70th anniversary of the Korean War
On July 27, 70 years will have passed since an armistice was signed in Korea, bringing an end to fighting on the peninsula. On this historic anniversary, Clarified reflects on why the war started, why it is known as the "forgotten war" and the way in which it has shaped the world ever since.
On July 27, 70 years will have passed since an armistice was signed in Korea, bringing an end to fighting on the peninsula. On this historic anniversary, Clarified reflects on why the war started, why it is known as the "forgotten war" and the way in which it has shaped the world ever since.
On July 27, 70 years will have passed since an armistice was signed in Korea, bringing an end to fighting on the peninsula. On this historic anniversary, Clarified reflects on why the war started, why it is known as the "forgotten war" and the way in which it has shaped the world ever since.
July 27, 2023, marked the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, often referred to as the “forgotten war." To mark this milestone, we remember the war, its veterans and its outcome.
The war began only five years after the end of WWII. Korea was initially a Japanese colony, but was surrendered to the Allied Powers after Japan’s defeat. The Soviets and Americans divided the peninsula into two halves at the 38th parallel. North of the parallel was the communist Soviet-backed North Korea, and to the south was the American-run South Korea.
In June of 1950, the North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung launched an invasion of South Korea, attempting to reunify the peninsula. The army pushed South and almost ran the South Koreans off the land. However, in September, troops from the United Nations, many of whom were American, launched an Amphibious attack at Inchon and fought hard against the North Koreans. They managed to push the North Korean army back past the parallel and all the way up to the Chinese border. The balance of power shifted again when the Chinese got involved in the war in October 1950, not wanting a U.S. ally on its doorstep. The Chinese army, as well as bitterly cold conditions, pummeled the U.S. troops, South Koreans and UN soldiers, pushing them once again back under the 38th parallel.
From then on, the war became a stalemate, with both sides fighting around the parallel, but neither making major gains. On July 27, 2023, an armistice was signed, which stopped the fighting. One of the conditions of the ceasefire agreement was the establishment of a demilitarized zone. The DMZ stretches 160 miles across the Korean peninsula and is roughly in the same location as the 38th parallel. It marks the border between the two nations to this day.
By the time the fighting ended, almost five million people had died, with almost half being civilians. Around 40,000 Americans died in action and 100,000 were wounded.
Although the fighting has ended, the war is still technically alive, with no formal end. Catch part 2 of this episode of Clarified to understand why it was called the forgotten war and how its consequences affect global politics to this day.