For the last half century the Korean Peninsula has been divided into South and North because of ideological differences; there is no other place in the world like it. Because of this separation, there is a high level of tension present between the two sides. Over 1 million soldiers confront each other along the length of the 155 mile long De-Militarized Zone (DMZ). On August 15, 1945, Korea gained its independence from Japan after 35 years of occupation but South and North Korea each took vastly different forms of government. The ideological differences of these governments lead to the start of the Korean War on June 25, 1950, and lasted just over 3 years, ending on July 27, 1953. There were no winners, however; the war ended in a stalemate and the resulting DMZ, which separated the country left the pain of division in place until today. The war left the entire country in ruins and destroyed the heritage of 5,000 years. Casualties of the war were over 7 million dead or wounded. Also, over 1 million children were orphaned. To this day over 10 million Koreans are separated from their families.