The Korean War (1950–53)

The Korean War, June 25th, 1950 through July 27th, 1953. At the end of World War II in 1945, Korea was freed from Japanese control. North Korea was occupied by the Soviets while the South was occupied by American forces. By 1948, the country was divided in half at the 38th parallel, with the capitalist South ruled by Syngman Rhee and the communist North ruled by Kim Il-sung. The Soviet troops withdrew from Korea in 1948 and US troops withdrew in 1949. However, North and South Korea, as enemies of one another, would not accept the border between them as permanent. The North Koreans attacked South Korea on June 25th, 1950, advancing across the 38th parallel. Around 75,000 troops of the North Korean People's Army defeated the Republic of Korea's army with success, capturing the capital city of Seoul, then occupying the whole of South Korea except for Busan. This was a problem as President Truman in the United States wanted to contain the spread of communism by preventing the domino effect. That is, if Korea fell, so would other countries to the ideology. South Korea appealed for support and the United States pushed a resolution through the United Nations Security Council. The USSR did not use its veto power as it was boycotting the council because the new communist China was not accepted. In China's seat was the pro-US Chinese nationalist government of Taiwan. An appeal was made by the Security Council for North Korea to withdraw its troops but was ignored. As a result, approval was granted for a UN army made up of an international force of 16 nations to send help to South Korea, commanded by General Douglas MacArthur. The UN troops, composed mainly of Americans, landed in South Korea in early July, but were soon pushed back on the defense by the North Korean forces, forming a perimeter around Busan to defend the line until reinforcements arrived in August. Now that their position was strengthened, MacArthur went on the offensive. On September 15th, the US Marines X Corps launched an amphibious assault at Incheon. The North Korean troops were pushed back on the retreat over the 38th parallel and soon Seoul was recaptured along with the whole of South Korea by the end of the month. Now, MacArthur was to go beyond the initial idea of containment. Truman, worried of a Chinese response, nevertheless approved and UN troops moved in to North Korea on October 7th, 1950. On October 12th, they captured Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, and then the Yalu River, which was the border with Communist China. China retaliated by helping the North Koreans, sending 250,000 Chinese troops. The UN troops, overwhelmed by this new force, were pushed out of North Korea with heavy losses. By January 1951, Chinese and North Korean troops had captured Seoul. General MacArthur wanted to use the atom bomb on China and was dismissed for insubordination by President Truman, who went back to a policy of containment. In June 1951, more UN troops were sent to Korea, eventually driving the North Korean army to the 38th parallel and stabilizing the front. Now, a stalemate set in. In July, peace talks began, but a compromise could not be found. Meanwhile, fighting continued and American pilots fought in the air against Soviet pilots using Chinese jet fighters and wearing Chinese uniforms. General Dwight D. Eisenhower took over as president in early 1953 and sought an end to the war. After two years of negotiation, an armistice was signed on July 27th, 1953 at Panmunjom on the 38th parallel. A demilitarized zone was set up, which stands to this day. Subscribe and click the notification bell for more history videos. Thank you guys for all your support on the Simple History YouTube channel. If you enjoy it, please consider visiting our Patreon page. There, you can show us your support for the channel by donating and make a huge difference in what we're able to create for you. Plus, you can get early access on upcoming videos. So, let's keep it growing and thank you for being part of this amazing community.