Sungnyemun or more commonly known as Namdaemun is a historic gate located in the heart of Seoul. The landmark is officially called Sungnyemun, literally "Gate of Exalted Ceremonies," but is widely known as Namdaemun, literally "Great Southern Gate." It is the first among the National Treasures of South Korea.
South KoreaAn independent Korean state or collection of states has existed almost continuously for several millennia. Between its initial unification in the 7th century - from three predecessor Korean states - until the 20th century, Korea existed as a single independent country. In 1905, following the Russo-Japanese War, Korea became a protectorate of imperial Japan, and in 1910 it was annexed as a colony. Korea regained its independence following Japan's surrender to the United States in 1945. After World War II, a Republic of Korea (ROK) was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a Communist-style government was installed in the north (the DPRK). During the Korean War (1950-53), US troops and UN forces fought alongside soldiers from the ROK to defend South Korea from DPRK attacks supported by China and the Soviet Union. An armistice was signed in 1953, splitting the peninsula along a demilitarized zone at about the 38th parallel. Thereafter, South Korea achieved rapid economic growth with per capita income rising to roughly 14 times the level of North Korea. In 1993, Kim Young-sam became South Korea's first civilian president following 32 years of military rule. South Korea today is a fully functioning modern democracy. In June 2000, a historic first North-South summit took place between the South's President Kim Dae-jung and the North's leader Kim Jong Il. In October 2007, a second North-South summit took place between the South's President Roh Moo-hyun and the North Korean leader. Harsh rhetoric and unwillingness by North Korea to engage with President Lee Myung-bak following his February 2008 inauguration has strained inter-Korean relations. (facts courtesy of CIA World Fact Book)
A sculpture at the Incheon Landing Operation Memorial Hall. The Battle of Inchon (code name: Operation Chromite) was a decisive invasion and battle during the Korean War.
North Korea
An independent kingdom for much of its long history, Korea was occupied by Japan beginning in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War. Five years later, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist control. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed Republic of Korea (ROK) in the southern portion by force, North Korea (DPRK), under its founder President KIM Il Sung, adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against outside influence. The DPRK demonized the US as the ultimate threat to its social system through state-funded propaganda, and molded political, economic, and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. Kim's son, the current ruler Kim Jong Il, was officially designated as his father's successor in 1980, assuming a growing political and managerial role until the elder Kim's death in 1994. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the DPRK since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international aid to feed its population. 
Flag of North Korea
North Korea's history of regional military provocations, proliferation of military-related items, and long-range missile development - as well as its WMD programs and massive conventional armed forces - are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, following revelations that the DPRK was pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement with the US to freeze and ultimately dismantle its existing plutonium-based program, North Korea expelled monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In January 2003, it declared its withdrawal from the international Non-Proliferation Treaty. In mid-2003 Pyongyang announced it had completed the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods (to extract weapons-grade plutonium) and was developing a "nuclear deterrent." Beginning in August 2003, North Korea, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the US have participated in the Six-Party Talks aimed at resolving the stalemate over the DPRK's nuclear programs. North Korea pulled out of the talks in November 2005. It test-fired ballistic missiles in July 2006 and conducted a nuclear test in October 2006. North Korea returned to the Six-Party Talks in December 2006 and subsequently signed two agreements on denuclearization. The 13 February 2007 Initial Actions Agreement led to the shut down of three of the North's nuclear facilities at Yongbyon in July 2007. In the 3 October 2007 Second Phase Actions Agreement, Pyongyang pledged to disable those three facilities and provide a correct and complete declaration of its nuclear programs by the end of the year. Under the supervision of US nuclear experts, North Korean personnel completed some of agreed-upon disablement actions at those three Yongbyon facilities by the end of 2007. North Korea began the discharge of spent fuel rods in December 2007 and provided a declaration of its nuclear program in June 2008. (facts courtesy of CIA World Fact Book)
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