38th parallel north

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Geography

Country, territory or sea	Notes
Mediterranean Sea Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
	Island of Sicily Sicily Sicily is an Autonomous regions with special statute of Italy. Of all the regions of Italy, Sicily covers the largest land area at 25,708 km? and currently has just over five million inhabitants....  and a small amount of the mainland
Mediterranean Sea Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....	Ionian Sea Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy, including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula, to the west, by southwestern Albania, including Saranda and Himara, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and Lefkas to the east....
Aegean Sea Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkans and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey respectively....	Including the Greek Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....  islands of Petalioi and Euboea Euboea For the Greek mythology figure, see Euboea Euboea is the second largest of the Greece Aegean Islands and the second largest List of islands of Greece overall in area and population, after Crete....
Caspian Sea Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the List of lakes by area or a full-fledged sea. It has a surface area of 371,000 square kilometers and a volume of 78,200 cubic kilometers ....
Yellow Sea Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean peninsula....
Sea of Japan Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, bordered by Japan, South Korea, North Korea and Russia. It is referred to in North Korea as the Korea East Sea and in South Korea as the East Sea....
	Islands of Sado Sado, Niigata is a city located on Sado Island in the Chubu region of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Since 2004 the city comprises the entire island, although not all of its 855.26 square kilometers is urbanized....  and Honshu Honshu or Honshu is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait....
Pacific Ocean Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
	California California California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California.... > Nevada Nevada Nevada is a U.S. state located in the Western United States of the United States of America. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas, Nevada.... Utah Utah The State of Utah is a western United States U.S. state of the United States. It was the List of U.S. states by date of statehood admitted to the United States on January 4, 1896.... Colorado Colorado The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States.... Kansas Kansas The State of Kansas is a Midwestern U.S. state in the Central United States of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the United States "Heartland".... Missouri Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska.... Illinois Illinois The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation.... Indiana Indiana The State of Indiana was the 19th U.S. state admitted into the union. It is located in the Midwestern United States of the United States of America.... Kentucky Kentucky The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a U.S. state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is normally included in the group of Southern United States , but it is uncommonly included, geographically and culturally, in the Midwestern United States.... West Virginia West Virginia West Virginia is a U.S. state in the Appalachian, Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia on the southeast, Kentucky on the southwest, Ohio on the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland on the northeast.... Virginia Virginia The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
Chesapeake Bay Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia....
	Maryland Maryland Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic States of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the Washington, D.C. to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east.... Virginia Virginia The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....	Passing between São Miguel São Miguel Island S?o Miguel Island , nicknamed "The Green Island", is the largest and most populous of the Azores Islands archipelago. The island covers and has around 140,000 inhabitants ; the largest town is Ponta Delgada, with about 45,000 inhabitants....  and Pico Pico Island Pico Island is an island of the Azores noted for its eponymous volcano, Mount Pico , which is the highest mountain of Portugal and also the highest elevation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge....  islands, Azores Azores The Azores is a Portugal archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about 1,500 km from Lisbon and about 3,900 km from the east coast of North America.... ,
Mediterranean Sea Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....

Korea

The 38th parallel was first suggested as a dividing line for Korea in 1902. Russia

Russian Empire

File:Russian Emperor Flag.jpgFile:Romanov Flag.svgThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917....
 was attempting to pull Korea under its control, while Japan had just secured recognition of its rights in Korea from the British

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, and other Dependent territory ruled or administered by the United Kingdom , that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries....
. In an attempt to prevent any conflict, Japan proposed to Russia that the two sides split Korea into separate spheres of influence along the 38th parallel. However, no formal agreement was ever reached, and Japan later took full control of Korea

Korea under Japanese rule

Korea was under Japanese rule as part of the Imperial Japan during the first half of the 20th century, until the surrender of Japan in 1945. Korea was occupied and declared a Japanese protectorate in 1905 , and officially annexation in 1910 through an Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty....
.

After the surrender of Japan

Surrender of Japan

The surrender of Japan in August 1945 brought World War II to a close. On August 10, 1945, after the Soviet Union Soviet invasion of Manchuria and the United States atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan's leaders at the Supreme War Council decided, in principle, to accept the terms the Allies of World War II had set down...
 in 1945, the parallel was established as the boundary by Dean Rusk

Dean Rusk

David Dean Rusk was the United States Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He was the second-longest serving Secretary of State, behind Cordell Hull....
 and Charles Bonesteel

Charles Bonesteel

General Charles Hartwell Bonesteel III was an American military commander, the son and grandson of American military officers.He was an Eagle Scout ....
 of the US State-War Navy Coordinating Committee in Washington, during the night 10-11 August 1945 4 days before the complete liberation of Korea. The parallel divided the peninsula roughly in the middle. In 1948, the dividing line became the boundary between the newly independent countries of North

North Korea

North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , is a state in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula....
 and South Korea

South Korea

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea , ), often referred to as Korea and the "names of Korea#Revival of the names", is a Semi-presidential system republic in East Asia, located in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula....
. After the ceasefire that effectively ended the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korea and South Korea regimes, with major hostilities lasting from June 25, 1950 until the armistice signed on July 27, 1953....
 (1950-1953), a new border was established through the middle of the Demilitarized Zone

Korean Demilitarized Zone

The Korean Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea Korea....
, which cuts across the 38th parallel at an acute angle, from southwest to northeast. The 38th Parallel was also the place where the cease-fire was called to end the fighting.

See also

• 37th parallel north
  37th parallel north
  
  The 37th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 37 degree true north of the Earth equator.Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 37? north passes through:...
  
• 38th parallel structures
  38th parallel structures
  
  The 38th parallel structures are a series of circular depressions or deformations stretching 700 km across southern Illinois and Missouri into eastern Kansas at a latitude of roughly 38th parallel north....
  
• 39th parallel north
  39th parallel north
  
  The 39th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 39 degree true north of the Earth equator.Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 39? north passes through:...
  
• Circle of latitude
  Circle of latitude
  
  A circle of latitude, on the Earth, is an imaginary east-west circle connecting all locations that share a given latitude. A location's position along a circle of latitude is given by its longitude....
  

  Category:Lines of latitude

Further Reading

• Oberdorfer, Don. The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History. (1997)