“the day the light returned”

Lee Jin-man/Associated Press

North and South Korea have agreed on very little in recent decades, but this week their shared past means the two countries have a rare holiday in common: Independence Day.

Called Gwangbokjeol (“the day the light returned”) in the South and Chogukhaebangŭi nal (“Liberation of the Fatherland Day”) in the North, the holiday is what is known in the West as V-J Day, or Victory Over Japan Day.

The Japanese empire formally surrendered on Aug. 15, 1945, ending World War II and liberating the Korean Peninsula, which had been under colonial rule since 1910.

The government of South Korea was established on the same day three years later, and the two countries were divided.

The holiday is celebrated with patriotic fanfare in both countries, although the North has found new ways to reassert its independence. For the 70th Liberation Day in 2015 — amid renewed military tensions with the South — Pyongyang created its own time zone.

“The wicked Japanese imperialists committed such unpardonable crimes as depriving Korea of even its standard time,” the North’s state-run news agency said.

The country had previously been in the same time zone as South Korea and Japan, but its clocks are now set 30 minutes behind.

Inyoung Kang contributed reporting.