1. THE KOREAN WAR: 1950-1953
A WAR OF PROXY

2. PRE-WAR KOREA BASICS
 Located in Eastern Asia
 Annexed by Japan in 1910, and
remained so until 1945 (the end
of World War II)
 During WWII, Koreans were
forced by the Japanese in to
labor camps and the sex trade

3. THE DIVISION OF KOREA
 The end of World War II saw the
division of Korea
 Land north of the 38 th Parallel
became an occupation of the
Soviet Union
 Land south of the 38 th Parallel
became an occupation of the
United States
 The US did not want to Soviets
to occupy all of Korea as it may
have eventually led into Soviet
occupation of Japan

4. THE 38 TH PARALLEL

5. POST-DIVISION ELECTIONS
1948 marked elections in both North Korea
and South Korea
North Korea held Parliamentary elections;
established Communist North Korean
government
South Korea held national general elections;
established “The Republic of Korea”
Election time and after was plagued by violent
resistance on both fronts

6. WAR BEGINS
Early 1950 – Newly elected North Korean
leader Kim Il-sung meets with leaders of
Soviet Union and China to discuss
invasion of South Korea in attempts to
unify the country under communist rule
June 25th 1950 – North Korean People’s
Army (KPA) crosses 38 th Parallel to
invade South Korea

7. US INTERVENTION
President Harry
Truman commits US
naval and military
forces to support
South Korea on June
29 th , 1950, condemni
ng North Korea and
its actions
But Why?

8. WHY THE US WAS INVOLVED
 Cold War insecurities concerning communism were on the rise
 The Korean conflict was an opportunity for the US to publically
support a noncommunist government from communist
invasion
North Korean
anti-American Propaganda

9. BASIC TIMELINE: JULY-NOVEMBER 1950
• North Korean armies make it to the southern peninsula of
Korea
North Korea
Advances South • UN declares N. Korea an aggressor and sends troops
• US General MacArthur leads troops victoriously in Inchon to
push the North Korean armies out of South Korea
North Korea
Retreats • War wages over land and air
• November 1950 Chinese armies intervene as UN troops move
closer to their territory
China gets
involved • UN and S. Korean troops are pushed back towards 38th Parallel

10. IMPORTANT FACTORS IN WARFARE
Naval forces
Ground troops
Air Power and
raids (most
important)
Advanced
weapons
Trench warfare
became
prominent in
mid-
1951

11. STALEMATE AND RESOLUTION
 By mid-1951, land battles were at a stalemate so
both sides agreed to go to the bargaining table
 Talks went on for 2 years
 A main hang-up was the outcome of thousands of
POWs
 July 1953 marked Operation Big Switch where
thousands of prisoners from both sides were freed
 A Demilitarized Zone was established at the
North/South Korean border with a UN commission
put in place to supervise
 This essentially marked the end of the war

12. APPROXIMATE DEATH TOLLS
 2.5 million North Korean soldiers and civilians
 1.5 million South Korean soldiers and civilians
 1 million Chinese soldiers and civilians
 55 thousand American soldiers
 500 Canadian soldiers
 300 Australian soldiers
 A further 5000 UN soldiers from a number of
different countries all lost their lives in the Korean
war
 Stats from History Channel

13. KOREAN WAR AS A PROXY WAR
The Korean War marked the rise of the two
super-powers of the Cold War: the Soviets and
the US
This proxy war set the
stage for the rest
of the Cold War
This was the first war
with UN involvement

14. KOREA POST WAR
South Korea’s economy was able to
stabilize and it has become one of
the fastest growing in the world
North Korea remained a “hermit
state” and is still underdeveloped by
modern standards