The Experience Of The War In Korea Essay

Did you know that Americans were involved in another country’s civil war? As a part of the Cold War, the Korean War had started when North Korea invaded South Korea. Lasting from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953, the country of Korea, to this day, has failed to unify. Because the United States underestimated the war, most Americans barely acknowledged it. However, the Korean War changed the way Americans viewed life during the 1950s by opening doors to social advancement, impacting the economy, and preparing Americans for future conflicts.

The Korean War was a defining part of the United States foreign policy in the Cold War Era and was a response to threats from the Soviet Union. The Korean War was a culmination of tensions between North and South Korea that had resulted from the influences the United States and the Soviet Union inculcated into the countries during their occupation. When the Korean War was initiated, by the invasion of South Korea by North Korea, the United States and their allies in the United Nations perceived the invasion as a bold communistic expansion effort that occurred without provocation. (Document A). Further validating this idea was the fact that the attack was endorsed by the USSR, and partially lead by Red China, both of which were communist countries

While World War II ended all worries and hardships Americans faced, events gradually initiated signs of the Cold War which created an increased state of tension that swept all of America and Korea. During the 1940s, the potential Communist invasion of nations worldwide began to create a frightening reality to the people of the United States. The Soviet Union’s exportation of Communism greatly worried America as they wanted to contain Communism from all nations, especially nations in Asia. The Korean peninsula divided into two territories: a north, Soviet supported government, and a south, American supported government, a separation as a result of World War II. The Soviet Union invaded Korea, which had been under Japanese control since 1900; fearing the Soviet’s intention to seize the entire peninsula, the United States responded by quickly sending in their troops to South Korea. Truman’s decision to become involved in conflicts in Korea grew out of the Soviet Union’s radical actions, events in Asia, and internal criticism in the Truman Administration in America, providing him with an opportunity to defend a nation from a communist invasion.

1949 had been a bad year for the United States. In August 1949 the Soviet Union had successfully detonated its first atomic bomb, effectively destroying the State's monopoly on the atomic bomb (“Politics in the Korean War”). This was years earlier than American scientists had predicted, and the American public was thrown into fear at facing the possibility of atomic annihilation for the first time. Even still the public had no interest in the higher taxes that would come with the militarization of American Society. That is, until North Korea launched its first attack on South Korea. This was thought of by the West as communist aggression with no provocation from South Korea. President Truman earned a substantial increase in public support from his immediate sending of American forces to battle in Korea, and with multiple victories soon following, his approval ratings went up 40%. As said by Secretary of State Dean Acheson, “Korea, came along and saved us” (“Politics in the Korean

The Korean War changed the face of American Cold War diplomacy forever. In the midst of all the political conflict and speculation worldwide, the nation had to choose between two proposed solutions, each one hoping to ensure that communism didn?t sweep across the globe and destroy American ideals of capitalism and democracy. General Douglas MacArthur takes the pro-active stance and says that, assuming it has the capability, the U.S. should attack communism everywhere. President Harry Truman, on the other hand, believed that containing the Soviet communists from Western Europe was the best and most important course of action, and that eliminating communism in Asia was not a priority.

The Korean and Vietnam war are very similar in that both were the US's attempt to fight communism by waging war in a distant third world country. Both wars were unpopular in the US and both led to a lack of victory.

The Korean War had a major impact on American society, military, economy, and culture. The War started in 1950 and it ended after a dreadful three years. It all began when soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel to invade South Korea. The United States is allied with South Korea, therefore it was affected greatly by the war. The U.S. had one hundred and forty-two thousand casualties from the war. United States defence spending went up from twelve to sixty billion dollars and failed to liberate North Korea. The war is often referred to as the forgotten war, because it was never really a war according to President Truman. Truman labeled the war as a police action. Furthermore, World War II is also a reason for the Korean War being called the forgotten war. The Korean War has affected multiples people’s lives in different ways.

According to Robert, without Korean War there would be a huge difference in the world’s history. In addition to that Robert also stated “the Korean war shaped the course of the cold war by both resolving the incoherence which characterized U.S. foreign and defense efforts in the period 1946-1950 and establishing important new lines of policy”(1980). The Korean War led to the changes of policy through three processes in changes on the domestic political situation, defense budget and NATO. The domestic policy changes let the leader of the country to do whatever they wanted to do before (Robert,

The United States geared up for a war against communism. Not more than a day after Seoul fell, the US had officially entered the war and had ground troops committed, an action backed by the U.N. At the beginning of the war the U.S. soldiers had little combat experience and they were in a foreign land. This was the reason for the mass casualties sustained by the U.S. “US Army casualties from June 25 through July 31, 1950 totaled 6,003: 1,884 Killed In Action, 2,695 Wounded In Action, 523 Missing In Action and 901 reported captured. Of these more than half were from the 24th Infantry Division- 3,610.”( Evanhoe, Ed. "The Korean War." The Korean War. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://www.korean-war.com>.)

America's Involvement in the Korean War The USA emerged from WWII as the dominant Western, democratic superpower. She quickly established for herself a role as world policeman, and defender of the "free world". When, on June 25th 1950, Communist North Korean forces invaded the South of the country, the USAwas quick to step in, and with UN support and approval, sent in military forces to restore the balance. However, it is questionable whether moral principles were the only reason for America's involvement in the Korean War, or whether perhaps the Truman administration had other validation for such a huge scale military campaign.

“Originally it was because of the advancements in physics and engineering. Now I do it to bring an end to the war.”

The Korean War also illustrated that the United States would stand up to communism. The United States was against the foreign policy of containment. The Korean War was the first military stand against communism. This war proved that the United States would do anything to

The Causes of the Korean War On 25th June 1950, ninety thousand North Korean soldiers invaded South Koreas border defences, The Korean war had begun, this small scale civil war would escalate into an international conflict. Historically Korea had once been a united country, under Japanese rule for between 1905 and 1945 however, the Japanese were unruly and did not treat the Koreans well. At the end of the Second World War it was decided that the country would be divided along the 38th parallel and occupied by soviet troops in the North and American troops in the South. Syngman Rhee, who had spent some years exiled in America, became the president of South Korea in 1948, while Kim Il Sung, having

that’s not the case. North Korea is an obvious source of ongoing atrocities . In 2014 almost 60 nations openly called for Syria to be referred to the ICC, but the effort was blocked by opposition from China and Russia despite 13 of 15 members of the U.N. Security Council voting in favour .This leads to the more likely possibility that while Africa may or may not be a victim of political targeting other regions are being avoided by the Court or protected by major powers . North Korea as an example is unlikely to be referred through the Security Council because China asserts regional dominance and the right to solve disputes within its sphere of influence . Financing provides another source of influence that threatens the Court’s

“We were always hungry, and the guards always told us, ‘Through hunger, you will repent,'” This shows how miserable the conditions of the camps in North Korea are and why that military action and liberating the country would benefit all the people who are in the death camps that they put people in just for thinking bad of the government and they imprison the family of the person too for the next three generations. Although military action may cause lots of people to lose homes or die. It would be the best option because it could stop even more destruction than what has already happened.