by the establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in North Korea on 9 September 1948. In 1950, after years of mutual hostilities, North Korea invaded South Korea in an attempt to re-unify the peninsula under its communist rule. The united Nations, under the leadership of the United States, back, and China entered to protect North Korea. The Korean War, which lasted from 1950 to 1953, ended with a stalemate and has left the two Koreas separated by the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) up to the present day. Decline of Religion Historically, cultures and regions strongly influenced by Confucianism include Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, North Korea, and South Korea, as well as territories settled predominantly by Overseas Chinese, such as Singapore. The abolition of the examination system in 1905 marked the end of official Confucianism. The New culture intellectuals of the early twentieth century blamed Confucianism for China's weaknesses. They searched for new doctrines to replace Confucianism, some of these new ideologies include the "Three Principles of the People" with the establishment of the Republic of China, and then Maoism under the People's Republic of China. In Japan, the presence of a liberal order and consumerism led to a voluntarily decline of religious belief. Around the turn of the 21st centuries there were talks of a "Confucian Revival" in the academia and the scholarly community. Across the region cultural institutions of religions have remained, even while actual belief has declined. Maps See also East Asia–United States relations History of Asia History of China History of Hong Kong History of Japan History of Korea History of Mongolia History of Taiwan References Further reading Buss, Claude A. The Far East A History Of Recent And Contemporary International Relations In East Asia (1955) online free Ebrey, Patricia Buckley, and Anne Walthall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History (2 vol. 2008–2013) online free to borrow 703pp Embree, Ainslie T., ed. Encyclopedia of Asian history (1988) vol. 1 online; vol 2 online; vol 3 online; vol 4 online Fitzgerald, C. P. A concise history of East Asia (1966) online free to borrow Hamashita, Takeshi. "Changing Regions and China: Historical Perspectives." China Report 37.3 (2001): 333–351. How countries in region related to China in 19th-20th centuries Holcombe, Charles. A History of East Asia: From the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century (2010) Jansen, Marius B. Japan and China: from