Korea has been invaded 900 times throughout its history…the most recent occupation was by the Japanese which ended at the conclusion of World War II. The official independence day is August 15, 1948. From the end of WWII until 1948 (according to our guide) Korea was a “protectorate” of the United Nations. The anti – Japanese sentiment runs deep in Korea.
On June 25, 1950 North Korea invaded, so South Korea had less than two years of independence when again their independence was threatened. The invasion into Seoul was complete on June 28th. About 450,000 people fled Seoul and moved into the hills around Busan. The refugees moved into the hills around Busan. The total population of Busan before the invasion was about 375,000 so their population more than doubled in the first few days of the Korean War. (Grace – if i have this wrong – please correct me.) The war “ended” without a peace treat signed on July 27, 1953. During the war about 40,000 UN soldiers were killed, of which about 36,000 were Americans.
The only United Nations cemetery in the world is in Busan. We didn’t make it there this time, it wasn’t within walking distance of our hotel. Actually when I looked up how to walk to the cemetery, there was no way to do it.
Part of Busan was an island which was filled with landfill to create a peninsula. Our guide explained that the soil for filling the sea (the Sea of the East, called by Japan the Sea of Japan) came from the hills around Busan.
