The Korean Economy During the Korean War of 1950

Korea was partitioned at the 38th parallel; North Korea had a communist government while South Korea had a democratic government. Korea was divided into north and south sections (Doc 6a). North Korea attacked South Korea in an unexpected assault. President Truman guaranteed to help South Korea oppose Communist impact. Refugees got away from North Korea and traitors were slaughtered to fill in as a lecture to others (Doc 5).

The impact of the Korean War on America’s economy took place between the years 1950 to 1953. World War II had cost the United States much, much more than the Korean War, however this war did not change the structure of growth and financing in America.

Following the Korean War and the rebuilding of their societies, both North Korea and South Korea’s economies have depreciated and fluctuated. With their different economic systems, one using the military and the other using trade, they both have received different results.

This paper will delve into the little known aspects of North Korea. Hopefully, a better understanding of the country’s characteristics can benefit both the neighboring

The Korean War was the historical event that most shaped Korea’s identity. It affected many areas of Korea, such as the economy, government, and the involvement of the United States. There was an economic crisis causing many people to suffer, a government was established, and because of the involvement of the US, Korea got lots of western influence. The essay below will explain how the Korean War affected Korea’s economy, the government, and the involvement of the US.

Shortly after World War II, North Korea’s central government was renamed the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Conflicts began to rise when the North and South’s political systems contradicted each others. These differences led to warfare between these two countries. During the mid to late 1900's, the North Koreans under the Kim family, went to war with South Korea inflicting many casualties while economically isolating their country internationally creating economic struggles for their own people.

In an effort to avoid a long-term decision regarding Korea's future, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to divide Korea temporarily along the 38th parallel, a latitudinal line that bisected the country. United States put the problem of Korean independence before the United Nations. A United Nations Commission decided to hold elections in Korea. The communists in North Korea refused to allow the election. The communists in South Korea boycotted it. The government in South Korea was formed by the anti-communist Syngman Rhee called the Republic of Korea (ROK). In 1946, Kim II Sung organized a communist government in the north called the Democratic People's Republic. Each government hoped to reunify the country under its own rule.

Korea had been given to america almost by accident. The peninsula was part of the japanese empire, but after World War II the Americans and Soviets decided it should be split into two pieces, along the 38th parallel. America occupied South Korea and the Soviets occupied North Korea. Even though the 38th parallel was expose to keep North Korea out of the south, and the south out of the north, the two dictators both still kept going into each other's land. The two dictators were anti-communist dictator Syngman Rhee which quite liked the americans support, and communist dictator Kim Il Sung which enjoyed the slightly more enthusiastic support of the soviets.

In the winter of 1954-55 America was in an economic, social, and cultural interregnum. One style of life, one mood — like Victorianism or Edwardianism — was giving way to another. The industrial age based on the mechanical exploitation of coal and iron was giving way to electronics, computers, automation — with all the social and intellectual results such a basic revolution implies — but as yet few indeed understood what was happening.

The Korean War (1950-1953) emerged after World War II where the world powers at the time, the United States and Allies-UN Forces and the Soviet Union had conflicting visions for what the postwar world should look like. The shaping of the Korean Peninsula was first on their agendas. The Soviet Union vision was to unify Korea through the expansion of Communism, which made sense strategically with Communist China and the Soviet Union in Korea’s backyard. However, the unification of Korea would only happen via civil war. North Korea would have to invade South Korea and inflict their will by means of armed force. Conversely, as one can imagine the UN-Forces vision was to prevent the expansion of Communism and unify North and South Korea in a single country protected by the United States. (Alexander, 2013) Over a period of three years, the conflicting world powers would duke it out. North Korea would strike first by engaging in civil war and South Korea with UN Forces assistance would help stop their onslaught. Next, uninformed the UN Forces would head into North Korea on the offensive, only to be met by prepared communist forces, which leads to retreat of the UN Forces and ultimately a stalemate. (Hammel, 1981)

At the mid-point of the century that had already seen two appallingly destructive and costly World wars, just as the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States broke due to their ideological differences after World War II, in the midst of the Cold War was the Korean War. The Korean War began on June 25, 1950 when the North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel, a border between South and North Korea, to attack South Korea. The size of the war quickly grew as it began to involve countries like China, Soviet Union, and the United States. With nothing to show rather than early back-and-forth across the 38th parallel between the two sides, the Korean War marked its end in July 1953 with about 5 million losses of soldiers and innocent civilians during the war. Korean peninsula still divided today, one must understand how Korean War marks a significant turning point in the context of international order and relations, and the American foreign policies. During the 1950s, the Korean War was tremendously significant as it marked the first concrete war against communism as well as revealing inconsistencies in American foreign policy.

In chapter 4, Hazel Smith illustrate how wartime influenced on the state and party building in North Korea. As South Korea estimated that North Korea lost a half of its population, the damage by Korean War was extensive (Smith, 97). Through the war, however, North Korea seemed to give Party authority so that they could function as decision maker. In addition, Kim Il Sung’s authority was also uniquely strong. His leader authority, mass mobilization, and policy of self-reliance were important elements of the North Korean post-war state. As she says in chapter 5, children were supposed to learn about Kim Il Sung (Smith, 123). Moreover, North Korean people were not allowed to have international publication (Smith, 126). These Smith’s explanations

Under Yi Sŏng-Gye’s son King Sejong, considered Korea’s greatest ruler, inventions like the rain gauge, the use of a movable type, and the birth of Korean alphabet called Hangeul, still in use today, surfaced. (Piddock, 27-28) They ruled the entire peninsula for 500 years. Then Korea was annexed by neighbors Japan in 1910. Korea continued to be under Japan until 1945 when it was liberated at the end of World War II. (“North Korea”, Culturegrams) “With the defeat of Japan in 1945, the Allies agreed to divide the Korean Peninsula between the Soviet Union and the United States at the thirty-eighth parallel as a temporary measure.” (Piddock, 30) The Soviet Union received the Northern part of Korea, and the United States the South. “.. Soviet forces closed off northern Korea at the thirty-eighth parallel and placed Korean communists in power there.” Evidently, North Korea was bound to turn communist.

With the creation of a popular democratic front, KIM IL SUNG will be a suitable candidate to head it” (Report on Communists in Korea). If it weren’t for the Soviets, there would be less separation and the North and South Korean governments would be completely different. The author refers to the mass separation between the two parties but doesn’t really pay any attention to it, “In South Korea, besides the Communist Party, the strongest party is the Democratic Party, which represents the interests of the big landowners and capitalists. The party numbers about 10,000 and is headed by Song Jin-u. The party openly engages in pro-imperialist and anti-Communist propaganda”(Report on Communists in Korea). The Cold War affected North Korea in ways other than politically, also.

At the end of World War II, Korea was a poor former agricultural colony of Japan. But the rapid growth of Korea’s industrial economy has been remarkable. The economy of South Korea is now the third-largest in Asia and the 13th largest in the world by GDP as of 2007. To trace back the economic development of South Korea, the former president Park Chung-Hee played a pivotal role, and was credited for shifting its focus to export-oriented favoring a few large conglomerates. Unlike his predecessors, Park showed a strong commitment to economic development, believing good economic performance as a primary means for enhancing his political legitimacy. Under the President Park Chung-Hee’s era, the government played a dominating role in a