Korea had been under Japanese occupation for decades,
but, at the end of world war two the USA and Russia agreed to
divide Korea along the 38th parallel and unite the nation after five years.
But many Koreans wanted independence immediately,
And in the south, the Americans had to deal with numerous strikes and protests.
So they banned the Provisional People's Republic and held elections in 1948
And, despite boycotts and terrorism,
Syngman Rhee, a pro-American politician, was elected.
but he, as part of the Jeju uprising,
killed thousands and imprisoned many more.
Yet many Communist guerrillas remained.
Meanwhile, in the north, the Soviets installed Kim Il-Sung
as leader before withdrawing in 1948.
Kim had spent the war in China and was relatively unknown
but quickly began to create a cult of personality.
He also sent aid to the Chinese Communists who were fighting the nationalists
in the Chinese civil war.
And, in return, when Mao took over China, he promised to support Kim in any war.
Then, in 1949, after the soviet union tested their first atomic bomb,
Kim and Mao received limited backing from Stalin.
Stalin sent advisers and weapons to North Korea while Kim readied his armies.
Then, on the 25th of June 1950, after numerous skirmishes along the border,
North Korea invaded the South.
The south Koreans lacked the weaponry and numbers, so they could not stop their advance,
despite blowing up bridges with refugees on them.
So, within a couple of days, Rhee had fled and Seoul was captured.
But the USSR was boycotting UN meetings at the time because communist China
didn't have a permanent seat on the security council.
So the UN passed resolution 83.
This granted South Korea military assistance
and the Americans, who feared not intervening would encourage communist nations
to use military force elsewhere,
sent thousands of troops.
But they were under-equipped initially due to post-war spending cuts,
and driven back to Pusan.
Meanwhile, the Americans angered the Chinese by sending ships to defend the Republic of China in Taiwan.
So the Chinese, now expecting to enter the war, got the Soviets to promise air support.
But, in Pusan, the Americans were receiving thousands of reinforcements
and started driving north from the Pusan perimeter in early September.
and on the 15th General MacArthur sent troops to capture Inchon via amphibious landing
after heavy bombardment had all but destroyed the city.
On the 25th, Seoul was retaken and UN troops arrived at the 38th parallel a couple days later
Although China threatened to intervene if they crossed the parallel, the UN gave MacArthur permission to do so
and he sent his troops north.
The North Koreans had taken heavy casualties during their retreat,
and they lost Pyongyang on October the 19th.
But hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers had made it to the border almost undetected,
then invaded the north and drove the UN back to the Ch'ŏngch'ŏn river.
But they decided to wait in defensive positions for a UN counterattack.
This attack came on the 25th of November and ended in failure,
So the UN ordered a full retreat.
And it was during this retreat that the Turkish brigade famously helped to defend the US eighth army.
In Hungnam, ships helped evacuate soldiers before razing the city
While the rest of the army made it back to the 38th parallel by mid December.
Another Chinese assault was launched the following January.
And, by attacking at night and using trumpets and gongs to disorient the UN troops,
They successfully recaptured Seoul on the 4th.
But they had few supplies and poor transportation,
and the UN was able to reclaim land up to the Han river by early February.
Plus, in mid February, despite being outnumbered by fifteen to one,
the UN troops fought back another Chinese counterattack.
So the UN then countered with Operation Killer, intending to kill as many Chinese as they could,
and then Operation Ripper recaptured Seoul in mid March.
General MacArthur, who had previously threatened to use nukes, was sacked
because he was blamed for escalating the war.
and Matthew Ridgway, who had revitalized the eighth army, took over as supreme commander.
He began to drop troops behind the enemy lines in order to encircle them,
but had to quickly deal with another Chinese offensive.
Although the Chinese were now equipped with more Soviet supplied trucks and planes,
Their advance was halted at the battles of Imjin River and Kapyong in late April.
and the UN managed to capitalize on this by driving the Chinese back to the 38th parallel once again.
but this time they halted on the parallel and a stalemate ensued.
The fighting, however, continued over the next two years but it remained small.
The UN lacked a desire to push north and China lacked the resources to push south.
So, after two years of sporadic fighting, the Indians helped negotiate an armistice in July 1953.
Prisoners were exchanged and a demilitarized zone was created near the 38th parallel.
Despite over two million casualties,
the only major territorial change was Kaesong became part of North Korea.
but no peace treaty was signed and the DMZ remained heavily guarded.
North Korea tried to restart the war in the 1970s after communist forces won in Vietnam,
but they had no backing from China.
So Kim tried to fight via unconventional means, like digging tunnels to Seoul and attempted assassinations.
but this failed and, of course, Korea remains divided.