Korean War  (“Forgotten War”)

Korean War  (“Forgotten War”)


  • Since 1910, Korea had been a Japanese colony 

  • After the collapse of Japan in 1945 after WW2, the USSR invaded Korea and dismantled all Japanese control very quickly - starting from the north 

  • Truman was scared of losing the entire country to communism 

  • He asked them to stop once they reached the imaginary 38th parallel line

  • Stalin agreed 

  • left  Korea divided between North and South 

  • North Korea - the communist party was established, under the power of Kim II Sung (USSR control) with military equipment

  • South Korea - support from the USA and under the democratic regime of Dr. Syngman Rhee

  • Truman quickly got to work in Europe with the Truman Doctrine 

  • This was to protect countries against the flow of communism 

  • Although it wasn't active in Asia, this showed the USSR that America would stop at nothing to contain communism at all financial costs 

  • 1947, the UN gave Korea independence and organized a commission to oversee elections there 

  • Stalin refused to allow them into North Korea, so the elections were only held to create a National Government for South Korea 

  • 1948, the US withdrew from Korea, and the USSR also began to withdraw within that year 

  • elections took place in the middle of widespread corruption and violent outbreaks in Korea 

  • Syngman Rhee gained the majority vote in the National Assembly and became the new president 

  • UN recognized this as the new Republic of Korea 

  • However, in the North, the Soviets formed the Democratic People's Republic of Korea 

  • Kim II Sung was the leader and known as the Premier 

  • UN refused to acknowledge this 

  • 1949 China became communist - a huge victory for the USSR

  • The US became increasingly worried over the domino theory - the rest of Asia would fall to communism 

  • USSR would not give Kim II Sung the support to invade South Korea - despite the increasing violence along the north/south border - 400 soldiers had been killed in May 1949 alone

  • 1950, the US began to feel they needed to adopt a more aggressive policy than containment 

  • wanted to focus on declining communism and reclaiming areas that had fallen to the communists for democracy 

  • made the mistake of excluding Korea from their conversations in the field of strategic defense 

  • This led to Russians believing they would not take action there (US)

  • On June 25th, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea 

  • propaganda from the north insisted that they only retaliated to an attack from the south - but no proof

  • Truman was outraged and saw it as a bluff to see how the US would react - he didn't want to make any mistakes of appeasement in the 1930s - huh? 

  • Truman got permission from the UN to intervene - allowed on account of the USSR not being present to say otherwise - The USSR was protesting the refusal to admit China to the UN and its ignorance to recognize the new communist government of China under MAO Tse Tung

  • UN forces from 16 countries were put together to help South Korea 

  • The North army pushed into the South quickly and efficiently 

  • Captured the capital, Seoul, in 3 days 

  • By early Sep. South Koreans had been forced into the very corner of the country at Pusan - they were losing before the Americans even intervened 

  • Inchon Landings were led by General Douglas MacArthur, who decided the best option would be to sever communications in the Northern army and cut them in two 

  • forced them to retreat from Pusan 

  • led to the re-establishment of a democratic government in South Korea and recapture of Seoul 

  • North Army retreated 

  • By Oct 1, 1950, the US and UN troops were back on the 38th parallel 

  • The US was left with 2 options: containment or rollback 

  • chose rollback after getting the go-ahead from the UN and invaded North Korea 

  • ‘Balance swings, MacArthur was able to push the North Koreans back across the 38th parallel and nearly all Korea was under control of the USA.’

  • Truman tried to ease the risk of the war by insisting the US would not invade China or the USSR 

  • However, China still protested and dispatched its troops to the North Korean border in protest of having US troops too close to them 

  • MacArthur insisted China would not act 

  • On October 14th, 300,000 Communist Party volunteers crossed over the Yalu River and began to attack US and UN forces, who were completely surprised 

  • State of emergency declared in America 

  • Truman was unwilling to engage in war with China but couldn't abandon Korea 

  • didn't want to resort to using the atomic bomb on Korea - likely start WW3 

  • MacArthur wouldn't stand for the reluctance and took matters into his own hands 

  • He sent a letter to Beijing threatening China with nuclear war - Truman fired him immediately 

  • he was replaced by General Ridgeway

  • war became a stalemate 

  • A peace talk was opened in Kaesong in July 

  • violence continued while these talks took place, and talks eventually broke down 

  • Nov 1951 resumed after a year in Panmunjom but again delayed specifically over where the demarcation line would be drawn and what would happen to prisoners of war 

  • The US became committed to gaining control of the skies 

  • managed to gain most of the control by 1952

  • began to bomb hydroelectric plants and military targets in northern capital of Pyongyang 

  • Despite their efforts to keep it localised on military targets, Kim II Sung publicly  announced that 6,000 civilians had been killed 

  • sparked international outcry and made America look bad 

  • Truman's reputation was ruined, and he decided not to run for president again - allowing Eisenhower to take over 

  • Meanwhile, Stalin died in 1953, which signaled new hope for Western powers 

  • 16th of June 1953, there were agreements for an armistice 

  • Not the end of conflict, but Syngman Rhee opposed many of the compromises made but was eventually silenced by the promise of a 1 billion dollar investment into stopping the spread of communism in Asia 

  • On the 27th or 28th of July, the armistice was signed by China, America, and North Korea 

  • South Korea didn't sign it but had to accept it anyway 

  • Although it took place in Asia - it had a major impact on global relations 

  • suspicions and distrust they had for each other increased 

  • Both sides increased the size of their armed forces in case the Cold War developed into a direct military confrontation between them 

  • As a consequence, 2 new countries were developed, and the formation of SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) was imposed 

  • The Korean War was seen as a partial triumph for the USA since it prevented a takeover of the South but led to the de facto separation of the two Koreas 

  • The US spent $320 million on the Korean War 

  • Provided 90% of the troops - 36,000 US soldiers died and 2 million casualties 

  • providing the US gov. handled this war with great effectiveness, stopping the spread of communism throughout Asia