KOREAN WAR• Begins June 25, 1950• Ends July 27, 1953• “The Forgotten War”

• Japan exits Korea in 1945• Korea is divided at the 38th Parallel• Communists control the North• Americans remain in South Korea

TWO KOREAS

• Formed in 1948• North Korea with capital

at Pyongyang• South Korea with

capital at Seoul

TWO KOREAS CONTINUED

• North Korean Prime Minister:Kim Il Sung

• South Korean President: Syngman Rhee

• 38th Parallel was the dividing line

COMMUNIST NATIONS• North Korea• China• USSR

CONTAINMENT• Truman’s foreign policy• Stop the spread of Communism• Check Communist aggression

“The voters did not have the embarrassment of having to choose between candidates.

There was only one slate.”

TRUMAN QUOTE

WAR BEGINS• North crosses 38th Parallel• North sends 135,000 men • North attacks Seoul and other

strategic areas

OTHER NAMES• 625 War (South)• Fatherland Liberation War (North)

DIFFERENCES: NORTH & SOUTH

• North is poor and agricultural• South is rich and industrial• North is Communist• South is Democratic

SOUTH KOREA RESPONSE

• Caught off guard by surprise attack• Had fewer than 12 combat planes• Some piloted by Americans

WAR BEGINS CONTINUED

•North occupies Southern capital of Seoul in two days

•South Korean government escapes to Pusan

GENERAL MACARTHUR• Biggest name in Asia during WWII• Freed countries from Japanese occupation• Signed official surrender document to end

WWII

“I felt a shiver down my spine. I said to myself, ‘It can’t start again’.”

MACARTHUR’S MEMOIRS

U.N. INVOLVEMENT:• Called North Korea “Bandits”• UN Force are called “Blue Helmets”• Truman refers to South Korea as

“The Greece of the Far East”

SOVIETS

• UN security council member• Absent when war vote occurred• Aided North Korea–a UN violation

U.S. BEGINS THE FIGHT• Eighth army airlifted from Japan• MacArthur appointed to command• 15 countries make up UN forces

U.S. BOMBING RAID• 50 B-29 Bombers• Targeting North Korean military

bases, cities, and bridges• 32 critical bridges destroyed

“Small-bodied Korean soldiers”

NORTH KOREAN FIGHTERS

• Well-trained soldiers• Quick to disguise themselves• 10,000 Communist troops in Seoul

BATTLE OF PUSAN• First bloody battle of the War• The Communists had a siege around the

city• Battle lasted until September 1950

• September 14, 1950• 262 ships and 40,000 men• Reminded some of Normandy

LANDINGS AT INCHON

INCHON CONTINUED

• UN forces attack North Korean forces from behind

• Tens of thousands of Communists captured • 135,000 North Koreans surrender

CHINA ENTERS WAR• Chinese wear North Korean uniforms• 100,000 Chinese soldiers • China was deceiving the UN

TRUMAN QUOTE

“The General assured me that the victory was won in Korea. He also

informed me that the Chinese Communists would not attack.”

MACARTHUR’S DOWNFALL

• Bomb the Yalu River bridges• Attack Chinese Manchuria• Blockade mainland China• Get Taiwan to join the war

TRUMAN QUOTE

“He has one problem. He thinks he is the Father, Son, & Holy

Ghost.”

MACARTHUR FIRED• Removed for insubordination• Bold and unpopular move by Truman• April 1951

MACARTHUR QUOTEMacArthur told Congress:

“Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.”

MACARTHUR cont.

MacArthur told Congress:

“We hurled back the invader and decimated his forces.”

TRUMAN’S ORDERS TO RIDGWAY

• Bring Peace• First Peace Talks at Kaesong

“I took advanced combat training in Japan before going to Korea.”

“We slept on the back of tanks and their rear engines kept us warm.”

“They drove buggies and some rode ponies. They were mowed down by American

machine guns.”

“On the first wave they used burp guns, the second wave hand grenades, and the third

wave they would pick up anything they could find from the dead.”

“We captured three Chinese soldiers dressed in ragged uniforms.”

“MacArthur was like a Colin Powell.”

IKE’S DECLARATION

“I shall go to Korea.”

PANMUNJOM PEACE TALKS

• Concluded July 27, 1953

• Armistice was signed

• Prisoners of War sent home

• Demilitarized zone was

created between North and South

NORTH AND SOUTH• Still divided• 38th Parallel• Yo-Yo War

• Helicopters become priority • Propellers make way for jets• Trench warfare like WWI

WAR MACHINE

• Disguised as Chinese pilots• Fly MiG-15’s against UN Forces• Major victories in air battles

SOVIETS IN KOREA

ATROCITIES

•Terrible accusations from both sides

•North Korea calls for UN investigation

THE AFTERMATH• 70% of Korean industry wiped out• 1.5 million Chinese and North Koreans killed

THE AFTERMATH• 984,000 South Korean casualties• 169,000 American• 18,000 UN Troops

POW’S• 76,000 in South• 70,000 in North• 300 still alive in North Korea

WAR CRIMES

• U.S. dropped Napalm daily• Communists beat, starved, and

executed Americans?

SOUTH KOREA TODAY

• Very prosperous• Leading auto maker• A show piece in the Pacific Rim

SOUTH KOREA MARKING THE PAST

50th Anniversary of the Korean War.

NORTH KOREA TODAY• Extremely poor• Availability of food is a problem• Possible nuclear threat• Repressive Communist leader Kim Jong-

Il

• First armed Cold War confrontation• Created idea of Limited Warfare (no

nukes)• Two superpowers fight in another country• 1950-1953

KOREAN WAR RECAP

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