The History of North and South Korea

After the Second World the Korean Peninsula was divided in two. The north was occupied by Soviet troops. The South was occupied by the USA. In 1948 the two zones became two separate countries. It has been a story of intermittent conflict and fragile peace ever since.

The Two Koreas is an Esri Story Map about the history of the two countries, their political leaders and their divergent political ideologies. The map provides a great introduction to the geopolitics of North and South Korea while providing useful background for anyone who wants to better understand the history behind the current crisis.

As well as exploring the history of the two countries the map also explores some of the economic and social differences that have sprung up between them. This is perhaps most strikingly shown in the night-time satellite imagery of the two countries, which shows huge parts of North Korea with no access to electricity.

The 'Current Conflict' section of the map looks more closely at the present tension between North Korea and just about everybody else. As well as examining North Korea's nuclear weapons programme the map explores North Korea's military presence along the demilitarized zone and its increasing incursions into South Korean waters. Perhaps most chillingly the story map shows the current and future range of North Korea's nuclear weapons.