9. Korean War 1950-1953
Imperial Japan ruled Korea from 1910 until 1945. On August 10th, allied powers divided the Korean peninsula at the 38th parallel with the Soviet Union providing armies in the North and the United States providing military support in the South. When China became a communist nation, it sent forces to North Korea. With approval from Joseph Stalin, North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950. By the end of the month, the United Nations had committed military forces from 21 countries with over 80% of those forces from the United States, to fight against the invading army.
From June to August 1950, the North’s Korean People’s Army had gained control of almost the entire peninsula. Unprepared for war, the UN and US forces finally regained control of Seoul and South Korea in September 1950, after the Battle of Inchon. Joseph Stalin blamed Soviet forces for the defeat. In October, China intervened, sending military support and troops to North Korea.
A stalemate began in July 1951 and lasted two years. Both sides committed atrocities against civilians and battle troops. Recent figures state that over 1.2 million soldiers were killed with many more civilians captured, displaced, and killed.
North Korea labeled the war the “Fatherland Liberation War.” South Korea refers to it as the “6-2-5 Upheaval.” In the English-speaking world, it is simply called the “Forgotten War” as it was in stark contrast to the feel good war that liberated Europe from the Nazis just a few years before. The Korean Armistice Agreement was reached on July 27, 1953, but no peace treaty has ever been signed. Technically the two Koreas are still at war. On March 30, 2013, North Korea proclaimed that it had entered a “state of war” with South Korea, which escalated the international war of words between world leaders.