The Korean War was a military struggle fought on the Korean peninsular from June 1950 to July 1953. It began as a result of the Democratic Peoples Republic of North Korea invading the Republic of Korea (i.e. South Korea) on the 25^th of June 1950, with an intention of overrunning the South and uniting Korea. One could interpret this as the perfect recipe for a civil war, but not what it actually resulted in: a three year period of east-west conflict involving 20 nations which many feared would escalate to another global conflict. Why did this occur in the first place? Why were there inter-Korean sensitivities? And why is this war often referred to as "forgotten"?

Korea was annexed by Japan in 1905 and on several occasions during the Second World War the allies promised it full independence once the war was over. The sudden end of the war in the Pacific in 1945 took the allies by surprise. It was hastily arranged that Soviet troops would accept the surrender of the Japanese north of the 38^th parallel, an arbitrarily drawn line splitting the peninsular (so named as it runs along the 38° latitude) with the south being taken by the USA. But this compromise had one major problem, namely two separate states had been formed - one of considerable communist prowess with its Russian occupation, and the other very much pro-western with a strong belief in a democratic republic.

In 1947, the UN (United Nations) proposed a general election in an attempt to unify Korea. The Soviets disagreed. After a good deal more disagreement, American and Soviet troops withdrew from Korea in 1949. However, they left behind a country still completely split. Both the governments - the communist North, under Kim Il Sung, and the democratic South, lead by President Syngman Rhee - claimed to rule all Korea. As in the case of Germany, everyone wanted the country to be united, but under their style of government. In late 1949 and early 1950, many clashes took place between soldiers of the two states along the heavily defended 38^th parallel.

Growing opposition to Syngman Rhee in the south persuaded Kim Il Sung that he would be welcomed by many South Koreans as a liberator aiming to overthrow the Rhee government and unite Korea. As a champion of this unification, Sung would at the same time quell opposition to his own regime in North Korea.

The war began on 25^th June 1950 when the North Korean Army, which was equipped by the Soviet Union, crossed the 38^th parallel and invaded the south. The UN at the time believed this attack was instigated by the Soviet Union and the equally strong communist nation of China, and therefore was an attempt by the communists to expand their dominance in the east. But it later became apparent that Kim Il Sung started the offensive without the knowledge of either of these superpowers. The belief of the UN that the communist powers fuelled this conflict was the result of a serious period of suspicion between the east and the west. This is known as the Cold War. The phrase describes an era spanning from the end of the Second World War to the fall of the USSR in which the paranoia of the west towards the communists in the east had reached fever pitch. The idea, particularly in America, was that the socialist governments were dangerous and threatened the peace of the world.

After the invasion, the South was quickly overrun and its capital (Seoul) taken. The USA's prompt reaction (with support from many UN nations including Britain) led to a war, but changes in policies avoided another global conflict. Three years of skirmishes and large battles (most notably on the hills of Heartbreak Ridge and Capital) followed in which little movement occurred after the first year. The war ended in a cease-fire in July 1953, signed at P'anmunjom.

The major outcome of this war was the strengthening of the notion that the communist nations were a united force rather than just a small number of local movements. The USA was jerked out of any feeling of security it might have had. Its government voted unanimously to increase the potency of its navy and army and General MacArthur, the man behind the USA's tactics in the first year of the Korean War, became a national hero because of his beliefs that the USA should use its power against mainland China. "Fight Communism!" became a popular civilian slogan. A similar change in attitude occurred in Britain and western Europe, especially in Germany. As for Korea, it remained split, the damage to its economic and social structure was incalculable.

Why is this war often called the forgotten war? Firstly, it is seriously overshadowed in the American memory by the Vietnam War which happened soon afterwards. It is also forgotten in the sense that, even though people representing 20 different nations lost their lives, the number of memorials is small, particularly in the west, unlike for the Second World War, for example. It is not often remembered or spoken of, though there was a long running television series called M*A*S*H* set in Korea during the war. This year is the 50^th anniversary of the Korean War, but very little has been said about it in the Media.

Christopher's Writings