Upon seeing the exchange of fire (more like shells and bombs) between the "brethren" North and South Korea, many people began to ask this: Why are the brothers fighting? It makes no sense. Well, true, they might be like that all the time but why of such magnitude this time? They are still bros right?
It makes perfect sense, if you know the history of Korea. Why Korea is split as today? It kinda revokes memories on the East/West Germany prior to the fall of Berlin Wall. It all started on the days nearing the Korean War (June 25th, 1950 - July 27th, 1953), during the war, and after the war. Korean War was somehow forgotten, largely because probably it was overshadowed by: 1. The Vietnam War 2. The Gulf War. Korean war, in my opinion, is perhaps one of the wars that are nothing but a futile/useless attempt. Why? Most wars result in a change of environment (political/economic/demographic ...). But the Korean War, even after it was over, nothing had changed much. Before the war, Korea was already separated into two (read below). After the war, it was pretty much the same. Not much territorial changes. After the war, now and then the two countries fought each other on minor scale, especially on the DMZ (Demiliarized Zone, the buffer zone at the 38th peninsular separating the North and South) and the Yellow Sea. So far, 2 high profile disputes have occurred - the Cheonan disaster and the Yeonpyeong shelling. Want to know more about how North and South turn into the bickering bros? Read on but be warned, text heavy.
It makes perfect sense, if you know the history of Korea. Why Korea is split as today? It kinda revokes memories on the East/West Germany prior to the fall of Berlin Wall. It all started on the days nearing the Korean War (June 25th, 1950 - July 27th, 1953), during the war, and after the war. Korean War was somehow forgotten, largely because probably it was overshadowed by: 1. The Vietnam War 2. The Gulf War. Korean war, in my opinion, is perhaps one of the wars that are nothing but a futile/useless attempt. Why? Most wars result in a change of environment (political/economic/demographic ...). But the Korean War, even after it was over, nothing had changed much. Before the war, Korea was already separated into two (read below). After the war, it was pretty much the same. Not much territorial changes. After the war, now and then the two countries fought each other on minor scale, especially on the DMZ (Demiliarized Zone, the buffer zone at the 38th peninsular separating the North and South) and the Yellow Sea. So far, 2 high profile disputes have occurred - the Cheonan disaster and the Yeonpyeong shelling. Want to know more about how North and South turn into the bickering bros? Read on but be warned, text heavy.
- End of World War II (WWII), 1945, US and the USSR (Soviet Union) forced Japan out of the Korean peninsular.
- Agreement between US and USSR – northern part of Korea was maintained by USSR while the southern part by US. The dividing line was set at the 38th parallel (38° N).
Problem starts here:
- 1948 – The Cold War tension between USSR and US escalated.
USSR and US pulled out of Korea, leaving a communist (N. Korea) and a democratic government (S. Korea) behind.
- Each side wanted to unify the entire Korea: North (led by Kim Il Sung) wanted Communist, South (led by Syngman Rhee) demanded Democratic. Sparks flew.
- After leaving, US also withdrew most of the troops and weapons. Why? 1. Due to a new policy in US on Asia; 2. Fearing Syngman Rhee would attack N. Korea.
- June 25th, 1950 – North Korean People’s Army (KPA) crossed the 38th parallel. The Korean War had begun.
[from now on, N. Korea is abbreviated as NK while S. Korea as SK]
- SK wasn’t expecting the attack and was trounced. SK has no weapons and lack troops (as mentioned earlier, US withdrew troops and weapons), hence they could not defend against the assault.
- June 27th, 1950 – Seoul had fallen. Now, SK citizens were panicked. Even US and UN were worried – they feared communism would spread if NK subjugated SK.
QUESTION: Why US didn’t use the atomic bomb threat? They did to Japan and it worked. By why not NK?
ANSWER: The USSR had already developed their atomic bombs, which was not available to them during World War II*(read the final part). If US were to used their nuclear arsenals, it’d become a full-scale nuclear war.
- Troops were sent in to reinforce SK by US . Now SK had both US and UN troops on their side but it was futile: the KPA of NK was unbeatable.
- August 1950 – KPA crossed the Nakdong river, SK’s territory diminished to the worst of all times (the yellow dotted lines on the map). If SK hadn’t pushed any forward, SK would lose this war.
- US pushed hard and for the next 2 weeks, KPA was drove away from the river. This was the FIRST victory by the south and the FIRST lost for the NK.
- Now, more troops arrived at Pusan. Pusan is an important port (even till today) and it must not be taken by NK. These troops were young and fresh .
- September 1950 – while still holding on to the river’s barrier defense, the SK allied troops (UN and US) were attacked by NK. However, the attack failed. Now, US planned to fight back.
- This was one of the history’s most brilliant strategic attack – it was difficult to carry out but was very important. The brain was General MacArthur. He planned to attack Incheon. Why is it a problem?
 Self-drawn image. Do not use without permission. | Look at the map. Incheon (the explosive icon) is on the other side of Korea since the troops are now on the eastern side at the Nakdong river/Pusan. Plus, the entire Korea except for the Nakdong/Pusan part (yellow dotted line) was in NK’s hands. That means, Incheon was deep in NK’s territory. Why Incheon then? Well, Incheon was a huge supply depot. Now you know why. |
- US troops first took over the Wolmi-do (an island). From Wolmi-do, they assaulted Incheon.
- September 15th, 1950 – Incheon was in US custody. NK was taken off-guard this time. Only 20 US troops were lost.
- September 18th, 1950 – a nearby Kimpo airfield was taken by US. Now, US turned their attention to Seoul, the capital of SK. It is very near to Incheon (see Map).
- September 21st, 1950 – battle for Seoul was a tough one. Although succeeded, only 33 marines survived.
- October 1st, 1950 – now the US troop had pushed NK all the way back to the 38th parallel, the rightful place where NK and SK should be divided. Here comes the big dilemma. A headache: Should US troops cross the line and take NK? Problems would arise then: Until now, it was a war to DEFEND against communism. If US crossed the 38th, it would become a war to ATTACK on communism. It means Russia and China would get involve. Not good. But US troops were high in morale, so they pushed on. Cities in NK gradually fell, including the capital, Pyongyang.
- November 1950 – NK was pushed all the way north (white dotted line). NK was almost wiped out – until they came face to face with China’s (PRC) army. China is also a communist country, so they came to help defend their allied NK. USSR was also NK’s ally but they didn’t take part in the war.
- November, 1950 – PRC armies retaliated, forcing the US/UN troops to retreat with mounting dead tolls. Chinese withdrew and attacked again.
- January 1st, 1951 – Chinese and KPA crossed the 38th parallel again.
- January 3rd, 1951 – Seoul had fallen. Kimpo airfield fell subsequently.
- March 31st, 1951 – communists’ supplies were insufficient, so they could not hold their grounds. They finally retreated while UN troops pushed them back to the 38th parallel. Not far from the 38th parallel was the Chinese stronghold, an area called the Iron Triangle. It was hard to penetrate but after 10 days of attack, UN troops shattered the place. Peace talks ensued but it lasted for 2 years. During these times, both sides fortified their defenses.
- June 23rd, 1952 – US sent sorties of new fighters to destroy hydroelectric plants in NK, resulting in 90% loss of power supply but NK wouldn’t budge.
- US newly elected president, Eisenhower, threatened NK with nuclear attacks (the world, especially US, wanted this war to end quickly, so nuclear was the best bet). Fortunately, NK took the threat seriously. Then, Chinese also pleaded to end the war.
- July 27th, 1953 – the peace talks ended and the war had finally come to an end.
Something to think about:
Who was the winner? – The territorial coverage before and after the war was roughly the same. To be precise, SK only gained 20 miles. Besides that, the war culminated in about 3 million casualties. Although the war is over, NK and SK are still bickering against one another today. Winners? No one exactly.
*Something interesting for you. In a way of speaking, the Korean War could be actually blamed on spies during WWII, spies known as “atomic spies” who sold US confidential nuclear weapons info to the Soviet. That time, the Soviets had engineering problems with nuclear bombs which only US knew how to solve. But infamous spies like Ethel and Julius Rosenberg sold the info to the Soviet. If Soviet didn’t have the ability to produce nuclear weapons, US would have threatened NK earlier on without fearing the Soviet. Actually, the judge in the trial of the Rosenbergs “blamed” them for the deaths in Korean War. The fate of the Rosenbergs? Death penalty.
Who was the winner? – The territorial coverage before and after the war was roughly the same. To be precise, SK only gained 20 miles. Besides that, the war culminated in about 3 million casualties. Although the war is over, NK and SK are still bickering against one another today. Winners? No one exactly.
*Something interesting for you. In a way of speaking, the Korean War could be actually blamed on spies during WWII, spies known as “atomic spies” who sold US confidential nuclear weapons info to the Soviet. That time, the Soviets had engineering problems with nuclear bombs which only US knew how to solve. But infamous spies like Ethel and Julius Rosenberg sold the info to the Soviet. If Soviet didn’t have the ability to produce nuclear weapons, US would have threatened NK earlier on without fearing the Soviet. Actually, the judge in the trial of the Rosenbergs “blamed” them for the deaths in Korean War. The fate of the Rosenbergs? Death penalty.
Below is a schematic illustration of the Korean War before the peace talk began. It was actually a "tug-of-war" between the northern and southern forces. North crossed the line, then retreated, then crossed again, then retreated again.
Self-drawn image. Do not use without permission.
Reference:
Holloway, R. (2007). Korean War. Retrieved November 19, 2010, from http://www.learnkoreanlanguage.com/korean-war.html
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