Berlin had the big wall, and Germany took most of the attention, but post-WW II there was another division, less prominent but if anything more important, across the 38th parallel of Korea, a country formerly controlled by the defeated Axis power of Japan. North Korea was given to the control the Soviets and the South to the United States and its allies. It did not take very long for the North, helped along by the USSR, to embark on a unilateral military unification campaign. Moscow thought the Allies would do nothing against the attack. What they got instead was a bloody two-year war and a half-century-long (and going) standoff.

On this day, May 17, 2007, the first trains crossed across the heavily fortified border: a North Korean train heading south and a South Korean train going north, both with specially-invited guests on board. It was the first time any civilians not carrying aid or supplies were allowed to cross into the North.

North Korean leadership in Pyongyang extracted a hefty price for agreeing to the crossing: some $80 million for the development of light industry, without agreeing to anything more than a one-off event. Nevertheless South Korea hailed it as a breakthrough in bridging relations between the two sides, and crowds on both side of the border celebrated the historic crossing. South Koreans at the border set off fireworks, while children in the North presented flowers to the South Korean delegates arriving at the Jejin train station.