To understand why the United States got involved in The Korean War, we have to go back a bit and discuss what happened in Korea during WWII and the years after the war ended.
As we know, Japan was building an empire and of the areas that came under Japanese control was the Korean peninsula. Korea, like Japan had been isolated and unlike Japan which was forcefully opened up to trade with the West - Korean isolationism also meant that unlike Japan, Korea didn’t modernize and industrialize.
Japan was eventually able to force trade with Korea in 1876. Japan wanted to assert its influence in Korea before Western countries like France and the United States could. Korea accepted the trade treaty with Japan in the hope that it would bring in new technologies into the country and help Korea defend itself against other developed nations. Later unequal treaties with Japan didn’t just allow for trade but it allowed for Korea to be annexed by the empire of Japan. Korea was under Japanese control from 1910-1945. During the Japanese occupation of Korea, Korean citizens were denied basic freedoms like freedom of speech and assembly, many schools were closed and the schools that were available were used to assimilate Koreans to Japanese culture. Korean language and Korean history for example were banned. Korean resistance at first came in the form of peaceful resistance and protests which were met by brute force from Japanese officials. Thousands were arrested, jailed and killed. During WWII, able-bodied Koreans regardless of gender were forced to fight for the Japanese military and many Korean women were forced to become “comfort women” in order to provide sexual services for Japanese military members.
As Allied nations began to make plans for the post war world - the fate of Korea was independence in due course. As early as 1943, in the Cairo Declaration the countries of The U.S., China, and Great Britain made this vague pledge. In 1945 at Yalta, Stalin agreed in principle to the eventual independence of Korea but his refusal to commit to specific terms further led to tension among the Allied powers. Stalin would eventually join the Allies in the war in the Pacific theater and when it came time to discuss the terms of Japanese surrender in Korea; Japanese officials’ north of the 38th Parallel would surrender to the Soviets and those below the 38th Parallel would surrender to the United States. Why would this be agreed to? There are a number of theories. The first was that it made sense in a military strategy perspective. The second was that it was an attempt to ensure the entire peninsula wouldn’t fall under Communist control. With the surrender of Japan in Sept. of 1945, The Soviet Union occupied Korea North of the 38th Parallel and the United States occupied South of the 38th Parallel. Communist groups formed in Korea and the Soviet Army began working with groups known as The People’s Committees. Interestingly enough, their leader was not Kim Il Sung who would go on to become the first leader of North Korea. Kim Il Sung had been part of The Korean Red Army which fought against the Chinese in Manchuria in the 1930s and he went to The Soviet Union to live and was trained by the Soviet Red Army. The northern part of the peninsula was mostly industrial where the south was mainly agricultural. The Soviets nationalized Korean industries. There was no freedom of the press or speech and opposition to the government was banned. By 1946, the north instituted sweeping land changes. Large landowners and land that had once belonged to Japanese was redistributed amongst poor farmers. The landlord class could now only own the same sized plot of land that poor farmers could own. Hundreds of thousands of anticommunists and wealthy landowners fled to the south.
Originally, the plan was that both countries would stay and occupy Korea until an international trusteeship could allow for Korean self-government.
Parties of various types almost immediately and the Korean government that had been in exile tried to reclaim control over the government. U.S. officials quickly demanded that the exiled government declare itself a political party. When the US military arrived in Japan, Koreans were shocked to see the US Military working with Japanese officials and military personnel as if they were Allies. At first the US kept the Japanese government that had been set up in Korea in place. Japanese officials were eventually replaced by Koreans after anger and uprisings ensued. The Koreans that were put in power were those who had worked with the Japanese who most Koreans looked at as traitors. The US military mandated that during occupation, English would become the official language of Korea. One group that gained US support was a group of wealthy Korean landowners and capitalists who had formed the Korean Democratic Party (KDP). The US looked for Koreans who didn’t have ties to Communist groups. One such individual was Syngman Rhee. Rhee was a 70 year old staunch anti-communist who had been living in the United States.
In December of 1945, officials met in Moscow to discuss the fate of the Korean peninsula. The Allied powers feared that Korea wasn’t prepared for independence after so many years of colonial rule. It was decided that a Trusteeship be created for no more than 5 years. FDR died before the specifics could be ironed out.
The Northern and southern parts of Korea developed differently and the political and economic differences between the two widened. By May of 1946 it became illegal to cross the 38th Parallel without a permit. Neither side could agree on a unified government. In 1947, the newly created United Nations got involved. The UN declared that a free election take place, and that foreign troops should withdraw from the Peninsula. The Soviet Union didn’t support this stance. Then it was decided that free elections would only take place in the southern part of Korea. This was incredibly unpopular, and led to uprisings throughout the country. In May of 1948, a general election was held in South Korea amidst continued protests and opponents of Syngman Rhee boycotted the election. In August of 1948, The Republic of Korea was established south of the 38th Parallel. US forces had withdrawn by 1949. Syngman Rhee served as the first President of Korea from 1948 until 1960 when he was forced to resign. The CIA removed him from South Korea due to continuous protests and he lived in exile in Hawaii until his death. While he was favored because he spoke fluent English, he was no democratic leader. Political opponents were jailed and rebellions led to massacres. Rhee, like his Northern counterpart, hoped to unify the Peninsula under one government.
Like the South, the North held elections of their own in the summer of 1948. On Sept. 9, 1948, The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was established. The government was modeled after the Soviet system. Kim il Sung began referring to himself as The Great Leader. The Soviets ensured that North Korea had a strong, well trained military and had the means of war before the left in 1949. Before the war began, a variety of of clashes between the two sides had led to 10,000 deaths of both North and South Korean soldiers. Tensions between the two countries finally boiled over on June 25, 1950, when North Korean soldiers crossed over the 38th Parallel and invaded South Korea. North Korea hoped to unify the peninsula under its regime. In response to the invasion, the United Nations sent forces to help protect South Korea. Truman had hoped South Korea would be able to defend itself and so he didn’t immediately send ground troops to Korea but a few days later sent troops after General Douglas MacArthur argued that failure to do so would almost assuredly mean a Communist victory. MacArthur was named United Nations Commander in Korea. South Korea was not as prepared as the North and lacked the same military might. More than a dozen nations sent troops but 90% of the manpower was from South Korea and the United States. Over 40 countries helped in the effort in the form of aid and supplies. The first few months of the war were characterized by a series of advances and retreats by both sides. It is for this reason that some refer to this conflict as a seesaw war. North Korea was helped by China which was Communist by this point in history and the Soviet Union gave supplies for the war effort. As fighting stalled, casualties mounted for both sides with little progress to show for it. Truman and MacArthur disagreed on what the war aims should be. As US forces pushed the North Korean military back past the 38th parallel and got close to the border between North Korea and China, the Chinese government warned that any continued provocation near their border would lead to a wider war. This was something Truman wanted to avoid. The Soviets had Atomic weapon capabilities and he didn’t want to see this spill over to potentially become WWIII. MacArthur went as far as sending a letter detailing his position to widen the war to The House Republican leader. This public showcase of insubordination was the final straw for Truman and MacArthur was relieved of his duties.
While television was a new medium in the United States, the Korean War didn’t get much media attention. In later years, the popular television show MASH was based on the Korean war and was set in South Korea. By 1951, the war had reached a stalemate and peace talks began. The President of South Korea, Syngman Rhee, opposed armistice talks and wanted to continue to push North and unify the peninsula under his government. North Korean leader, Kim Il Sung also opposed armistice talks for the very same reason and only reluctantly agreed to participate after both China and the Soviet Union pressured him to do so. He and the North Korean military would not be able to continue the war without their support and continued aid. The agenda for the peace talks included contentious items such as the creation of a demilitarized zone between the countries and the exchange of prisoners of war. The last point proved to be most difficult as Many North Korean soldiers or citizens who had fled to the south, or been captured didn’t want to be repatriated to the North.
3 years and over 6 million American men and women served in Korea. The war is often referred to as the forgotten war. Smack in the middle of WWII and Vietnam. Domestically, the war was unpopular. It has dragged on, no sign of success, even peace stalks had stalled. By the end of Truman’s Presidency, Korea had made him incredibly unpopular. The war had made one President unpopular and catapulted a Presidential hopeful into the White House. Eisenhower campaigned on a promise to end the stalemate that was Korea and bring an end to the war. His military background made him a popular choice and 7 months after he became President, he made good on his promise to a certain extent. Eisenhower traveled to Korea to see for himself how this conflict might be brought to an end. He traveled to Korea shortly after election day which he won in a landslide. The press was not made aware of his visit until afterwards. Eisenhower traveled to Seoul and saw the devastation of the city for himself. He spoke with high ranking officials but also enlisted men and got a sense of what the average soldier was experiencing. The armistice didn’t come easy. In a time span of two years and 17 days, 158 meetings were held to iron out the details. The armistice went into effect on July 27, 1953 at 10pm. The terms of the armistice included the following:
One of the biggest sticking points for North Korea and China was the return of POWs. The Armistice created a committee of neutral nations that decided the fate of POWs. It was left up to the POWs themselves. They could return back or stay where they were. For those who refused to repatriate they were at first moved to a neutral zone for 4months just in case they had changed their mind. Life for American POWs being held in North Korea was horrific. Many were beaten, denied food and water and subjected to brainwashing techniques to try to turn the soldiers from their home country and get them to support communism. A staggering 38% of US POWs in North Korea died in captivity. Some estimates put the number as high as 43%. South Korean POWs that had been captured by Communist forces were treated the worst because they were looked at as traitors and defectors. Two different POW exchanges were set up between both sides with injured and sick POWs given priority for the first exchange. There were a handful of American POWs who chose not to repatriate and went to live in China. By 1966 only 2 still remained in China. It was thought that the reason the men refused to repatriate was due to brainwashing techniques by the Chinese. The concept of brainwashing was a new concept to Americans, The 1059 book, The Manchurian Candidate was based around this idea of a Korean war veteran who belonged to a prominent political family who had been captured and brainwashed by the Communists. The psychological thriller was a hit and was made into a movie in the 1960s. Some 80,000 South Koreans were on North Korean soil at the time of the armistice. They were not returned and most were sent to work as laborers.
Another component of the armistice I want to discuss is the creation of the DMZ. DMZ stands for Demilitarized Zone. The DMZ separates North and South Korea to this very moment. It extends the entire 160 mile width of the peninsula, is 2 miles wide and is the most heavily fortified border in the world. Both sides maintain a significant number of troops there. There have been minor issues over the years, like the revelation that North Korea had dug tunnels that could transport tens of thousands of troops into South Korea. The Joint Security area is where the peace talks were held and is where negotiations between both sides still take place and is the only spot along the DMZ where soldiers from each side are face to face with each other.
The Korean War saw a number of firsts for the United States. It was the first war where we had an air force. It was a newly independent branch of the military that had once been part of the army. It was the first conflict the newly created United Nations had sent forces into. It was the first war since the military had been integrated and the first time Black Americans didn’t serve in fully segregated units. By the time Vietnam broke out, the US military was more integrated. Lastly, a code of conduct for military members was put together which stipulated how to act honorably in combat. This was done in response to the brainwashing techniques of the Chinese and how 23 US military members had refused to repatriate. The Code of Conduct is as follows:
The Code of Conduct:
· I am an American, fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.
· I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.
· If I am captured, I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.
· If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information or take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them up in every way.
· When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.
· I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America.
I would like to end this episode with a quote from President Eisenhower. Eisenhower gave a beautiful speech where he specifically mentioned those who had made the ultimate sacrifice in this conflict, those who had been wounded and those who had been widowed and orphaned by this conflict. His words were poignant. This wasn’t a victory speech. It was however a speech which recognized the toll this conflict had taken on the American people, the necessity in being involved in this conflict and while this stalemate of a war would now be over, the need for vigilance in an uncertain world. I’d like to read a portion of Eisenhower’s speech.
And so at long last the carnage of war is to cease and the negotiations of the conference table is to begin. On this Sabbath evening each of us devoutly prays that all nations may come to see the wisdom of composing differences in this fashion before, rather than after, there is resort to brutal and futile battle.
Now as we strive to bring about that wisdom, there is, in this moment of sober satisfaction, one thought that must discipline our emotions and steady our resolution. It is this: we have won an armistice on a single battleground--not peace in the world. We may not now relax our guard nor cease our quest.
He ended his speech with a quote from Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address given towards the close of The Civil War.
"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in . . . to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations."
This is our resolve and our dedication.
South Korea never signed the armistice in 1953 as it hoped to still reunify the Korean peninsula. A formal peace treaty was never signed to formally end the Korean war.
