If only America and the Soviets could be friends The Cold War Gets Hot If only America and the Soviets could be friends

Korea during WWII In 1905 Korea had been conquered by the Japanese but was viewed as a protectorate (lost from the Chinese) In 1910 became a territory of the Japanese 1919 a group of nationalists ran away from Korea and “ruled” from Shanghai (Syngman Rhee)

Korea in WWII Jiro Minami tried to force the assimilation of Koreans into Japanese culture making it illegal to speak/read/write in Korean in 1939 A communist Korean named Kim Il-sung led an attack as well but with similar results Koreans were forced into the Japanese military (300k) 25% of the people killed in Nagasaki and Hiroshima were Korean

Korean in World War II At Yalta it was determined that if the Soviets helped in the Pacific war they would be granted a sphere of influence in Korea at the end of the war At the end of the war the US was afraid that the Soviets would try to take the whole country so declared the 38th Parallel the division so they could control the capital (Seoul)

Korean War Soviets would be able to help the North (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Americans would help the South (Republic of Korea)

Korean War North Korea accepted Communism South Korea accepted a right wing democracy Political differences led to continued hostility at the border Many North Koreans helped the Chinese leader Mao Zedong in the Civil War and were angry at Americas acceptance of Chaing Kai Shek North Koreans move south past the 38th Parallel to help unify Korea again

Problem with the United Nations After America insisted on accepting a “fake” Chinese government in China (Chaing Kai Shek in Taiwan) the Soviet Union had boycotted the United Nations Without the Soviets presence America is able to get military assistance to stop the N. Koreans Soviets claim that US intervention was a declaration of war in Korea and should be left to the Koreans

Korean War On 28th of June, 1950 Sygnman Rhee ordered the Bodo League massacre killing 100,000 koreans suspected of helping the N. Koreans North invades (Kim Il Sung) and on the 28th of June in Seoul conducts the Seoul National University Hospital Massacre (killing 900 doctors, nurses, and patients)

Comparing forces North Korea had made friends with China and Soviets but had 200k soldiers tanks, and bombers South Korea was left with no tanks, few planes and less than 100k soldiers Within a week of fighting many southerners were defecting or retreating

American response Communism was acting in Korea, just as Hitler, Mussolini and the Japanese had ten, fifteen, and twenty years earlier. I felt certain that if South Korea was allowed to fall, Communist leaders would be emboldened to override nations closer to our own shores. If the Communists were permitted to force their way into the Republic of Korea without opposition from the free world, no small nation would have the courage to resist threat and aggression by stronger Communist neighbors---Truman Sent 12 billion in aide the South

Battle of Inchon Sept. 1950 Battle of Inchon General MacArthur says they should have an amphibious assault in Inchon and retakes Seoul By Oct he moved his forces north capturing Pyongyang (north capital)

Korean War Gets Ugly General MacArthur told Truman that China would not become involved and when he pushed up against the Chinese border China joins the fight Chinese forces aid the N. Koreans and ultimately Stalin sends air cover and push the US back to the border

End of Korean War MacArthur fired After almost two years of negotiations and continued fighting an armistice is reached in July of 1953 and the end in ‘54 A demilitarized zone was created on the 38th parallel In the end negotiations were conducted by foreign powers (USA, China) Many Koreans felt like pawns at the end of the fighting that left an estimated 1.2 million dead

Current Conflict Korea today Kim Il-Sung 1948-1994 Kim Jong Il 1994-2011 Kim Jong-un 2011-present