The Korean War Between North And South Korea

The Korean War was an influential event that started in 1950 and caused a lot of controversy among Americans and Koreans. The war was caused by the US trying to preserve the Democratic side of Korea, the south side. The Koreans were not happy, however, and the Viet Kong and North Korean soldiers fought tooth and nail to get the Americans out of the country. There was eventually an end to the war of course but not without lots of casualties on both sides and a hostile environment around the border of the two countries.

Korean War: In 1945, Japanese surrendered by the Soviet Union and Unites States and Second World War was ended. Also, Korea was liberated at August 15. Korea was divided into South and north, and US governed south and Soviet Union governed north. June 25, 1950, the North Korean invaded south and the war was outbreak. The war was intensified by intervention of The United States, China, and the Soviet Union. It became fight between the Democratic and the Communism. (876-878)

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 occurred from 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953 when armistice was signed. (Stokesbury) It was between Republic of Korea and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. United Nations were on the South Korea side and China and Soviet Union were at North Korea side. North Korea invaded South Korea after United States’ military evacuation. North Korea occupied most of South Korea, but after Incheon Landing, it turned the tide of the war. Finally, the war ended by declaring ceasefire and made Military Demarcation Line. The war was significant because it was the war between democratic and communist countries. It was also the time of Cold War when Soviet Union and United States were having political and diplomatic 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

The Soviets and Americans were unable to decide on who got the control over what part of the joint trusteeship over Korea, thus leading to the start of the Korean War (Source C.) From 1910 to the end of WWII Korea was being ruled by the Japanese and were ready to have control over themselves. The Korean War was fought from 1950 to 1953, where the North was being occupied by the Soviets and the South by the Americans. Kim thought that the only way to reunify Korea was with the use of military forces. In 1945 Korea was divided on the 38th parallel which was the main cause for going to war. In June of 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, which was considered the first act of the “Cold War”.

Although the United States benefited from new alliances the price of war was too high. From 1953-1956 there was one war and two threats of war. The war in 1953 was the Korean War. (Document A, The Gallup Poll of Public Opinion, Random H). China entered the war and pushed the United Nations and the United States back into South Korea. The war continued for several more years. South Korea gained a small part of Korea. Very close to the original border the war ended in 1953. In total the war caused an estimated 2 million deaths and about 50,000 were American

Even though the Korean War ended in a cease fire,the U.S came to the aid of a country fighting for their independence. Although, the U.S did stop the spread of communism in Korea they didn't do such a great job in some places.

According to Document C, on June 25, 1950, North Korea suddenly invaded South Korea. North Korea was supported by the Soviet Union, while South Korea was being supported by the U.S. president, Harry Truman, and the United Nations promised to defend South Korea. After World War 2, on September 14, 1950, the U.S. and the U.N. were officially sent to protect South Korea, but the U.S. and the United Nation’s forces were almost pushed off the Korean peninsula. The leader of the Americans, was General Douglass MacArthur. On November 25, 1950, General MacArthur organized a dangerous, yet victorious retaliation at the port of Inchon. The Americans pushed the North Korean forces all the way back to the border of North Korea and communist China, but this battle got difficult again because China got involved and pushed the Americans back to South Korea. Over two million people died in this war as well as more than fifty thousand American soldiers. This act of containment in a way made the U.S. look kind of weak, because there were a lot of deaths and suffering before it ended therefore making their system look

A good question to ask would be, why the US got involved in the conflict and ways it affected Countries around the world. A good reason for the US to intervene in Korea is to suppress the flow of communism and aid their ally and country

The Korean War began on June 12, 1950 when North Korea overran South Korea. The nonattendance of the Soviet Union from the United Nations council gave President Truman an opportunity to take advantage of a unanimous vote of North Korea as an aggressive country; this was the first military action of the United Nations. The Americans were in Korea to protect South Korea from communist influences/North Korea. The Americans accomplished a peace agreement on July 1953 the enemies signed a truce that established a border between North Korea and South Korea nearby the 38th

The United States joined the South Korean side of the war due to the Soviet Union’s push for communism and the United States’ opposition against it. Furthermore, imagine what would happen if North Korea was a capitalistic country instead. The Soviet Union would not support North Korea in their conquest and there wouldn’t have been any war considering there would have been no conflict to fight

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.

The Korean War was both an internal conflict for the Korean people as while as a conflict that impacted the rest of the world; especially affecting Eastern Asia. This war (occurring from June 25th 1950 - July 27th 1953) was caused by the differing political opinions of the northern and southern regions of Korea and was what eventually caused the split of the once unified country of Korea into North Korea and South Korea respectively. Both sides of the country believed that the country as a whole should be treated and ruled differently, and the once invisible split in the country became an actual boundary when things couldn’t be settled between the two. Doesn’t help that each faction (half) believed believed that they were “the true” rulers of Korea and that they would be the ones to make the law. Imagine if the once political split between the north and southern parts of America during the civil war caused us to become two separate countries as we fought over the leadership of the entire country. This is basically what was happening in the Koreas. This war basically never ended as both of the Koreas still have many conflicts today and nothing was really ever resolved as they didn’t have never become unified again.