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Why was Korea divided along the 38th parallel after World War II?

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Korean War, June–August 1950 — Korean War Map showing North Korean advances in the Korean War in June–August 1950.

The division of Korea along the 38th parallel following World War II was primarily a result of military and geopolitical strategy regarding the surrender of Japanese forces.1

In August 1945, the United States drafted General Order No. 1, which designated the 38th parallel as the boundary for accepting the Japanese surrender: forces north of the line were to surrender to the U.S.S.R., while those south of the line were to surrender to the United States.1

Historians generally identify two primary motivations for this decision:
* Military Expediency: The line provided a practical framework for organizing the surrender of Japanese troops across the peninsula.1
* Geopolitical Containment: The division served to prevent the Soviet Union from occupying the entire Korean peninsula. As U.S. policy aimed to avoid the domination of Korea by any single power, the establishment of the 38th parallel acted as a barrier to further Soviet advancement.1

Following the occupation, these zones solidified into separate administrations, eventually leading to the permanent partition of the country.2