US Army Military Government in Korea
US troops landed at Incheon and set up a military government south of the 38th parallel; in the north, Soviet forces ruled through people’s committees.
Official US Navy photo 80-G-391464 · Public domain · Source
South of the 38th parallel, US troops landed at Incheon on 8 September 1945 and accepted the Government-General’s surrender the next day. Declaring itself the only lawful government in the south, the military government ruled directly and recognized neither the Provisional Government nor the People’s Republic of Korea. For administrative stability it kept many colonial officials and police in place.
North of the line, Soviet troops had arrived in August. They ruled indirectly through local people’s committees and backed Kim Il Sung and other communists.