Origins of the Korean War

To understand how and why we became involved in the Korean War requires a look back several decades, before even WWI. Korea is located between China, Russia and Japan, world powers with a heavy hand. The Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) was a conflict over imperial control of Manchuria and Korea. Japan won and annexed Korea in 1910 leading to a 35-year period of cultural suppression, heavy taxation, land expropriation and forced labor for the Koreans.

After WWII: The Soviets and US had an agreement of a trusteeship to oversee Korea until self-rule was established. US troops relieved the occupation of Japan from Korea in 1945, but due to political uncertainty and conflict with the Soviet Union, America was in favor of bypassing the trusteeship and allowing everyone in Korea to vote which was against the Soviet’s plan to deny the vote of those against trusteeship and those accused of collaboration with Japan. This entrenched the division of North and South Korea as the Soviets refused to dissolve the barrier at the 38th parallel until a united Korean government had been established. The U.N. elected Syngman Rhee, but the North refused to participate. The North held a Soviet style election and chose a Korean exile Kim Il Sung (grandfather of current North Korean leader, Kim Jung Un). Both advocated for unification, but the North not only became a closed society, the Soviets also trained and equipped a North Korea army.