North Korean Immigrants in the United States: Background information when reading City Under One Roof

In City Under One Roof, some characters living in the small town of Point Mettier, Alaska are hiding their status as undocumented North Korean immigrants. If their secret is discovered, they will face deportation. Their fear of being found out, and their general situation, is based in real-life troubles of North Korean immigrants in the United States.

The US has a long history of political interest in and occupation of the Korean peninsula. After the surrender of Japan in World War II, the US and the Soviet Union occupied Korea (the southern and northern parts respectively), which had previously been colonized by Japan. In the ensuing Cold War era, the US attempted to bring capitalistic influence to the southern part of Korea, in opposition to the communist influence from the Soviets and China in the northern part. These two battling influences gave rise to the Korean War (1950-1953). Since then, an American military presence has been maintained in South Korea. In this capacity, ...