1. How did the war get started?
During WW II, the Allied Powers decided to divide Korea at the 38th parallel (a line on the map splitting the country in two).
The North was under the trusteeship of the Soviet Union, while the South was put under the trusteeship of the U.S.A. Both superpowers agreed to this arrangement during WW II.
The North became a communist country, while the south became a non-communist, democratic country.
Both sides wanted to reunify the country after WW II, but under their own style of rule.

2. In 1950, after some small fights at the border of the two Koreas, war broke out between the North and the South.
The Soviet Union backed the communist North, while the U.S.A. and the United Nations backed the South.
President Truman believed in a policy of containment when it came to stopping communism, and wanted to contain communist North Korea.
In order to help South Korea in its fight without trying to get Congress to declare war, he declared the military was there as part of a “police action” and not really a war.

3. Map of Korea during Korean War

4. Textbook Comparison Activity
Directions:
Read the two different textbook accounts of how the war got started.
Answer the questions, and categorize the information in the texts.
Any questions or difficulties… Raise your hand!