korean war definition us history

korean war definition us history

The Korean War: A Defining Moment in US History

1. Introduction to the Korean War

On 25 June 1950, emboldened by the Soviet victory in World War II and influenced by a desire to impose its communist ideas, North Korea invaded the southern half of the Korean Peninsula, intending to unify the two warring countries under one flag – a communist one. This move challenged the newly established post-World War II international order which the United States, in particular, was committed to defending. This order of friendly capitalist democracies established by the United States was still extremely fragile, facing challenges from both nationalist and communist movements as well as the Soviet Union itself. Under the guise of aiding countries that were protecting themselves from communism, the United States committed itself to defending and potentially extending the global arrangement of pro-American aligned states at all costs. The Korean War was consequently defined by an ongoing effort to protect American interests through the terms of the containment policy, aimed at preventing any further communist expansion and underway since the beginning of the Cold War.

The Korean War was a defining moment in US history based on US foreign policy, traumatic experiences that shaped individual lives for many Americans, and because it had a defining influence on American culture as well. This conflict had far-reaching consequences for the United States and the world, including the end of military forces segregation and great power diplomacy, and it largely shaped the United States’ containment policy in the coming Cold War. This paper seeks to gain a greater understanding of the Korean War and its impact on American history and culture.

2. Causes and Background of the Conflict

The post-World War Two era was that of the emergence of the United States as the leader of the Free World. Its responsibility called for the establishment of a world order that fixed the boundary of the United States’ own influence and that of the Soviet Union’s. The boundaries of these “spheres of influence” were fixed in Asia by the Cairo Conference of November 1943. Although the statement of policy they issued did not use the term “sphere of influence,” the participants at the meeting were clear that the United States should become the dominant influencer in the affairs of the continent.

The Korean War: A defining moment in US history. Fifty years after the Korean War broke out, the 38th Parallel still divides North and South Korea. With tensions remaining high, the United States still has 37,000 soldiers stationed in the Republic of Korea. Part of the support for this troop presence comes from fear that North Korea will again march southward. As one scholar has noted, “One of the founding principles of US policy in Northeast Asia – if not the central organizing principle – has been to underwrite, by affirming military arrangements and also by the presence of combat forces, the security of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines.” The purpose of this paper is to examine the causes and background of this critical war. In many ways, it was a defining moment in United States history.

3. Key Events and Battles

2. United Nations Labeling of the North Koreans – June 25, 1950 On the same day that the North Koreans invaded the ROK, the United Nations immediately took action. Not more than 48 hours later, the United Nations voted affirmatively to a resolution condemning North Korea for its aggression upon South Korea. The General Assembly requested that all Member states come to the aid of the ROK to repulse the armed attack. The Assembly also stated that North Korea was in violation of the U.N. Charter and invaded North Korea as well. The United Nations “called upon North Korea to immediately cease its acts of aggression and withdraw all armed attacks on the territorial integrity of the Republic of Korea.” The United Nations response to the invasion was the first indication that the U.N. was solidly behind the notion that world peace was important and must be maintained.

1. Invasion of the South – June 25, 1950 On June 25, 1950, the North Korean People’s Army, a military force of 135,000 soldiers equipped with heavy Russian tanks, artillery, aircraft, and supporting equipment, invaded the Republic of South Korea in a well-coordinated general offensive along the 38th Parallel. North Korea’s success in the south appeared sudden but had been accomplished through an extensive buildup of military power that took several years. The invasion was a three-prong attack which sent the South Korean forces reeling backwards in disarray. It took the North Koreans just several days to advance as far south as Chonan, which was only fifty miles from Seoul. Many people thought that Seoul had already fallen. The Pusan Perimeter came into existence as the Americans stopped the North Koreans right here. At first, the North Koreans seemed to be winning.

4. Impact on US Foreign Policy and the Cold War

Meanwhile, the Korean War increased the importance and size and created a new form of the permanent U.S. military establishment. In addition, a new pattern of planning for secret and unannounced military operations was established. Another important development was the growing dependence of Washington political and military leaders on opinion polls and enemy body counts as measuring rods for progress in a war. Finally, and most important of all, these years showed no possibility of using atomic weapons in a limited war. However, the failure to win the Korean War did not mean the failure of American policies and strategies devised to contain communism. Hence, the Korean War did not result in a major reassessment of the American role in the world.

The Korean War also redefined foreign policy and military interventionism, especially for the duty of the United States as a so-called world policeman. Also, by containing the spread of communism in Vietnam and throughout Southeast Asia during the early 1960s, Washington practiced stopgap measures. Although proving effective at first in Vietnam, these stopgap measures led to a long and costly war, which would in the second half of the decade weaken American self-confidence in success, much as the relatively quick stalemate in Korea had done in the early 1950s.