Download DBQ: Korean War Objective: Compare accounts of the Korean War

DBQ: Korean War
Objective: Compare accounts of the Korean War from the text books of five nations.
Instructions: Read the documents, fill in the chart and answer the questions on the worksheet.
Document 1: Chinese Textbook, p. 88
Resist U.S. Aggression, Aid Korea, Defend the Homeland and Guard the Country
Internal: the events that happen inside a country
New China (Communist China) had to face aggressive external threats soon
after its establishment. In the summer of 1950, civil war broke out in Korea.
America immediately used force to intervene in the internal affairs of Korea.
After the outbreak of the Korean civil war, America manipulated the United
Nations Security Council into passing a resolution to intervene in the internal
affairs of Korea and create an invasion army composed of troops from various
countries whipped together by America, and America’s own troops.
Soon, a “United Nations force,” which was mainly composed of American
troops, invaded Korea. At the same time, the American Seventh Fleet
entered the Taiwan Strait to intervene in China’s internal politics. The
situation in Korea was critical, and severely threatened China’s security.
In the name of a “United Nation’s army,” America expanded the war of
aggression. The American government ignored the Chinese government’s
solemn and just warning. In September, American troops landed on Incheon,
directly approaching the northern part of the Korean peninsula. They went
across “the 38th parallel” and burned the flames of war all the way to the
Chinese border. The American air force also intruded into Chinese airspace and bombed the border area in northeastern
China.
Mao Zedong pointed out: “All over the world, every country’s internal affairs should be managed by its own people.
Asian affairs should be managed by Asian people, not by Americans. America’s invasion of Asia will only cause wide and
determined resistance among Asian people.”
Document 2: Japanese Textbook
“The Korean War and Japanese Society”, p. 367-368
On the Korean Peninsula, where the U.S. and Soviet armies were stationed in August 1945 due to the disarmament of
the Japanese military, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) in the north with Kim Il-Sung (1912–94)
as Prime Minister and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) in the south with Syngman Rhee (1875–1965) as President
were established in 1948 separated by the 38th parallel. Tensions rose in Korea in conjunction with the escalation of the
Cold War, and the Korean War began in June 1950 when the North Korean Army broke through the 38th parallel and
invaded Korea.
The United Nations Security Council, with the Soviet Union absent, designated North Korea as the aggressor, and a UN
Security Force led by the U.S. military in Japan was dispatched [to Korea]. The South Korean forces retreated for a time
to the area around Pusan. Soon, though, the counteroffensive of the UN Security Force began with the landing at
Incheon in September. South Korean forces now advanced on the North Korean Army and moved north close to the
Chinese border.
Because the Soviet Union provided North Korea with materials assistance and China dispatched a massive force of the
People’s Liberation Army as a volunteer corps in October, the battlefront crossed the 38th parallel again in December
and moved south. The war later came to a deadlock near the 38th parallel with the Security Force’s counterattack. The
Korean War was a scene for an all-out conflict between the socialist (communist) and liberal (democratic) groups.
Document 3: Korean Textbook
“The Korean War”, p. 125
The Syngman Rhee administration had to face various difficulties including the left-wing (communist) guerilla activities,
unemployment, and soaring prices. Moreover, international conditions were unfavorable due to the withdrawal of the
U.S. army and the declaration of Secretary of State Dean Acheson which excluded Korea from the Pacific Defense Line.
North Korea carried out its invasion of the South on the dawn of June 25, 1950 with the support of the Soviet Union and
China. The UN convoked (called together) the UN Security Council (to meet) and prescribed the invasion as an
aggression. Sixteen countries, led by the U.S., dispatched (sent off) the UN Forces to South Korea.
Thanks to the successful amphibious landing at Incheon, the UN forces and Korean army reclaimed Seoul and continued
to march up to the Yalu River. But the war situation turned around as the Chinese army intervened and it came to a
standstill at the truce line. A truce conference progressed among UN Forces, the DPRK (N. Korea) army, and the Chinese
army, and an armistice agreement was reached on July 27, 1953.
Because the Korean War continued on for three years, it seriously damaged the country. There were millions of
casualties, war orphans, and separated families. The whole nation was laid to waste and most of the industrial facilities
were destroyed. Furthermore, disbelief and hostility accompanied the division of the Korean peninsula.
Document 4: Taiwanese Textbook, p. 157
In June of the 39th year [1950], the Korean War broke out. The United Nations, which was headed by the United States
at that time, led armies to support South Korea. Communist China organized voluntary troops instead and supported
North Korea. Three years before and after the War, battles and negotiations went on simultaneously. Communist China
possessed inferior military equipment and material resources. Nevertheless, it created a stalemate with the United
Nations Army. Behind China’s resilience is the spiritual ammunition that comes from nationalism.
Syngman Rhee, President, South Korea
Kim Il-Sung, President, North Korea
Document 5: U.S. Textbook
The Korean Volcano Erupts (1950)
Korea, the Land of the Morning Calm, heralded a new and more disturbing phase of the Cold War—a shooting phase—in
June 1950. When Japan collapsed in 1945, Soviet troops had accepted the Japanese surrender north of the thirty-eighth
parallel on the Korean peninsula, and American troops had done the same with troops south of that line. Both
superpowers declared to want the reunification of Korea, but, as in Germany, each helped to set up rival regimes above
and below the 38th parallel.
By 1949, when the Soviets and Americans had both withdrawn their forces, the entire peninsula was a bristling armed
camp, with two hostile regimes eyeing each other suspiciously. The explosion
came on June 25, 1950.
Spearheaded by Soviet-made tanks, North Korean army columns rumbled
across the 38th parallel. The South Korean forces were shoved back
southward to a dangerously tiny defensive area around Pusan, their weary
backs to the sea. President Truman sprang quickly into the breach. The
invasion seemed to provide devastating proof of the “containment doctrine”
that shaped Washington’s foreign policy: that even a slight relaxation of
America’s guard was an invitation to communist aggression somewhere.
Truman took full advantage of a temporary Soviet absence from the United
Nations Security Council on June 25, 1950, to obtain a unanimous
condemnation of North Korea as an aggressor. (Why the Soviets were absent
remains controversial. Scholars once believed that the Soviets were just as
surprised as the Americans by the attack. It now appears that Stalin had given
his reluctant approval to North Korea’s strike plan, but believed that the
fighting would be brief and that the United States would take little interest in
it.)
The Security Council also called upon all UN members, including the United States, to “render every assistance” to
restore peace. Two days later, without consulting Congress, Truman ordered American air and naval units to support
South Korea. Before the week was out, he also ordered General Douglas MacArthur’s Japan-based occupation troops
into action alongside the beleaguered (struggling) South Koreans.
Officially, the United States was simply
participating in a United Nations
“police action.” But, in fact, the United
States made up the overwhelming
bulk of the UN contingents, and
General MacArthur, appointed UN
commander of the entire operation,
took his orders from Washington, not
from the Security Council.