Korean War: Causes, Conflict, and Consequences
The Korean War (1950-1953)
Korea was formerly a possession of Imperial Japan in the 19th century. After 1945, the southern part of the peninsula was occupied by American allies, and the northern part by the Red Army, allied with the Chinese army. The border was divided by the 38th parallel. The Communist victory in China in October 1949 clearly threatened U.S. hegemony in Asia, mirroring the Communist expansion in Europe. The U.S. aimed to make Japan the “Germany of Asia,” a capitalist frontier against communism represented by China. Thus, from 1949, a kind of Marshall Plan was established to turn Japan into the economic engine of Asia. The American approach included the installation of permanent naval bases in Japan.
In June 1950, some American statements suggested that the U.S. had no particular interest in Korea, but Asia was part of its imperialist ambitions, and it wanted to establish a security perimeter in Asia against China. In this context, the UN, convinced by American arguments, decided to send troops to Korea, invoking the right of self-determination of peoples. This decision was made without the USSR, which was not in the Security Council of the UN at the time.
For a year during the Korean War, the conflict was contained around the 38th parallel. China sent troops into North Korea, supported by the USSR, while the U.S. fought in the south under the UN flag, avoiding direct confrontation. The most intense moment occurred when General MacArthur’s troops were involved, and he requested the use of the atomic bomb against China. However, restraint characteristic of the Cold War prevailed, and both powers withdrew without using such force.
The Korean impasse paradoxically dissolved with the election of Eisenhower in November 1952 and the death of Stalin in March 1953. The armistice of Korea, signed by Eisenhower and Nikita Khrushchev, returned the country to the situation of 1950. The country remained divided on the 38th parallel, but now with two established regimes: one communist and one capitalist under U.S. tutelage, at the cost of approximately 5 million lives.
Consequences of the Korean War
The United States established itself in the region as the new guardian of capitalism/liberalism, offering a way out for decolonizing countries in the form of neoliberalism. Japan’s independence was formally recognized in 1951, with its army integrated into American units. Moreover, from Korea, the U.S. became involved in supporting the French against nationalist rebels in Indochina. The Geneva Treaty of 1954 divided Vietnam into two, with a communist north and a non-communist (or nationalist) south, aided by the U.S.
Regarding U.S. domestic politics, Korea marked a period of retreat, the time of the witch hunts of Senator McCarthy, and also an economic boom. In the Soviet world, the Korean War and its dangers were part of the debate following Stalin’s death and the re-orientation of the regime, leading to a period of thaw or de-Stalinization under Nikita Khrushchev.
Finally, Korea was a prime mover of peace movements that originated in the struggle against nuclear weapons.