Korean Peninsula

A geographic region encompassing both North and South Korea. The Korean Peninsula is bounded by the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait to the south, and the Sea of Japan or East Sea to the east. China makes up the northern boundary of the peninsula. Because of its proximity to China and Japan, as well as relatively easy access to the North Pacific, the Korean Peninsula is an ideal and coveted area in terms of modern strategic warfare, which is why the Korean Peninsula became such a site of political struggle, contention, and brutal violence during the Cold War (roughly 1947-1991).