Korean War [UPSC Notes]

The Korean War (1950 – 1953) was an important event of the Cold War era. It is important to understand the causes of the war and its fallout in order to get a good idea of the current situation of both North and South Korea. This is an important topic of world history for the UPSC exam.

Korean War Summary

In June 1950, North Korea attacked South Korea. The US led a United Nations force in support of South Korea, while North Korea was backed by the USSR, and later China, who joined the war in November 1950. The war ended in a stalemate after three years of fighting, in 1953, with the border between the two Koreas almost equal to the one that was in the beginning of the war. Curiously, the two countries are still at war with each other technically since no peace treaty was ever signed. 

Korea – A Brief History 

To understand the events that led to the Korean war, it is important to get a brief idea of the political situation in Korea that existed in the late 19th to early 20th centuries.

• The Korean peninsula had been ruled by the Joseon Dynasty for over five centuries (1392-1897).
• The dynasty’s neo-Confucian philosophy was the strongest linking factor in the peninsula.
• They had strong links with China with the Joseons being a vassal of the Qing dynasty at one point. 
• As a result of the Sino-Japanese war (1894-95) in which the Chinese were defeated and the resulting Treaty of Shimonoseki, Joseon was removed from the vassalage of China.
• Joseon was named the Korean Empire in 1897 when Emperor Gojong initiated a reinforcement and strengthening of the military and the Korean market structure.
• This proclamation effectively ended China’s hegemony over Korea. 
• Gojong was an autocratic ruler who also received help from the Russians.
• However, the Russo-Japanese war of 1905 in which Japan defeated Russia led to the end of Russia’s influence over Korea. The 1905 Protectorate Treaty led to Korea becoming a protectorate of Japan.
• In 1910, Japan annexed Korea and they ruled over Korea until the end of the Second World War in 1945.
• Japan was defeated in the war and the Japanese occupation of Korea ended. The Korean war has its roots in this period. 

Why did the Korean War start?

After the end of the Second World War, Korea was freed from Japanese control. By an understanding between the Allied leaders, Korea was divided into two parts at the 38th Parallel of latitude north of the equator. North Korea was administered by the USSR while the south was occupied by the United States.

• As a result of Cold War tensions, the two occupied zones became sovereign states. 
• The north was ruled by the totalitarian dictator Kim Il Sung who established a socialist state, while the south was ruled as a capitalist state by Syngman Rhee.
• Notably, both the governments did not recognise each other and claimed to be the sole legitimate ruler of all of Korea.
• In 1950, North Korea launched a surprise invasion of South Korea in an attempt to unify the country under the North Korean government. This marked the beginning of the Korean War.

Korean War Timeline

Following the policy of ‘containment’, the US pressured the UNSC to declare support for South Korea. The UN decisions were taken without the concurrence of the Soviet Union and Communist China. (The USSR boycotted the UNSC at that time since the People’s Republic of China was not recognised there and in the Chinese seat was the Republic of China (Taiwan).)

Note: As per the policy of containment, the US would not allow communism to spread anywhere in the world. If North Korea took over the south, there would be a unified communist Korea which the US did not want at any cost.

• As a result, a US-led coalition force was deployed to South Korea.
• By August 1950, the northern forces had almost the entire south under their control including its capital Seoul. Only a small portion around Busan (formerly Pusan) in the southeast was under American control.
• The Americans soon launched a counter-offensive which drove the North Korean forces back to the 38th Parallel.
• However, the UN forces went a step further and pushed the offensive into North Korea. In October 1950, they captured Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. 
• Now, they were nearing the Chinese border and so the Chinese retaliated by sending a large number of troops to North Korea. This inflicted heavy losses on the coalition troops and pushed them back.
• By January 1951, Seoul fell to the North Korean and Chinese forces. 
• By June that year, American reinforcements were sent to South Korea which pushed the North Korean forces back to the 38th Parallel.
• This stabilised the front and a stalemate set in. However, the war in the air continued with jet fighters engaging in air-to-air combat for the first time in history.
• Finally, the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed in July 1953 which brought an end to the war.

Korean War Result

Although the war ended with the signing of the armistice, since a peace treaty was never signed, the two nations are still technically at war.

• The armistice agreement established the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to separate North and South Korea, which exists to this day.
  • The DMZ is 2.5 miles wide and about 150 miles long region with no military presence.
  • It acts as a buffer zone between North and South Korea.
  • The zone does not exactly follow the 38th Parallel although it intersects it.
  • The surrounding areas of the zone are heavily militarised.
• The Korean War was a very devastating one with casualties running up to almost 3 million, the figure including both soldiers and civilians.

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