Learn About the Korean War

The Center is open to researchers of the Korean War, Cold War, Truman Administration, and other events regarding war.

"Korea, a place where bad things happen." Darian Cobb

In 1950 the American people were preoccupied with a return to normalcy following the difficult sacrifices of World War II. The Truman administration, having successfully concluded the war, was now anxious to preserve the peace and was deeply involved in the postwar problems of European recovery, the formation of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), and the control of atomic weapons. Then, suddenly, war broke out in the Far East.

North Korean Democratic People's Republic invaded the Republic of South Korea on June 25, 1950. The events which followed proved to be of primary significance in the Cold War which had been a driving gap between the communist states and the Western allies since the end of World War II. The attack angered President Harry S. Truman who viewed the invasion as a direct challenge to his 1947 Truman Doctrine and America's determination to fight international communism and contain Soviet expansion. The attack was a challenge as great as any in Europe. A challenge which, if countered, might well trigger World War III; if ignored might well mean the eventual Soviet conquest of Japan and the Philippines.

There is every reason to believe that the communists assumed the United States would not, and that the United Nations could not, intervene in the expanding conflict. However, the United States, which had withdrawn its occupation troops from Korea only two years before, responded with determination. President Truman sent air and naval forces to aid the South Koreans. The same day the United Nations Security Council called upon its member nations to repel the North Korean aggression. In response twenty-four nations backed the United States involvement, and came to the support of the Republic of Korea. Soon the United Nations banner waved over an expanding army led by an American general, the first of its kind in history.

The beginning of hostilities brought about an abrupt change in American political and military policy which, up to this time, had primarily excluded Korea. Responding to what was seen as major Soviet aggression, maybe even the beginnings of World War III, the Truman administration initiated a "get tough" policy on communism. Within the next few years this policy was reflected in America's rearmament, increased military and economic aid to NATO, the signing of a peace treaty with Japan, and preparations to respond to communist aggression anywhere in the world.

The Korean War reflected the desire for Korean unification but it was fueled and expanded by the Cold War. The impact of the war was sufficient to alter American policy, and thus word history, for decades to come. The diplomatic history of the period is terribly complex as the various powers considered how to appeal to the loyalty of emerging nations in the battle for allies. But the theme of this period seems surprisingly simple. The nations of the world were caught in the juxtaposition of the past war: how to remain independent and strong, while making and keeping political and military alignments.

The Forgotten War

It was and era of military development and political changes
Few people realize the significance of the Korean War in military history
39,800 lives lost
103,000 wounded
8,112 missing in action and still unaccounted for
227,800 ROK lives lost
717,100 ROK wounded
43,500 ROK missing in action
1.6 million civilian deaths

Most of the information gathered for this summary is taken from primary sources found at the Center for the Study of the Korean War