Korea+9+3+2+1



1.) Korea had been controlled by Japan up until WWII when Japan surrendered. Soviet's took control of northern Korea and the United States took control of southern Korea. The Soviet Union helped to establish a Communist government, while in South Korea a noncommunist government was set up that favored the United States.

2.) In June of 1950 North Korea invaded South Korea and the Korean War began. The United States enlisted help from 16 other countries in the United Nations that provided soldiers, even so U.S. troops made made up most of the fighting force. General Douglas MacArthur, a former WWII hero in the Pacific, served as Commander of the entirety of the UN's troops.

3.) North Korea had taken control of all but a tiny part of southeastern South Korea. MacArthur bounced back by landing troops at Inchon, a port city well behind North Korean lines. The plan was very risky but it worked, the North Korean Army was forced to retreat back to North Korea, and MacArthur was granted permission by the UN to follow their enemy into the North.



4.) China, a Communist country, warned the UN to stop their invasion. China saw the UN as a threat to their security. The UN disregarded the threats and pushed on, until November 25, 1950 when China sent hundreds of thousands of troops across the Yalu River to aid North Korea. China succeeded in pushing the UN all the way back into Southern Korea.



5.) General MacArthur requested permission to bomb China and blockade their coast line. Truman refused with a mindset that these actions would get the Soviet Union involved and then another world war would be upon them. MacArthur tried to win support of his ideas from the public, Truman saw that as public criticism of his orders and undermining civilian control of the military. MacArthur was fired and sent home, but not without a fair amount of supporters.

6.) The war ended in a stalemate, which became very unpopular. Truman took Soviet advice and began negotiating a truce with North Korea. The negotiations lasted for two years and continued through the 1952 presidential campaign. Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected, promising a speedy end to the war. North and South Korea were left just as they had been before the war. The war had successfully contained communism, but some were angry about how indecisive it was.

7.) Since the war both sides of Korea have taken largely different paths. South Korea has become an economic power house, the country with the worlds 11th biggest economy in fact. North Korea has become very strong militarily but remained isolated economically.

8.) Fighting took place in brutal cold, so cold even that food usually froze before soldiers could get it into their mouths. Weather had taken a large tole on the troops, good meals were few and far between, and everything the troops touched seemed to turn to ice. Digging a fox hole was impossible, and many soldiers got frostbite.

9.) The Korean war often times gets overlooked because Vietnam took place right after and WWII took place right before. That is why it was given the name The Forgotten War.

"I will defend Korea as I would my own country—just as I would California." - Gen. Douglas MacArthur said to Dr. Syngman Rhee, president of the two-month-old South Korean Republic, on October 1948 II when Japan surrendered. Soviet's took control of northern Korea and the United States took control o

f southern Korea. The Soviet Union helped to establish a Communist government, while in South Korea a noncommunist government was set up that favored the United States.