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The USA believed that the USSR was behind the North Korean invasion and they were determined to stop Stalin. Why did the USSR get involved? It was part of Soviet. ideology. to...
- Overview
- The Korean War begins
- Beyond the 38th parallel
- Korea in the context of the Cold War
- What do you think?
Learn about the first hot war in the Cold War: Korea.
When Korea was liberated from Japanese control at the end of the Second World War, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed temporarily to divide Korea at the 38th parallel of latitude north of the equator. This division resulted in the formation of two countries: communist North Korea (supported by the Soviets) and South Korea (supported by the United States).
Five years after the country’s partition, the communist leader of North Korea, Kim Il Sung, decided to attempt to reunify Korea under his control. On June 25, 1950, Kim launched a surprise invasion of South Korea.1
Believing that the Soviet Union had backed the invasion, United States President Harry Truman and his advisers followed through on their policy of containment, refusing to allow communism to spread anywhere in the world. Within two days of the invasion, the United States had rallied the United Nations Security Council to declare support for South Korea. An American-led UN coalition deployed to South Korea.2
By August, North Korean forces had swept across almost all of South Korea; American forces held only a small defensive perimeter in the country’s southeast, near Busan. In September, however, under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, the United States launched a bold counter-offensive that included a daring amphibious landing in territory held by North Korean forces at Inchon, on South Korea’s western coast. Soon, US forces drove the North Koreans back to the border at the 38th parallel.
The Truman administration then made the decision to proceed across the 38th parallel into North Korea. But in late November 1950, as American forces neared the Chinese border, leaders in communist China (fearful that the United States might invade) sent tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers streaming into North Korea and drove the American and UN forces southward, back across the 38th parallel.3
By spring 1951 the Americans had pushed to the 38th parallel once again. That same spring President Truman fired General MacArthur when MacArthur publicly challenged the administration’s strategy. The next two years saw periods of fierce fighting, but the border held. In 1953, an armistice established a status quo antebellum border near the border that had originally divided North and South Korea.
[What does status quo antebellum mean?]
The heavily armed two-and-a-half mile wide DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) separating North and South Korea exists to this day.
In Korea, the United States demonstrated its continuing commitment to key elements of its Cold War strategy. It demonstrated its global leadership by committing its resources and soldiers in the fight against the spread of communism. The United States also confirmed its commitment to a foreign policy based on collective security by mobilizing other countries to support its position both politically and militarily.4
In Korea, the United States demonstrated the ideals expressed in the Truman Doctrine, which promised support for the "free peoples of the world" who wished to keep communist aggression at bay. Although the war ended where it began, the United States and its allies did succeed in preventing communism from overtaking South Korea.
Was the United States wise to fight in Korea? If Truman hadn’t contained communism in Korea what might the consequences have been?
Do you think the United States-led forces ought to have crossed into North Korea?
Who "won" the Korean War?
[Notes and attributions]
History conflict. How the Korean War Started. Lily Rothman @lilyrothman. June 25, 2015. Time Life Pictures—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty UN forces' transport vehicles recrossing the 38th...
Feb 17, 2011 · By Jeremy Williams. Last updated 2011-02-17. In September 1999 an investigative team from the Associated Press broke a story that shocked America. Fifty years before, they claimed, refugees caught...
The war involved major world powers, with the U.S. supporting South Korea and the Soviet Union and China backing North Korea. Despite the bloody conflict, the war ended in 1953 with an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving North and South Korea technically still at war. Created by Sal Khan. Questions. Tips & Thanks. Want to join the conversation?
- 16 min
- Sal Khan
- Why is the border between North Korea and South Korea called the '38th Parallel'? Is it a reference ...Yes, it's a reference to latitude - the 38th parallel is "a circle of latitude that is 38 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane." (https://...
- South Korea and North Korea both began as dictatorships. I'm well aware of South Korea being one of ...The Republic of Korea's (South Korea) approach to democracy was very gradual. After the Korean War, the Rhee administration was autocratic and weak...
- Are S Korea and N korea in state of war till this day? If yes, then what is the present scenario? pl...They haven't actually fought in more than 50 years but technically, they are still at war. Even after the actual, fighting, a peace treaty was neve...
- Is N Korea and China still allied today? Axis of evil or something like that? And why doesn't Americ...Well...they are still allies but not as great since the more liberal-ness of the PRC in the 90's. The US and UN try to "use" China in talks to get...
- I don't get it - what's the difference between an armistice and an end to war?An armistice is a temporary halt to combat, but not a complete end to a war. Thus, hostilities could be renewed shortly after. And end to a war, or...
- Is S Korea and N Korea get along? Do they ever get disagreements? Are they still apart of the same c...I am a S.Korean. I know this story from the top of my ears. And I'll say, the two Korea have a lot of obligations left. Now N.Korea is threatening...
- How many soldiers were involved in the war?Sources vary somewhat, but a good approximation would be 970,000 American, British, and South Korean troops, opposing 1,640,000 North Korean, Chine...
- How do names work in Korea?Names go in this order, Last name and first name. Like how John Smith (this is the English way) , in an Asian language it would be Smith John, and...
- Why was Korea divided in the first place?From about 1915, Korea had been colonized by the Japanese empire. During the war, the soviet empire on one side, and the american empire on the oth...
- What types of things did the japanese people do to the Korean people during the occpation?Forced prostitution, massacre by both the Japanese Military and Civilians, racial discrimination.
May 19, 2021 · Teaching Activities. In the activity Containment in Korea: Entering the Korean War, students analyze President Truman's press release of June 27, 1950, announcing that he was committing American forces to a combined United Nations military effort in Korea at the beginning of the Korean War.
Exhibition. The Korean War was fought between North and South Korea from 1950 to 1953. In an attempt stop the spread of communism, the United States joined the conflict on the side of South Korea against the Soviet-backed North Korea.
