Korea in the Cross Currents: A Century of Struggle and the Crisis of Reunification

The Korean peninsula underwent a continuous number of earth-shaking events in the 20th century. North and South Korea are situated among China, Japan, and Russia; they are also profoundly influenced by the United States because of the circumstances of the Korean War (1950-1953). Issues of war and peace, left over from the Korean war, remain unresolved; two separate states are the residue of the Cold War. This anomaly still poses ominous prospects for war or peace in Asia and American national security interests. At the same time, the complexity of the division places the future at risk. There was one terrible war that divided the 20th century in half and there are threats of more trouble to come. This study of the history of the past century provides some answers and opens the way to informed speculations as the two Koreas struggle over unification.