somewhat arbitrarily by U.S. military planners at the Potsdam Conference toward the end of World War II in July of 1945 as a way of placing North Korea under Soviet control and South Korea under U.S. control. The demarcation was intended to be temporary, but the Cold War increased tensions between the Soviet regime and the United States, thus deepening divisions between North and South Korea. Barbara Demick notes that the division at the 38thth parallel represents a profound lack of Western understanding about the geopolitics of the Korean peninsula., which was Hhistorically, the peninsula was divided longitudinally between eEast and wWest, with the eastern part of the peninsula tending to be more sympathetic to and accepting of Japanese influence and the western part traditionally allying itself with China.
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The 38th Parallel Term Timeline in Nothing to Envy
The timeline below shows where the term The 38th Parallel appears in Nothing to Envy. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...the Soviets would seize control of the Korean peninsula, divided it into two territories at the 38th parallel . They left the Soviets to administer the northern half and took control of the...
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...and the Netherlands. They recaptured Seoul, and pushed North Korean forces back up to around the 38th parallel . In July of 1953, North and South Korea signed a ceasefire. The war had...
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