The Vietnam War: The Korean War

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.

The Korean War was fought between North Korea (aid of China and the Soviet Union) and South Korea (aid of the United States). The Korean War started June 25, 1950 when North Korean forces invaded South Korea. The Korean War ended on July 27, 1953 with the Korean War armistice.

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.

Overshadowed by the previous, long and devastating Second World War, the Korean War became known by Canadian veterans as the "Forgotten War". After Japan's defeat in World War II, Korea was split into two parts, North Korea and South Korea. North Korea was occupied by the communist country of USSR while South Korea was held by the Americans and other democratic nations. War officially broke out on June 25, 1950, when the North Koreans assaulted across the country's division on the 38th Parallel with their men and artillery behind them. North Korea and its leaders wanted to unify the whole country from its division by taking over South Korea under their government. North Korea was allied with China and the Republic of Korea was

The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was a war between the Republic of Korea (South Korea), supported by the United Nations, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea),

In America we always remember the importance of the wars we fought. For some reason most people always forget or skip the Korean War. Korea was a small colony that was taken over by Japan in 1910. When World War II ended Japan’s government was falling apart and could no longer support Korea. This left the colony to anyone who wanted it, and Russia answered the call. Russia successfully conquered the north when the south contacted the U.S. to stop them. War broke out on June 25, 1950 which had sealed the fate of the Korean Peninsula. The Korean War was mostly a coalition with communist values and capitalist values. The outcome of this war has shaped the way works.The Korean War was very important to the world because it showed that America was unprepared, the Korean Peninsula was divided, and the countries who were involved.

Both the Korean War (and the Vietnam War played significant roles in of the Cold War. The Korean War related more to the causes and development of the Cold War, whereas the Vietnam War’s role was more focused on the later development and beginning the end of Cold War.

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.

Since the end of World War II, Democratic countries were alarmed at the spread of Communism, which was the theme in the Korean and Vietnam war. When the Japanese empire collapsed in 1945, the thirty-eighth parallel on the Korean peninsula was surrendered to the United States (Kennedy 614). North Korea was Communist, alongside the Soviet Union, while the South was Democratic, beside the U.S. Similarly, in 1954, at the Geneva Conference, the Geneva Accords were established and divided the country of Vietnam into two territories at the seventeenth parallel. Similar to Korea, the North fell to Communism, while the South remained Democratic. Both the Korean and Vietnam War are similar in ways, such as the causes of war, yet the outcomes are very different.

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.

Efforts to unify Korea resulted in more than 100,000 deaths due to guerilla warfare. In April 1950, North Korean leader Kim II Sung persuaded Joseph Stalin to back an invasion of South Korea, convincing Stalin that the United States would not intervene. Stalin agreed to provide arms, equipment, and advisors to the North Koreans (“Korean War”). Kim II Sung did not stop there as he also persuaded the newly communist Chinese to aid the North Koreans. The Korean War, (June 25,1950 – July 27, 1953), occurred when over 75,000 North Korean Army invaded the land across of the 38th parallel. American president Harry Truman was feeling heat after “letting China fall”, so Truman ordered American troops into action on South July, the United Sates entered the conflict on South Korea’s behalf. The next three years would be the darkest and most horrific in Korean history. As seen in American reporter Bill Shinn’s account, “the North Koreans were gruesome…during the occupation of South Korea, they killed over 165,000 civilians. Also, I witnessed a South Korean mass execution of civilians suspected of having helped the communists. Korea was a mess” (“The Forgotten War Remembered: Korea, 1950-1953). This shows the depths of the horror that was perpetrated in Korea for three years.

The Korean War would be a radical step in fighting wars, as well as the feelings people had toward the war. All wars in American History fought before the Korean War were based on either national survival or the gain of territory. A strong conflict was created between the Soviet Union and the United States. From this conflict, tension was so strong that wars were fougt in the midst of this Cold War. The Korean War was the first America ever waged that was not fought for national survival, for territory, for manifest destiny or for hegemony. Korea was the first ideological war;" (Coppel, 505).

The Vietnam War was one of the bloodiest wars in the history of Vietnam. Vietnam use to be a peaceful country until the idea of communism started spreading across Vietnam. Many wanted to stay democratic but saw what happened to the Germans and started to lean towards communism. Many also wanted to stay democratic and still had it hopes high that it will soon get their lives and economy back on track.

Korea, like Germany, had been occupied by Soviet and United States forces at the end of World War II. Korea was split in half via the 38th parallel after the Japanese Empire fell near the end of the conflict. The soviets occupied the north side of the line and the Americans occupied the south. “By the end of the decade, two new states had formed on the peninsula. In the south, the anti- communist dictator Syngman Rhee (1875-1965) enjoyed the reluctant support of the American

Overall, the Korean and Vietnam war were proxy wars based on the Cold War. China and the Soviets supported the communists in both northern regions. The U.S thus sought to support "democratic" authoritarian leaders. In Korea, the both sides saw themselves as fighting for the reunification of the nation whereas in Vietnam it was increasingly difficult to determine the end goal. The U.S sent troops to both countries but found their forces unprepared for war in the different environments.