Kim Il-Sung
leader of North Korea
Syngman Rhee
leader of South Korea
PRK (People’s Republic of Korea)
official name of North Korea
ROK (Republic of Korea)
official name of South Korea
38th parallel
the line of latitude that forms the border between North and South Korea
Harry S. Truman
president of the United States
Joseph Stalin
leader of the Soviet Union
Mao Zedong
leader of Red China
General Douglas MacArthur
the man put in charge of the UN troops
USSR and USA
the two countries that took control of Korea after the Second World War
Democrats
the US political party that Truman belonged to
Andrei A. Gromyko
the Soviet Ambassador to North Korea
Pusan Perimeter
the furthermost point of the North Korean advance into South Korea
90%
the proportion of UN troops provided by the USA
Republican
the US political party that General MacArthur belonged to
CIA (Central Intelligence Agency)
the intelligence agency that predicted to Truman that “there will be no Soviet or Chinese communist intervention in Korea”
Yalu river
the river that marked the natural border between North Korea and China
Pyongyang
the capital city of North Korea
Seoul
the capital city of South Korea
General “Bulldog” Walker
the man in charge of the small US army that remained in Korea after the majority of US and Soviet forces had pulled out in 1949
3
the number of days it took Kim Il-Sung’s forces to capture Seoul after the start of their invasion
stand or die
the famous order that General Walker gave to his men after the invasion
25th June 1950
the date of the start of the Korean War (the invasion by North Korea)
USSR
this country was notably absent at the UN Security Council meeting after the invasion of Korea
December 1950
when General “Bulldog” Walker died
a Korean lorry
what killed General “Bulldog” Walker
General “Old Iron Tits” Ridgway
who replaced General “Bulldog Walker” as head of the UN ground forces
General Van Fleet
who replaced General “Old Iron Tits” Ridgway as head of the 8th Army in 1950
North Korea
the part of Korea controlled by the USSR after WWII
South Korea
the part of Korea controlled by the USA after WWII
John Muccio
the US Ambassador to South Korea
China
the country whose communist government wasn’t recognised by the UN, prompting Stalin to boycott the UN
Joe McCarthy
the US senator that put pressure on Truman to intervene in Korea by accusing him of being “soft on communism”
Inchon
the place where MacArthur famously landed his troops using an amphibious assault
15th September 1950
the date of the Inchon Landing
11th April 1951
the date of General MacArthur’s firing by Truman
General Eisenhower
the person who became President after Truman and negotiated a truce with North Korea
Republicans
the US political party that General Eisenhower belonged to
27th July 1953
the date that the Korean Armistice Agreement (a truce between both sides) was signed
19th July 1965
the date of Syngman Rhee’s death
Jacob Malik
the Soviet delegate at the UN who first called for a negotiated ceasefire on June 23rd 1951
rollback
the policy that General MacArthur wished to pursue in Korea (pushing past the 38th parallel)
containment
the policy that Truman wished to pursue in Korea (pulling troops out of the country)
16
the number of member states of the UN that contributed troops to Korea
Wake Island
the place where Truman met MacArthur during the Korean War (hint: in the Pacific)
15th October 1950
the date of the Wake Island Conference
Japan
the country that controlled Korea at the start of WWII
Marshall Peng Duhai
the Chinese general who led the Chinese troops across the Yalu river for the counter-attack against the Americans
NSC (National Security Council)
the state department that advised Truman that he should only take the fight into North Korea if “general war with the Soviet Union or Communist China” could be avoided
180,000
the number of Chinese communist troops that attacked alongside North Korea in 1950
5th March 1953
the date of Stalin’s death
Joseph Stalin
the death of this person in March 1953 accelerated the signing of an armistice
Panmunjon
where the Korean Armistice Agreement (truce between North and South) was signed
1.5 million
the number of North Koreans that died in the Korean War
Dean Acheson
the US Secretary of State who announced on 12th January 1950 that Korea was outside of the USA’s defendable regions
Defence Perimeter Speech
the speech made by US Secretary of State Dean Acheson that caused Stalin to give Kim the green light for the invasion of South Korea
12th January 1950
the date of the Defence Perimeter Speech by US Secretary of State Dean Acheson
6 weeks
the time that passed between General Walker’s “stand or die” speech and the arrival of UN troops under General MacArthur
Pork Chop Hill
location of some of the fiercest fighting at the 38th parallel
Geneva
the place where peace talks were held between North and South Korea in 1954, however no peace treaty was agreed on or signed
26th April-21st July 1954
the dates of the Geneva Conference
2 million
the number of people killed in the Korean War
Syngman Rhee
the person who threatened North Korea with invasion, prompting them to launch a pre-emptive strike
500,000
the number of Chinese communist troops that crossed the Yalu river into North Korea
19th October 1950
the date of the Chinese PVA (People’s Volunteer Army) crossing into North Korea to fight the Americans
PVA (People’s Volunteer Army)
the name of the Chinese communist army that crossed into North Korea via the Yalu River on 19th October 1950
50
the number of atomic bombs that General MacArthur asked Truman for
Nikita Khrushchev
the person who replaced Stalin as leader of the Soviet Union
6000
the number of American soldiers that died in brutal winter battles after the Chinese attack in North Korea
Sino-Soviet Pact
the name of the treaty signed in 1950 between China and the Soviet Union that stipulated that if China were to be attacked by a third party with atomic weapons the USSR would give them atomic weapons to defend themselves
14th February 1950
the date on which the Sino-Soviet Pact was signed
tanks, artillery, trucks and 15,000 tonnes of oil
the things that Stalin provided Kim and the KPA (Korean People’s Army) with to aid in their invasion of South Korea
Formosa
the place where General MacArthur visits the nationalist leader of China (now exiled in Taiwan) Chiang Kai-Shek
limited war
the kind of war that Truman wants in Korea
US Congress
the place where General MacArthur made a speech after being fired
1/2 million
the number of people that celebrated General MacArthur’s return in a ticker-tape parade in New York
son of a bitch
what Senator Joe McCarthy described Truman as for firing General MacArthur
26%
the approval ratings of President Truman after his firing of General MacArthur
General “Old Iron Tits” Ridgway
the general who replaced General Douglas MacArthur after he was fired on 11th April 1951