At the end of World War II, Japanese-occupied Korea was temporarily split at the 38th parallel of latitude north of the equator by the United States and the Soviet Union. As a result of the division, two countries were formed: Soviet-supported communist North Korea and United States-supported South Korea.

On June 25, 1950, five years after the divide of the countries, Kim Il Sung, the communist leader of North Korea, initiated a surprise attack on South Korea. Two days later, with the belief that the Soviet Union was backing the North Korean assault, President Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States, followed through on his “Truman Doctrine,” a policy designed to curb the spread of Soviet Union-supported communism in European and Asian countries following World War II.

The Truman Doctrine was a policy and a promise to the rest of the world that the United States would provide any economic or military support to stop the spread of communism. Truman assembled with the United Nations Security Council to form an American-led United Nations (UN) coalition force to send to aid South Korea. This effectively led to the start of the Korean War.

Two months after the initial invasion, North Korean forces controlled most of South Korea. The American-led forces formed a defensive perimeter by the South Korean port city of Busan in the southeast of the country.

That September, forces under the command of Gen. Douglas MacArthur put in motion a counterattack on the North Korean forces. During the counterattack, the United States launched an amphibious landing on South Korea’s western coast, in the North Korean-controlled city of Inchon. The landing later became known as one of the most successful military operations in modern times and would act as the turning point in the war. It ultimately reversed the near-total occupation of North Korean forces in South Korea and the recapture of the South Korean capital city, Seoul.

Not long after the counterattack, the United States and UN forces were able to push the invading troops back to the North Korean border at the 38th parallel.

Following the retreat of North Korean forces, the Truman administration chose to continue their advance beyond the 38th parallel. As troops neared the border with China, Chinese leaders, fearing an invasion of American and UN forces, amassed tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers and sent them cascading into North Korea to stop the advance into North Korea and force them back across the 38th parallel.

Over the course of the next two years, the border saw times of relentless battles between the North Korean forces and the American-led forces. Ultimately the border held and in 1953, an armistice between North and South Korea reestablished the pre-war border.

This armistice created the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a 2.5 mile-wide, heavily-armed area between North and South Korea that is still in place today.

Frequently called “The Forgotten War” due to taking place between World War II and Vietnam, the Korean War was nonetheless a major conflict in our nation’s history. It is estimated that 36,500 American service members lost their lives, along with hundreds of thousands of North Korean, South Korean, and coalition armed forces and civilians.

For more information regarding the facts in this article and to learn more about the United States involvement in the Korean War, visit www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/postwarera/1950’s-america/a/the-korean-war.

To learn more about the turning point of the war for American-led forces at the Battle of Inchon, visit www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Battle_of_Inchon.

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