The Korean War, 1950-1953 (AQA GCSE History) : Revision Note
How did Korean War impact Cold War tensions? - Summary
After the Second World War, Korea was divided into a communist north (supported by the USSR and China) and a capitalist south (supported by the USA and the UN). When North Korea invaded the South in 1950, the USA believed that the USSR was attempting to spread communism. The USA and its allies followed the policy of Containment to stop South Korea from becoming communist, despite South Koreans' wishes. This turned Korea into a proxy war, where both superpowers backed different sides without directly fighting each other.
The Korean War increased Cold War tensions because it showed that both sides were willing to use military force to protect their beliefs and influence. It led the USA to increase military spending, strengthen alliances like NATO, and start rearming West Germany and Japan. It also worsened relations with China, which supported North Korea.
The Korean War showed that the Cold War was now truly global, and both sides became more suspicious and aggressive as a result.
Causes for the Korean War
In 1905, Japan owned Korea
In 1945, Japan surrendered to the Allies, ending the Second World War
Soviet troops were in the north of Korea
US troops were in the south of Korea
The terms of Japan’s surrender included the division of Korea
The Allies split Korea into two territories along the 38th Parallel
This divided Korea into two equal-sized zones
Historians believe that Korea was divided to prevent the USSR from taking the whole of Korea
The USSR monitored North Korea
The USA oversaw South Korea
Leaders of Korea
Both the USA and the USSR chose leaders for their sections of Korea
In April 1950, many South Koreans voted in favour of the reunification of Korea
Rhee was an unpopular leader
Many Koreans wanted to reunite their country under the Communist Kim Il Sung
In June 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea
North Korea had the support of the USSR and China
Both countries sent financial and military aid
North Korea’s army was more powerful than South Korea’s
Why did the USA get involved in the Korean War?
Reason | Why did this cause US intervention in Korea? |
|---|---|
Domino Theory | The USA wanted to stop Korea from falling to communism. They believed that if Korea fell, Japan would be next |
Trade with Japan | Japan was an important market for US exports. The USA wanted to protect Japan’s capitalism |
In 1947, Truman declared that the USA would protect any country in threat of a communist uprising. The US public put pressure on the government to protect South Korea | |
Distrust of the USSR | The USA blamed the USSR for North Korea’s actions. The USSR had acted aggressively in Eastern Europe and blockaded Berlin |
Belief in victory | The US government believed that China would not react if they sent troops to Korea. They hoped that they could persuade the UN to provide military support to South Korea |
The UN's involvement in the Korean War
The USA persuaded the UN to intervene in the Korean War because:
Truman placed pressure on the UN Security Council
The USA contributed the most money to the UN budget of any other country
It could threaten to lower their contribution if the UN did not support South Korea
The USSR boycotted the UN in January 1950
The USSR demanded representatives of the Communist People’s Republic of China be on the UN Security Council. The UN refused
The boycott meant that the USSR could not veto action against North Korea
The UN agreed to send troops to stop North Korea’s invasion
In total 18 member states provided troops
The USA sent the most troops under the command of General MacArthur. MacArthur was:
the commander of US troops in Japan in the Second World War
essentially in control of Japan from 1945 to 1951
UN forces landed in Inchon in September 1950
The events of the Korean War
Worked Example
How useful are Sources B and C to a historian studying the causes of the Korean War?
[12 marks]
Source B: A cartoon by British cartoonist David Lowe on 28th June 1950. Stalin is saying, “Honest mister, there’s no one here but us Koreans.” The writing on the piece of paper on the left reads, ‘Next step to shove America out of Pacific’.
Source C: A speech by Adlai Stevenson, an American lawyer and journalist, on 27th September, 1952. The 'General' he is referring to is Dwight Eisenhower, the president of the USA at the time of the Korean War.
"We are fighting in Korea, the General declares, because the American Government grossly underestimated the Soviet threat; because the Government allowed America to become weak; because American weakness compelled us to withdraw our forces from Korea; because we abandoned China to the communists; and, finally, because we announced to all the world that we had written off most of the Far East."
Answer:
Source B is relatively useful to a historian studying the causes of the Korean War because it shows how the West believed the USSR was secretly involved. The cartoon shows Stalin pretending that there are “only Koreans” involved in the war, while hiding behind a tank with a letter that says “Next step to shove America out of Pacific.” This suggests that the USSR was using North Korea to expand Communism and challenge the USA without getting directly involved. By 1950, the USA believed in the domino theory, and this cartoon reflects the fear that the USSR was trying to spread Communism across Asia. Therefore, this source is useful to a historian studying the causes of the Korean War because it shows that many people in the West believed the USSR was behind the invasion, even if it wasn’t officially at war.
Source C is very useful to a historian studying the causes of the Korean War because it outlines how the USA understood its own role in the conflict. The source is from a speech by Adlai Stevenson in 1952, and he argues that the USA failed to take the Soviet threat seriously and became too weak. He blames the USA for withdrawing from Korea, “abandoning China to the communists,” and not standing up to the USSR in time. This source is especially useful because it shows that some Americans were willing to admit fault, which gives a historian a more balanced view of the causes of the war. Therefore, this source is very useful to a historian because it shows the political debate inside the USA, and how American decisions may have helped cause the conflict.
Although these sources are useful to a historian, they are more useful together because they show two different causes for the Korean War. Source B shows how the USSR was viewed as the main cause of the war, while Source C shows that the USA also took responsibility for giving the USSR the chance to act. This helps a historian understand that the Korean War was not caused by just one country, but by a combination of Soviet ambition and American weakness, which increased Cold War tension in Asia.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
To achieve full marks in this question, you need to make a complex evaluation of the sources together by addressing them in combination or as a pair. The best place to do this is in your conclusion at the end of your answer.
Historical sources are always more useful together as they may show:
a change in perspective over time
how different people viewed an event or person in history
how an event or person affected different people in the same country or place
For further guidance on this question, you can read this revision note on how to answer the 12-mark"How useful" question.
Consequences of the Korean War
The Korean War had several positive and negative consequences for the USA
Positive consequences
The peace treaty kept Korea divided
The USA had ‘protected’ South Korea from Communism
This was a success for Containment
The UN stood up against North Korea’s aggressive actions
This made the UN more successful than the League of Nations had been before the Second World War
Negative consequences
North Korea remained Communist and formed closer ties to China
This shows that following Containment could stop but not push back Communism
The Korean War caused four million casualties and the deaths of 50,000 US soldiers
The USA had underestimated the impact of fighting against Communism
The decision to dismiss MacArthur showed that the US did not want to directly fight the USSR
The US continued to fight the USSR in proxy wars
Tensions increased between the USA and the USSR
Both began a nuclear arms race, creating hydrogen bombs and ICBMs
This threatened world peace
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