Development & Impact of the Cold War:
The Korean War 1950-1953
The Korean War 1950-1953
"I have just received the announcement of your appointment of me as the United Nations Commander of the international forces to be employed in Korea and can not fail to express to you personally my deepest thanks and appreciation for this new expression of your confidence. I recall so vividly and with such gratitude that this is the second time you have so signally honored me. Your personal choice five years ago as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan place me under an intimate obligation which would be difficult for me to ever repay and you have now added to my debt. I can only repeat the pledge of my complete personal loyalty to you as well as an absolute devotion to your monumental struggle for peace and good will throughout the world. I hope I will not fail you."
General Douglas MacArthur to Harry S. Truman, 11 July 1950 |
Overview
The Korean War (1950–1953) was officially a “police action,” where U.S. troops provided the bulk of a United Nations force designed to protect South Korea from North Korean/communist aggression. President Harry Truman, who sent the first troops to Korea, favored a limited war designed simply to achieve the main U.S. objective: protect South Korea. His commanding general, Douglas MacArthur, favored a more drastic, all-out war that might even have included the use of nuclear weapons.
In the war itself, United Nations forces at first found themselves pushed all the way south to the perimeter of the city of Busan. After a successful and daring invasion behind the North Korean lines at Incheon, the UN forces advanced farther and farther north, this time pushing North Korean forces all the way to the Chinese border. Concerned about the threat of UN forces invading their country, China retaliated by sending hundreds of thousands of their troops across the border to help the North Koreans. The war then ground into a long, bloody stalemate.
When the armistice was signed in 1953, the boundary between North and South Korea was set essentially where it had been before June, 1950. The United States had assisted in stopping the spread of communism in Asia, but at a cost of 54,000 American lives, and between $20 and $22 billion dollars.
In the war itself, United Nations forces at first found themselves pushed all the way south to the perimeter of the city of Busan. After a successful and daring invasion behind the North Korean lines at Incheon, the UN forces advanced farther and farther north, this time pushing North Korean forces all the way to the Chinese border. Concerned about the threat of UN forces invading their country, China retaliated by sending hundreds of thousands of their troops across the border to help the North Koreans. The war then ground into a long, bloody stalemate.
When the armistice was signed in 1953, the boundary between North and South Korea was set essentially where it had been before June, 1950. The United States had assisted in stopping the spread of communism in Asia, but at a cost of 54,000 American lives, and between $20 and $22 billion dollars.
Task 1: The Causes of the Korean War
Instructions:
Instructions:
- Read the following sources: pages 47 to 56 "History - 20th Century World: The Cold War (purple text)", pages 338 to 341 of the text "Modern World History (blue text)", "The Korean War - 1950-1953.jpg", "The Korean War.pdf", "Containment in Korea.pdf" and "War in Korea 1950-3.pdf".
- Answer the following question by creating a graphic organizer/spider-diagram (see example below): "How did the following people/events caused the Korean War?"
- Chronologically arrange your answer.
Task 2: The Course of the Korean War
Instructions:
Instructions:
- Read the following sources: pages 47 to 56 "History - 20th Century World: The Cold War (purple text)", pages 338 to 341 of the text "Modern World History (blue text)", "The Korean War - 1950-1953.jpg", "The Korean War.pdf", "Containment in Korea.pdf" and "War in Korea 1950-3.pdf".
- Using the following websites: The Korean War, Korean War Timeline and American Experience - The Korean War and download and complete the following worksheet titled "The Course of the Korean War.docx".
Task 3: The Effects of the Korean War
Instructions:
Instructions:
- Read the following sources: pages 47 to 56 "History - 20th Century World: The Cold War (purple text)", pages 338 to 341 of the text "Modern World History (blue text)", "The Korean War - 1950-1953.jpg", "The Korean War.pdf", "Containment in Korea.pdf" and "War in Korea 1950-3.pdf".
- Using the following websites: The Korean War, Korean War Timeline, American Experience - The Korean War and NATO Declassified to aid you in this task.
- Answer the following question by creating a graphic organizer/spider-diagram (see example below): "How did the Korean War impact the following areas?"
Mark Scheme
Origins of the Korean War Source Analysis
At the end of World War II Korea was split in two. The North was Communist with a leader, Kim il Sung, who had been trained the USSR. The South was anti Communist and its leader Syngman Rhee was backed by the USA. The two leaders detested each other. The hostility between the two states spilled into open warfare in 1950.
From the day when North Koreans attacked South Korea on June 25, 1950 to the day of the armistice on July 27, 1953, At the end of the war, more than 3 million Koreans died while millions of refugees remained homeless and distraught. About 1 million Chinese died in the war and American casualties numbered 54, 246 people.
Instructions:
At the end of World War II Korea was split in two. The North was Communist with a leader, Kim il Sung, who had been trained the USSR. The South was anti Communist and its leader Syngman Rhee was backed by the USA. The two leaders detested each other. The hostility between the two states spilled into open warfare in 1950.
From the day when North Koreans attacked South Korea on June 25, 1950 to the day of the armistice on July 27, 1953, At the end of the war, more than 3 million Koreans died while millions of refugees remained homeless and distraught. About 1 million Chinese died in the war and American casualties numbered 54, 246 people.
Instructions:
- Read the following sources (Sources A to F) and answer the following questions.
- A) What recent events on the mainland of China does Source A seek to explain? From your knowledge, how accurately does the source infer the causes of these events? (3 marks)
- B) Using Source B, and your own knowledge, show how closely the arguments of the Chinese Communists on the post-war activities of the United States correspond to those of Soviet Communists. (3 marks)
- C) Contrast the different accounts given in Sources D and E of the start of the Korean War. Which seems the more reliable, and why? (7 marks)
- D) Use Sources D, E and F to explain whether, in your view, Source F is closer in agreement with Source D or Source E. (6 marks)
- E) Why might historians regard Source F as the least reliable of the five Sources A-F? (7 marks)
Exam Questions
Paper 2: Topic 1 - Causes, Practices and Effects of War
May Exams
Paper 2: Topic 5 - The Cold War
May Exams
November Exams
Paper 2: Topic 1 - Causes, Practices and Effects of War
May Exams
- Analyse the causes of either the Spanish Civil War or the Korean War. (May 2005)
Paper 2: Topic 5 - The Cold War
May Exams
- Compare and contrast the roles of Korea and Vietnam in the Cold War. (May 2008)
- Compare and contrast the role of two leaders, each chosen from a different region, in the development of the Cold War between 1953 and 1964. (TZ1 May 2010)
- Compare and contrast the significance of leaders in two Cold War conflicts, each chosen from a different region, between 1950 and 1963. (TZ2 May 2010)
November Exams
- How effective was the United States policy of containment up to 1962? (Nov 2007)
- For what reasons, and with what results for East-West relations, did the superpowers become involved in the affairs of one of the following: Korea; Vietnam; the Middle East? (Nov 2007)
- In what ways, and with what results, did the US implement the policy of containment in Asia between 1950 and 1975? (Nov 2008)
- Analyse the role of either Korea or the Middle East in the development of the Cold War. (Nov 2009)