A learning night talk by Jeeyoung Kim on all the strange historical events that happened to coincide around the same time in 1945.

1. History of the Far East
circa August 15, 1945
Jeeyoung Kim (jeeyoungk@gmail.com)

2. Intro
● 1911 ~ 1953
● 3 Main Countries: China(s), Korea(s), and
Japan.
● 2 Other countries: USA and Russia, along
with Joseon Korea, Russian Empire, Qing
Dynasty.
● 4 wars - 2 Sino-Japanese, Russo-
Japanese, World War II
● 3 Civil Wars - 2 Chinese Civil War, Korean
War

3. (1) Pre-World War II

4. 1911 - Xinhai Revolution
● Qing Dynasty - weak and corrupt by 1800s. Many
wars happened: First Sino-Japanese war, Opium
Wars, and Boxer Rebellion.
● Fall of Qing Dynasty, lead by a Chinese
Revolutionary Sun Yat-sen.
● Birth of modern China - ROC and PRC.

5. 1927 ~ 1936 - First Chinese Civil War
● Turmoil after Xinhai Revolution.
● Chiang Kai-shek's KMT and Mao Zedong's
CPC fought to control China.
● Armistice after Japanese Invasion.

6. 1931 - Mukden Incident and Manchukuo
● Japanese Invasion of Manchuria.
● Manchukuo - a puppet state backed by
Japanese is formed, with Puyi as head of
state.

7. (2) World War II

8. 1937 ~ 1945 Second Sino-Japanese War
● Japanese invasion of China.
● Superior military power of Japan,
eventually lead to a stalemate.
● Japanese War Crimes & Millions of
Chinese casualties.

9. December 7th, 1941 - Pearl Harbor
● Japan declares war on USA with a surprise
attack.
● Japanese declaration of war not decrypted
and communicated on time.
● Beginning of the Pacific War

10. (2) August 15, 1945

11. March 9th 1945 - Firebombing of Tokyo
● 334 B-29s bombed Tokyo with incendiary
bombs.
● 100,000 deaths.
● Most destructive raid in history.

12. August 6th, 1945 - Hiroshima & Nagasaki

13. August 9th, 1945 - Operation August Storm
● Soviet-Japan Neutrality Pact - Until April
1946.
● Soviet Invasion of Manchuria.
● Japan loses the entire Manchuria within
11 days.

14. August 15, 1945 - Japan Declares Surrender
● Emperor Hirohito announces the
unconditional surrender of Japan.
● September 2, 1945 - Surrender is officially
signed @ USS Missouri, Tokyo Bay.
● Douglas MacArthur becomes Supreme
Commander for the Allied Powers.

15. (4) 1945 ~ 1953

16. 38th Parallel
● North and South Korea are occupied by
USSR and USA.
● Temporary border - never meant to split
Korea in two countries

17. March 1946 ~ May 1950 - Chinese Civil War
● Chinese Civil War resumes after WW II.
● Chiang's KMT lost its initial upper hand
and ultimately lost the war.
● KMT evacuates to Taiwan, forming two
Chinas which continues to date.

18. June 15, 1950 - Korean War
● Kim Il-sung's North Korea invades South
Korea on June 15, 1950.
● USA and UN intervenes to support the
South.
● USA's 7th fleet sent to Taiwan, preventing
PRC from invading ROC.
● China intervenes to support the North.
● Continues till 1953

19. Aftermath

20. Aftermath (1953)
● Republic of China
● People's Republic of China
● North Korea
● South Korea
● Japan