Hwanghae Province in the context of North Hwanghae

Syngman Rhee (Korean: 이승만; Hanja: 李承晚; pronounced [iː.sɯŋ.man]; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965), also known by his art name Unam (우남; 雩南), was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea from 1919 to his impeachment in 1925 and from 1947 to 1948. As president of South Korea, Rhee's administration was characterised by authoritarianism, limited economic development, and in the late 1950s growing political instability and public opposition to his rule.

Born in Hwanghae Province, Joseon, Rhee attended an American Methodist school, where he converted to Christianity. He became a Korean independence activist and was imprisoned for his activities in 1899. After his release in 1904, he moved to the United States, where he received degrees from American universities and met Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. After a brief 1910–12 return to Korea, he moved to Hawaii in 1913. In 1919, following the Japanese suppression of the March First Movement, Rhee joined the right-leaning Korean Provisional Government in exile in Shanghai. From 1918 to 1924, he served as the first President of the Korean Provisional Government until 1925. He then returned to the United States, where he advocated and fundraised for Korean independence. In 1939, he moved to Washington, DC. In 1945, he was returned to US-controlled Korea by the US military. On 20 July 1948, he was elected the first president of the Republic of Korea by the National Assembly, ushering in the First Republic of Korea.

The Four Commanderies of Han (Chinese: 漢四郡; pinyin: Hàn-sìjùn; Korean: 한사군; Hanja: 漢四郡; RR: Han-sagun) were Chinese commanderies located in the north of the Korean Peninsula and part of the Liaodong Peninsula from around the end of the second century BC through the early 4th AD, for the longest lasting. The commanderies were set up to control the populace in the former areas of Gojoseon as far south as the Han River, with a core area at Lelang near present-day Pyongyang by Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty in early 2nd century BC after his conquest of Wiman Joseon. As such, these commanderies are seen as Chinese colonies by some scholars. Though disputed by North Korean scholars, Western sources generally describe the Lelang Commandery as existing within the Korean peninsula, and extend the rule of the four commanderies as far south as the Han River. However, South Korean scholars assumed its administrative areas to Pyongan and Hwanghae provinces.

Three of the commanderies fell or retreated westward within a few decades, but the Lelang commandery remained as a center of cultural and economic exchange with successive Chinese dynasties for four centuries. At its administrative center in Lelang, the Chinese built what was in essence a Chinese city where the governor, officials, and merchants, and Chinese colonists lived. Their administration had considerable impact on the life of the native population and ultimately the very fabric of Gojoseon society became eroded. Later, Goguryeo, founded in 37 BCE, began conquering the commanderies and eventually absorbed them into its own territory by the early 4th century AD.

North Hwanghae Province (Hwanghaebuk-to; Korean pronunciation: [ɸwa̠ŋ.ɦɛ.buk̚.t͈o̞], lit. "north Yellow Sea province") is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1954 when the former Hwanghae Province was split into North and South Hwanghae. The provincial capital is Sariwon. The province is bordered by Pyongyang and South Pyongan to the north, Kangwon to the east, Kaesong Industrial Region and South Korea's Gyeonggi Province to the south, and South Hwanghae southwest. In 2003, Kaesong Directly Governed City (Kaesong Chikhalsi) became part of North Hwanghae as Kaepung County. Later on in 2019, it was promoted as Special City (Kaesong T'ŭkpyŏlsi). Thus, it was separated from North Hwanghae.

Yeonpyeong Island or Yeonpyeongdo (Korean: 연평도 pronounced [jʌnpçʌŋdo]) is a group of South Korean islands in the Yellow Sea, located about 80 km (50 mi) west of Incheon and 12 km (7.5 mi) south of the coast of Hwanghae Province, North Korea. The main island of the group is Daeyeonpyeongdo ("Big Yeonpyeong Island"), also referred to simply as Yeonpyeong Island, with an area of 7.01 km (2.71 sq mi) and a population of around 1,300.

The principal population center is Yeonpyeong-ri, where the island's ferry port is located. The other inhabited island is Soyeonpyeongdo ("Small Yeonpyeong Island") with a small population and an area of 0.24 km (0.093 sq mi). Several other small islands comprise the rest of the group.