(the) Korean War

the Korean War [the Korean War] The Korean War began in 1950, during the Cold War. On 25 June 1950 soldiers from Communist North Korea invaded South Korea, which had links with the US, and the ↑United Nations (UN) responded by sending soldiers to defend it. The Soviet Union gave North Korea weapons, and almost certainly encouraged the ↑invasion. The US persuaded the UN to act on behalf of South Korea and supplied many of the soldiers. General MacArthur, an American, led the UN forces. But the US and the Soviet Union still tried to avoid war, the Soviet Union by denying it was involved, and the US by saying it was only taking part in a UN operation. The North Koreans were pushed back above the 38th parallel (= the imaginary line that divided the two Koreas) by the end of October 1950, and then the UN forces tried to take control of the North. At first they were successful, but as the soldiers got close to China’s border China attacked and they were pushed back towards the 38th. After this, it seemed that either side could win only by taking control of all Korea, but to do so would have required more effort and resources. Both sides were afraid of escalating the situation (= making it more serious) in case that led to nuclear war. Peace talksmade slow progress. Finally, on 27 July 1953, an agreement was reached at Panmunjom, ending the war and leaving Korea still divided. The Korean War was the background for the popular American television programme M*A*S*H, short for ‚mobile army surgical hospital’, which raised questions that many Americans were now asking. For example, why was the US fighting in a place so far away and so little connected with its own interests? Was it right to stop fighting without a clear result? If the US could not or would not use all its strength to win, was it better not to fight at all? And, above all, what was the right role for the country which, after ↑World War II, was the world’s greatest power?.