Korea cold war

The Cold The Cold War and War and

KoreaKorea

WHAT IS COMMUNISM?WHAT IS COMMUNISM?

• Mao in 1949Mao in 1949• Longtime American-Longtime American-

Chinese relations Chinese relations betrayedbetrayed

• Failure of Failure of containmentcontainment

• ““Truman lost China!”Truman lost China!”• Political Political

repercussionsrepercussions

CHINA GOES CHINA GOES COMMUNISTCOMMUNIST

SOVIET ATOMIC BOMBSOVIET ATOMIC BOMB• September 1949September 1949• Ends atomic Ends atomic

monopoly; monopoly; surprises Americasurprises America

• Not expected for a Not expected for a number of yearsnumber of years

• Adds to Cold War Adds to Cold War climate of fearclimate of fear

• SputnikSputnik: 1957: 1957

2 KOREA’S2 KOREA’S• After WW2 in 1948• South Korea under

American patronage• North Korea under

Soviet patronage• N. Korean leader

Kim Il-Sung invaded South Korea

Kim Il-Sung “Great Leader” (1912-

1994)

NORTH KOREA INVADES NORTH KOREA INVADES SOUTH KOREASOUTH KOREA

• South Korea and capitalist West

• North Korea and communist East

• Invasion in August 1950

• United States completely caught off guard

• Korean peninsula almost completely overrun.

“roll back” Communism with atomic weapons

KOREAN WARKOREAN WARContainment PolicyContainment Policy

(1950-1953)(1950-1953)

The shifting front in Korean The shifting front in Korean WarWar

““limited” vs. “total” limited” vs. “total” warwar

KOREAN WAR: THE KOREAN WAR: THE COSTCOST

53,629 U.S. dead; 164 million 53,629 U.S. dead; 164 million dollars.dollars.

3 million total dead: “The Forgotten 3 million total dead: “The Forgotten War”War”

TOOLS OF STATETOOLS OF STATE• Every house a

Radio– Can’t be turned off,

nor stations changed

• Prison Camps• Chemical and

Biological weapons Kim Jong-IlKim Jong-Il““Sun of the Sun of the

Twenty-First Century”Twenty-First Century”

Korea TodayKorea Today

• Massively militarized state

• One of the world’s largest armies

• Famine and millions of deaths

• Omnipresent Statues, mass parades, calisthenics displays

Kim Jong-Kim Jong-unun