Korean War
Make sure that you know the situation of
Korea after WWII
You will need to know the story of the
Korean War and its
results.
-
After the war, the Americans
and Russians divided Korea
into Communist North Korea and capitalist South Korea.
-
The ruler in North Korea was the
hard-line communist Kim Il Sung.
-
The President of South Korea was Syngman Rhee.
-
North and South Korea hated each other.
Overview
Kim
Il Sung
got the support of Stalin
and
Mao Zedong (the leader of China)
to invade South Korea. In 1950, he attacked,
easily defeated the South Korean army, and almost conquered
all South Korea.
The
Americans persuaded
the United Nations to support South Korea.
They drove back the North Koreans,
and almost conquered North Korea.
The Chinese entered the war
and drove the Americans back.
The
two sides stopped at the border where the war began - and
stayed there for the next 3 years!
In
1953, Eisenhower became American president. He threatened to use the
atomic bomb, and the
Chinese agree to end the fighting.
Facts
•
In 1950, Syngman Rhee boasted that he was going to attack North Korea.
It gave Kim
Il
Sung the excuse to invade South
Korea.
•
The UN troops were led
by
Gen. MacArthur.
He led
an amphibious assault
at Inchon with
300,000 UN troops.
•
NKPA
- the North Korean
People's Army
ROKs -
the Republic of Korea's
(South Korea's) army
The
Chinese soldiers were called
'People's Volunteers'.
-
Perhaps 10 million people died, including perhaps half a million Chinese
soldiers.-
Korea stayed split and still is.
-
Korea made the Americans go in the 1960s into the Vietnam
War.
-
Many Americans had wanted to use the atomic bomb in Korea, and the world
came close to nuclear war.
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Revision Focus
This is a Paper 1
topic, so concentrate on learning:
1. WHAT
happened
2. EFFECTS/
Importance
Links
e-book on
Korean War,
Online revision sheet
Essay on
the events of the Korean War
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Revision Diary