“The Korean War is the single most important unexcavated episode in modern history -- and the most repressed and controversial” (Halliday 1). Although the Korean War was only three years long and many people didn’t know that it happened, it still made an impact on the world. It was overlooked because prior to and following it, longer and more significant wars took place. The Korean War is the forgotten one – the one that people who weren’t involved in don’t recognize. However, the actions taken during the Korean War affected people both then and now.
The reason the war was instigated was because North Korea wanted to overtake South Korea to allow a larger area of land for communist affairs. This started because “with the defeat of Japan, Koreans sought to unite their country. After occupation forces, including American troops, withdrew, however, Korea entered into a state of civil war” (American Journey Online 1). Kim Il Sung, the leader of North Korea, wanted to unite Korea under communism so he sought advice from the Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, about how to invade the south. Chinese leader, Mao Zedong, supported those plans, but Stalin was hesitant at first. After careful consideration, he gave Kim his approval. After President Truman heard of the first attack, he did not want it to go unanswered. He was blamed for “losing” China and didn’t want other Asian countries to fall under communist rule (American Journey Online). Therefore, Truman wanted to be part of the counter attack against North Korea.
Thus, Truman sought the United Nation’s approval to counter attack North Korea after their invasion. The Soviet Union had the power to veto Truman’s request but the Kremlin government was protesting the United Nations at the time and didn’t consider the consequences of their actions (American Journey Online 2). Truman, acting as commander in chief, declared the war a “police action” meaning it was a military battle that was never declared a formal war. Though most U.S. citizens supported Truman, the action he took sending troops to North Korea was without Congressional approval and illustrated his independent judgment.
Subsequently, the Korean War began on June 25, 1950 when the communist nation, North Korea, crossed the border into South Korea. Historians claimed that South Korea’s “army was small, poorly trained, and poorly equipped, faced an adversary with an army of 135,000 men, equipped with modern Russian weapons, and between 150 and 200 combat airplanes” (Carson and Bonk 1). Within the first 36 hours of the invasion, North Korean tanks were already close to reaching Seoul, the capital of South Korea, and by that night, the city had fallen. By early August, the North Korean army had pushed the American forces down to the Southern Pusan region of South Korea. General Douglas MacArthur devised a risky aquatic invasion at the Inchon port, near Seoul (PBS 1). Although the risk was high, it caught the North Korean army off guard and the Americans gained control of Inchon and recaptured Seoul. On October 1, American and South Korean troops crossed the border into North Korea (PBS 1).
As the war continued, the power of the South Koreans and the Americans grew until their forces were able to fight their way toward the Yalu River border between North Korea and their communist ally China. But “by late October, thousands of Chinese soldiers had crossed the Yalu. A month later, they struck at the exposed flank and rear of MacArthur’s overextended armies. By early December, UN troops were again in headlong retreat” (PBS 1). In early 1951 a stalemate was announced to try and end the war, but the fighting continued for another two and a half years. Around the time the stalemate was announced, General MacArthur began challenging President Truman about the war tactics being used. He believed nuclear weapons should be used to overthrow the communist powers in North Korea and China. Because of these disagreements, Truman had no choice but to relieve MacArthur of his duties in March of 1951 and replace him with Lieutenant General Matthew B. Ridgway. With MacArthur out of the picture, Truman and Ridgway focused on how to end the war.
An armistice was signed on July 27, 1953 which ended the Korean War, but still left Korea divided. Although there was no declared winner of the war, both sides were convinced that they had won. North Korea and China boasted about how they didn’t let the Americans win while the Americans bragged about how they put a stop to Korea being taken over by communism. Throughout the war, approximately 5 million Koreans and Chinese and 35,000 Americans were killed. Over 100,000 Americans were wounded and $20 billion was spent (American Journey Online). With the immense amount of losses, came immense results.
Korea, China, and the United States all felt vast effects from the Korean War. Korea stayed a divided nation, and because of that, the North and the South both strayed further from each other than ever before. North Korea became a “hermit” country, meaning they isolated themselves from the rest of the world. None of their citizens are allowed in or out of the country and a majority are in poverty. For example, just three years ago, their rice harvest rose 10%. This doubled the amount of rationed rice per adult to 500 grams – the minimum of rice consumption required to survive (TIME). South Korea, on the other-hand became a fast growing economic power with state of the art architecture and machinery. China’s army drastically improved from its first invasion across the Yalu River with help from the Soviet Union. “Its performance in Korea, despite vast losses, won China respect as a nation to be reckoned with, not only in Asian but also in world affairs” (American Military History 248). Under NSC 68, the 1950 National Security Council Paper, the U.S defense budget quadrupled by 1953. U.S overseas military bases in Asia – especially South Korea were strengthened, loyalty to Taiwan and Southeast Asia was deepened, and millions of dollars were given to all anticommunists patrons. These improvements were beneficial to Asian nations at the time, but as historical issues were brought up again, protests and counter protests of war “heroes” and “villains” emerged.
In Inchon, there is a statue commemorating General Douglas MacArthur for what he did to turn the war around. However, young South Koreans have been visiting the statue to protest. They see him as “a warmonger determined to fight communism at the expense of Korean blood… He came here to serve U.S interests, not to save Koreans” (Lee 1). He is also viewed as a symbol of the U.S military’s arrogance. But, older generations are countering the protests, saying that it should remain standing. A rising number of young South Koreans are starting to see “Kim Il Sung as the victim of a cold-war confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union, not a madman who launched an unprovoked invasion of the South” (Lee 1). The older generations of both South Koreans and Americans rather than the younger generations are the only ones who experienced the hardships and horror of the war to value the freedom and prosperity that they sacrificed so much for.
The Korean War is titled “The Forgotten War” to American citizens. There are few national monuments and a small number of college and high school history courses about it. There have been no major movies or television series’ except for M*A*S*H, which young people have probably never heard of before. Although it was forgotten, or never known by many, a group of historians claim that it was the “turning point in modern U.S. history” (Tarshis 1). It was the first of many conflicts during the Cold War and the first stage of America’s movement against communism. It was also the turning point which prepared America for the next four decades of foreign policies (Tarshis 1). It’s not as significant to American history as it is to South Korean history. For that reason, the Korean War must never be forgotten by the South Koreans.
All in all, it was the most disastrous war in Korean history. During the war, the weapons used were just ordinary, but the amount of soldiers killed and injured were massive when taking into account the short amount of time in combat. Ever since the armistice of the war, the North and South have lived without any large conflicts, but they still have tension with each other. Now that North Koreans are said to have nuclear weapons, isn’t the possibility of a nuclear war that much higher? And since they weren’t able to capture South Korea in the past, wouldn’t that be their first priority if they were to initiate a war? Those are the essential questions that the South Koreans need to answer and they must do everything in their power to assure that those questions don’t develop into reality. Those answers can only be found if the South Koreans understand enough about why and how North Korea invaded them and why the first war started to avoid a recurrence. Hopefully, if the South Koreans are able to identify what needs to be done, they can generate solutions and put forth those ideas to the North Korean government and find reform. This will then be able to prevent another war and introduce the possibility of a peaceful relationship between the two countries. However, the possibility of a unified Korea is slim.
Furthermore, the United States and South Korea’s democracy has learned what should never be done in their countries from their experience in the war. They have seen how war can destroy and tear apart a country leaving its citizens confined and in poverty. The lessons learned from the Korean War should be applied to all countries to assure that there will be no repeat of this episode. The events that took place throughout the war shed new light upon the suitable ways to run a country and the regrettable outcomes if leadership is in the wrong hands.
Works Cited
American Journey Online. "Gale Cengage Learning." 2000. The Korean War. 1 October 2008 .
Carson, Thomas and Mary Bonk. "Gale Cengage Learning." 1999. Korean War. 1 10 2008 .
Halliday, Jon. "The Origins of the Korean War." March 1983. Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale. 2 October 2008 .
Lee, B.J. 5 September 2005. Student Resource Center - Gold. 2 October 2008 .
PBS. "The American Experience | MacArthur | Korean Maps." PBS. 2 October 2008 .
Tarshis, Lauren. "Gale Cengage Learning." 20 March 1992. America's Forgotten War. 1 October 2008 .
TIME. (2005, October 24). Inside the Hermit Kingdom. TIME Magazine .
U.S. Army Center of Military History. "American Military History: Volume 2." Stewart, Richard W. American Military History: Volume 2. 2005. 32.
