The Korean War

The ‘Cold War’ Heats Up!

Korean War (1950-1953) “The Forgotten War”: U.S. nickname. North vs. South Korea but w/ major help

China United States

Communist

Korea

China: Ruled K. for many cent. until 1910 1910-1945: Japan rules K. After WWII, Korea divided along the

______ parallel. (Latitude or longitude?) North: Soviet-occupied until 1948.

Pyonyang: capital. South: U.S.-occupied until 1949.

Seoul: capital.

38th

Brief History of the Korean War

6/25/50: North Korea crosses the _____ parallel 9/15/50: N.K. had conquered almost entire

peninsula except for SE corner (called Pusan Perimeter)

9/15/50: Gen. Douglas MacArthur leads surprise “amphibious” invasion of Inchon on West coast & behind N. Korean lines.

United Nations (U.N.) vs. North Korea, China, and Soviet Union. No declaration of war by the U.S.

Brief History… 11/24/50: US/South K. had

pushed N.K. out of the South & had conquered most of N. Korea.

11/24/50: China crosses the Yalu River to aid N. Korea. This surprised the US/S. Korea & caused a retreat.

1951-1953: Fighting back & forth near 38th parallel.

4/10/51: MacArthur fired by President Truman.

End of Korean War 7/27/53: Armistice kept

division along 38th parallel (no real change).

5 million dead. Korea devastated. Communism “contained.” In the next 50 years, SK

become economically successful while NK did not.

The United Nations and North Korea are still (technically) at war!!

Korea’s & China’s leaders during Korean War

NK: Kim Il Sung Ruled NK 1948-1994, relied on China & USSR,

anti-Western, dealt arms to developing countries

SK: Syngman Rhee Ran authoritative police state but was anti-

Communist China: Mao Zedong

Communist People’s Republic of China (PRC) declared in 1949

USSR (Not directly involved): Stalin Stalin did not think US would get involved so

he gave Il Sung “permission” to invade SK.

37th Scout Dog Platoon, 25th Infantry Division, Korea in January 1954.

My Dad in Korea, 1953.

155-mm self propelled gun formassive fire-support, 1952.

5th Marine Sniper in

Punchbowl.

Russian made MiG-15. American made F-86.

A Russian MiG-15 shot down by a U.S. ‘F-86’ over MiG Alley.

A propaganda picture opposing the United Statesmade by North Korea. A North Korean soldier is

destroying the United States Capitol.

To stop Soviet aggression:1. S.E.A.T.O. – Southeast

Asia Treaty Organization.2. C.E.N.T.O. – Central Treaty Organization.

Off the coast of Korea, 2003.

SEATO – To stop Soviet aggression in the East. Members were U.S., Eng, Fr, Pakistan, Thailand, PI, Australia, and New Zealand.

CENTO – To stop Soviet expansion to the South. Members were Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Eng, and U.S.

MASH was a hittv series set duringthe Korean War, but

filmed in Malibu.

Artist Pablo Picasso’s painting Massacre in Korea (1951) depicted violence against civilians during the Korean War. By some accounts, killing of civilians by U.S. forces in Shinchun, Hwanghae Province was the motive of the painting.

Important Lesson That Wasn’t Learned by U.S. Stick to your original objectives.

How does this apply to Korea?

Korea was a warm-up for Vietnam!!