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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.