After World War II, several Asian countries gained independence from colonial rule, including India in 1947 and Indonesia in 1949. The Korean War broke out in 1950, resulting in the division of the Korean peninsula into North and South Korea. The Vietnam War, which lasted from the mid-1950s to 1975, ended with the fall of Saigon and the reunification of Vietnam under communist rule. China underwent significant changes under the leadership of Mao Zedong, including the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Japan experienced rapid economic growth and became a major player in the global economy by the end of the century.
