Question: Why was the country where Gukhwappang originated divided at the 38th parallel at the end of WWII?

full_context: Document 1: Division of Korea: The division of Korea between North and South Korea occurred after World War II, ending the Empire of Japan's 35 - year rule over Korea in 1945. The United States and the Soviet Union each occupied a portion of the peninsula, with the boundary between their zones of control along the 38th parallel.
Document 2: Korean War: Soviet generals with extensive combat experience from the Second World War were sent to North Korea as the Soviet Advisory Group. These generals completed the plans for the attack by May. The original plans called for a skirmish to be initiated in the Ongjin Peninsula on the west coast of Korea. The North Koreans would then launch a "counterattack" that would capture Seoul and encircle and destroy the South Korean army. The final stage would involve destroying South Korean government remnants, capturing the rest of South Korea, including the ports.
Document 3: Division of Korea: A Soviet - US Joint Commission met in 1946 and 1947 to work towards a unified administration, but failed to make progress due to increasing Cold War antagonism and to Korean opposition to the trusteeship. Meanwhile, the division between the two zones deepened. The difference in policy between the occupying powers led to a polarization of politics, and a transfer of population between North and South. In May 1946 it was made illegal to cross the 38th parallel without a permit.
Document 4: Tiger bread: The bread is generally made with sesame oil, which gives it a distinct aroma, and with a pattern baked into the top made by painting rice paste onto the surface prior to baking. The paste dries and cracks during the baking process. The rice paste crust also gives the bread a distinctive flavour. It has a crusty exterior, but is soft inside. Typically, tiger bread is made as a white bread bloomer loaf or bread roll, but the technique can be applied to any shape of bread.
Document 5: Kleicha: Kleicha () may be considered the national cookie of both Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Kleicha come in several traditional shapes and fillings. The most popular are the ones filled with dates ("kleichat tamur"). There are also sweet discs ("khfefiyyat"), as well as half moons filled with nuts, sugar and/or desiccated coconut ("kleichat joz").
Document 6: Gukhwa-ppang: Gukhwa-ppang (; "chrysanthemum bread") is a flower-shaped pastry stuffed with sweetened red bean paste. It is a warm street food sold throughout Korea. It is grilled in an appliance similar to a waffle iron, but with flower-shaped molds.
Document 7: Habichuelas con dulce: Habichuelas con dulce is a sweet bean liquid dessert from the Dominican Republic that is especially popular around the Easter holiday. The dessert is part of the cuisine of the Dominican Republic and is traditionally garnished with milk cookies or with casabe, "a flatbread made of yuca flour."
Document 8: Korean War: Korea was ruled by Imperial Japan from 1910 until the closing days of World War II. In August 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Imperial Japan, as a result of an agreement with the United States, and liberated Korea north of the 38th parallel. U.S. forces subsequently moved into the south. By 1948, as a product of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, Korea was split into two regions, with separate governments. Both claimed to be the legitimate government of all of Korea, and neither accepted the border as permanent. The conflict escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces -- supported by the Soviet Union and China -- moved into the south on 25 June 1950. On 27 June, the United Nations Security Council authorized the formation and dispatch of UN forces to Korea to repel what was recognized as a North Korean invasion. Twenty - one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force, with the United States providing 88% of the UN's military personnel.
Document 9: Hwangnam-ppang: Hwangnam bread (named after its region of origin, Hwangnam-dong), also commonly called Gyeongju bread, is a local specialty of Gyeongju City, South Korea. It is a small pastry with a filling of red bean paste. Gyeongju bread was first baked in 1939 at a bakery in Hwangnam-dong in central Gyeongju.
Document 10: Korean War: On the night of 10 August in Washington, American Colonels Dean Rusk and Charles H. Bonesteel III were tasked with dividing the Korean Peninsula into Soviet and U.S. occupation zones and proposed the 38th parallel. This was incorporated into America's General Order No. 1 which responded to the Japanese surrender on 15 August. Explaining the choice of the 38th parallel, Rusk observed, "even though it was further north than could be realistically reached by U.S. forces, in the event of Soviet disagreement...we felt it important to include the capital of Korea in the area of responsibility of American troops". He noted that he was "faced with the scarcity of US forces immediately available, and time and space factors, which would make it difficult to reach very far north, before Soviet troops could enter the area". As Rusk's comments indicate, the Americans doubted whether the Soviet government would agree to this. Stalin, however, maintained his wartime policy of co-operation, and on 16 August the Red Army halted at the 38th parallel for three weeks to await the arrival of U.S. forces in the south.
Document 11: Korean War: Korea was ruled by Japan from 1910 until the closing days of World War II. In August 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and—by agreement with the United States—occupied Korea north of the 38th parallel. U.S. forces subsequently occupied the south and Japan surrendered. By 1948, two separate governments had been set up. Both governments claimed to be the legitimate government of Korea, and neither side accepted the border as permanent. The conflict escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces—supported by the Soviet Union and China—invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950. On that day, the United Nations Security Council recognized this North Korean act as invasion and called for an immediate ceasefire. On 27 June, the Security Council adopted S/RES/83: Complaint of aggression upon the Republic of Korea and decided the formation and dispatch of the UN Forces in Korea. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the defense of South Korea, with the United States providing 88% of the UN's military personnel.
Document 12: Mutschel: The Mutschel is a traditional star-shaped bread from Reutlingen, Germany. The pastry, and the corresponding Mutscheltag (Mutschel Day), have probably existed since the 13th century. Mutscheln are roughly circular and come in various sizes: usually approximately six inches in diameter, but bakeries often offer breads three or more feet in diameter. They are sometimes made in sweet varieties.
Document 13: Somalis: Xalwo (halva) is a popular confection eaten during festive occasions, such as Eid celebrations or wedding receptions. It is made from sugar, corn starch, cardamom powder, nutmeg powder and ghee. Peanuts are also sometimes added to enhance texture and flavor. After meals, homes are traditionally perfumed using frankincense (lubaan) or incense (cuunsi), which is prepared inside an incense burner referred to as a dabqaad.
Document 14: Division of Korea: At the Tehran Conference and the Yalta Conference, the Soviet Union promised to join its allies in the Pacific War in two to three months after victory in Europe. On August 8, 1945, three months to the day after the end of hostilities in Europe, and two days after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. Soviet troops advanced rapidly, and the US government became anxious that they would occupy the whole of Korea. On August 10, 1945 two young officers -- Dean Rusk and Charles Bonesteel -- were assigned to define an American occupation zone. Working on extremely short notice and completely unprepared, they used a National Geographic map to decide on the 38th parallel. They chose it because it divided the country approximately in half but would place the capital Seoul under American control. No experts on Korea were consulted. The two men were unaware that forty years before, Japan and pre-revolutionary Russia had discussed sharing Korea along the same parallel. Rusk later said that had he known, he ``almost surely ''would have chosen a different line. The division placed sixteen million Koreans in the American zone and nine million in the Soviet zone. To the surprise of the Americans, the Soviet Union immediately accepted the division. The agreement was incorporated into General Order No. 1 (approved on 17 August 1945) for the surrender of Japan.
Document 15: History of Korea: After the end of WWII in 1945, the Allies divided the country into a northern area, protected by the Soviets, and a southern area protected primarily by the United States. In 1948, when the powers failed to agree on the formation of a single government, this partition became the modern states of North and South Korea. The peninsula was divided at the 38th Parallel: the ``Republic of Korea ''was created in the south, with the backing of the US and Western Europe, and the`` Democratic People's Republic of Korea'' in the north, with the backing of the Soviets and the communist People's Republic of China. The new premier of North Korea, Kim il - Sung launched the Korean War in 1950 in an attempt to reunify the country under Communist rule. After immense material and human destruction, the conflict ended with a cease - fire in 1953. The two nations officially remain at war because a peace treaty was never signed. Both states were accepted into the United Nations in 1991.
ground_truth: it divided the country approximately in half
sub_queries: Which was the country for Gukhwappang? Answer: Korea
why was Korea divided at the 38th parallel at the end of wwii Answer: it divided the country approximately in half