The Causes and consequences of the Korean War Have given to fill many chronicles, reports, documentaries and stories that, due to its duration, has been interpreted and / or misrepresented in different ways.
Korea is a historic nation, located on the Korean peninsula, divided since 1945 into two sovereign nations: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, known as North Korea; And the Republic of Korea, known as South Korea.
Korea, as a historic nation, adjoins the northwest with China, Russia to the northeast and is separated from Japan to the east by the Strait of Korea and the Sea of Japan.
For the year 1905, Japan, erected as a new power of Asia, annexed to Korea and in the year 1910 it became its colony.
In this way, Japan tried to eliminate the national identity of the Koreans, imposing the language, making them bear Japanese names and instilling their culture. This provoked an increase in the nationalist sentiment of repressed Koreans.
After the end of World War II and the surrender of Japan in 1945, the 35 years in which Korea was under the power of the Empire of Japan ended.
In this way, the Soviet Union and the United States occupied the country, which was divided into two zones, separated by Parallel 38. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea was born to the north, supported by the USSR and the Republic of Korea to the south , Supported by the Americans.
Causes of the Korean War
1- Different political ideologies
The support of two of the greatest world powers for the time, the United States and the Soviet Union, to South Korea and North Korea, respectively, has been mentioned.
These powers were also representatives of opposing political models. The Soviet Union proclaimed communism as its political system, while the United States supported capitalism .
Thus, North Korea, later supported also by the People's Republic of China, shared Soviet-socialist ideals.
The leader elected to represent and later rule in North Korea was Kim Il-Sung, founder of the Korean Labor Party and creator of the Juche ideology, which combines Soviet-socialism and North Korean nationalism.
On the other hand, South Korea was under the support of the United States and other allied nations (United Kingdom, Australia, France or the Philippines, among others).
The leader of the Republic of Korea during the Korean War, and later its first president, was Sygnman Rhee, who was strongly anti-communist and took action against anyone who considered himself a North Korean agent.
2- The Cold War
The Cold War Was a conflict, which did not mean a direct war between the nations involved, but a state of geopolitical tension after the end of World War II, between the Western Bloc (United States and allied nations) and the Eastern Bloc Nations allies).
The term 'cold' refers to the fact that there was no large-scale conflict between the major nations in conflict.
Instead, a series of regional wars, known as subsidiary wars or proxy wars, developed; Which are wars in which the conflicting powers use other countries as third parties, instead of making a direct confrontation.
In this sense, the Korean War represented one of the most significant proxy wars. In it was striking the struggle between the ideology of the two blocs in conflict.
Consequences
1- Deaths of civilians and military
The Korean War was a conflict that lasted three years and brought with it numerous deaths in battle, as well as a lack of food and inadequate living conditions. Death figures are estimated at a total of approximately 2 million.
In North Korea, an estimated 1,187,000 to 1,545,000 died, of which 736,000 were military deaths. As for South Korea, it is estimated that 778,000 people died, of which at least 373,500 were civilians.
In addition, the participation of foreign troops, especially the United States and its allies (United Nations Organization) and the Soviet Union with the support of the People's Republic of China, added the death of military personnel of different nationalities.
US casualties total 54,000 dead, as well as 180,000 Chinese soldiers killed.
On the other hand, it is estimated that there were 680,000 missing by North Korea, in addition to starvation deaths, which affected the entire peninsula.
In 1951 between 50,000 and 90,000 South Korean National Defense Corps soldiers died starving as they marched south under the Chinese offensive.
2- State of permanent tension
The end of the Korean War was marked on July 27, 1953 under the signing of the Korean armistice agreement, which was signed by the United States and North Korea, which ended all hostilities and acts Of armed forces in Korea.
The signing of the armistice also established the Korean Demilitarized Zone (ZDC), which protects the established territorial boundary between the two nations.
However, the armistice, even though it represents the symbolic end of the Korean War, does not represent the official end of it, because the armistice states that it will be in force until a definitive peace agreement is reached.
However, although in theory the armistice was a treaty to neutralize the war, instead of officially ending it, this agreement has been taken as such.
That means that, to this day, there are no armed conflicts between the two nations of the Korean peninsula. Even so, it is not a few times that a state of tension between neighbors has been maintained.
The North Korean government accuses the United States as the cause of the Korean War and claims to want the unification of a single Korea, but following the ideals of the nation of the North.
In this way, North Korea has tried to withdraw the armistice, without any official response from the United States, at the risk of a nuclear attack by the North Korean nation.
3- Economic disparity between Koreas
South Korea, example of leading country and the economic vanguard
After the signing of the armistice agreement between the United States and North Korea, the Korean peninsula was officially divided between two sovereign nations, South Korea and North Korea, both separated by the Korea Demilitarized Zone, located along Of the 38th parallel.
Since then, both nations have suffered considerable economic differences. By 1957, South Korea had a lower Gross Domestic Product than Ghana, but by 2010 its GDP was ranked thirteenth in the world, while Ghana is ranked 86 , by comparing.
In contrast to the enormous economic growth experienced by South Korea, the people of North Korea have suffered from economic injustices on the part of the government. There is a huge inequality between citizens and people close to the ruling party.
4- Social disparity between Koreas
North Korea has probably become the most hermetic nation in the world, in which foreign influence and globalization is almost non-existent and the chances of leaving the nation for the North Koreans in a legal way is impossible.
South Korea has been a case in stark contrast to that of its northern neighbor of the peninsula, becoming a world-class technological benchmark, with a globalized society and a growing popular culture followed and admired by other nations of the world, including nations Western countries.
Visits to North Korea, both for journalists and tourists, are highly restricted. The visitor should always follow his guides and visit the places designated by them exclusively.
North Korean citizens paying homage to the statues of leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il
In these visits, the interaction with natives is scarce, in addition to questioning the naturalness with which they act towards an outsider.
5 - It marked the tone of the Cold War
The two superpowers of the world during the era, the United States and the Soviet Union, were in a latent state of tension.
Thus, the Korean War represented a form of battle in which both powers engaged indirect clashes, with the so-called proxy wars.
In these wars, the conflicting powers subsidized wars in third countries, which were divided between different political and economic ideals between two sectors of the nation at war.
References
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- Rhee Syng-man. (2016, February 20). Retrieved from simple.wikipedia.org.
- Kim Il-sung. (2017, May 28). Recovered from es.wikipedia.org.
- Korean Armistice Agreement. (2017, June 25). Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org.
- Korean War 1950-1953. (2017, May 03). Retrieved from britannica.com.
- Causes of the Korean War. In Just Remember the Past. Retrieved from justrememberthepast.com.