Korean War

Question 1

After WWII, who occupied North Korea?

Answer 1

The Soviets

Question 2

After WWII, who occupied South Korea?

Answer 2

The USA

Question 3

In 1948, what happened to Korea?

Answer 3

It was divided in half

Question 4

Where was Korea divided?

Answer 4

At the 38th Parallel

Question 5

Who ruled North Korea?

Answer 5

Kim Il-Sung (Grandfather of Kim Jong-Il)

Question 6

Who ruled South Korea?

Answer 6

Syngman Rhee

Question 7

When did Soviet troops withdraw from North Korea?

Answer 7

1948

Question 8

When did US troops withdraw from South Korea?

Answer 8

1949

Question 9

Which country had turned Communist in 1949?

Answer 9

China

Question 10

What did neither North or South Korea accept in 1949?

Answer 10

That the border between them was permanent

Question 11

What was Syngman Rhee like as a leader?

Answer 11

Not very democratic BUT anti-Communist, which was enough for US support

Question 12

What was North Korea like under Kim Il-Sung?

Answer 12

A one-party state, similar to the Soviet Union, with limited freedoms

Question 13

Where had Kim Il-Sung trained to be a leader?

Answer 13

In the Soviet Union

Question 14

What existed between the North and South?

Answer 14

Bitter hostility

Question 15

When was the Korean War?

Answer 15

1950-53

Question 16

When did the Korean War begin?

Answer 16

June 1950

Question 17

How did the Korean War begin?

Answer 17

North Korea invaded South Korea

Question 18

By early September, where did North Korean troops control?

Answer 18

All of Korea except for Pusan (south east corner)

Question 19

Why was Truman worried about South Korea falling to Communist?

Answer 19

He feared the domino effect. He worried if one country fell to communism, others would too

Question 20

What did South Korea do as a result of the invasion?

Answer 20

Appealed to the UN for support

Question 21

How many North Korean troops invaded South Korea?

Answer 21

75,000

Question 22

What did the USA do when South Korea appealed for help?

Answer 22

1) Initially, called on the North Korean forces to withdraw

2) When this was ignored, it pushed through a resolution to send a UN army to Korea

Question 23

What was the ‘domino effect’?

Answer 23

The idea that communism could spread from one country to the next, like a row of dominoes

Question 24

Why did the USSR not veto the United States’ resolution?

Answer 24

It was absent because it was boycotting the UN

Question 25

Why was the USSR boycotting the UN

Answer 25

Because the UN was refusing to allow Communist China to join

Question 26

What did the UN Resolution provide for?

Answer 26

It gave approval for a UN army to support South Korea

Question 27

How many different nations provided troops for the UN army?

Answer 27

16

Question 28

Who provided most of the troops for the UN Army?

Answer 28

The USA

Question 29

Roughly what percentage of the UN Army was made up of US troops?

Answer 29

More than 80%

Question 30

Who was put in charge of the UN Army?

Answer 30

Douglas MacArthur

Question 31

What did the UN launch at Inchon on 15 September 1950?

Answer 31

An amphibious (by water and land) assault at Inchon

Question 32

Where did the UN launch its amphibious assault?

Answer 32

Inchon

Question 33

By September 1950, what had the UN gained control of?

Answer 33

All of South Korea

Question 34

Where did MacArthur push onto after regaining control of South Korea?

Answer 34

North Korea - all the way up to the Yalu River

Question 35

What does the Yalu River mark?

Answer 35

The border between North Korea and China

Question 36

Why did China provide support to North Korea

Answer 36

1) It did not want to be invaded 2) China was also communist

Question 37

How many troops did China provide to support the North Koreans?

Answer 37

200,000

Question 38

What were the Chinese troops known as?

Answer 38

The People’s Army

Question 39

The Chinese troops (the People’s Army) used modern tanks and planes. Where had they got them from?

Answer 39

The Soviet Union

Question 40

What had the Chinese troops (the People’s Army) received from the Soviet Union

Answer 40

Modern tanks and planes

Question 41

Where were the UN forces pushed back to by the North Koreans and Chinese forces?

Answer 41

The 38th Parallel

Question 42

By 1951, what did MacArthur start pushing for?

Answer 42

1) To invade China 2) To use nuclear weapons if necessary

Question 43

Who did MacArthur fall out with in 1951?

Answer 43

Truman - who told him he could not attack China

Question 44

Why did Truman not want MacArthur to attack China?

Answer 44

It might start a bigger war with the USSR getting involved (who now had nuclear weapons)

Question 45

What did Truman do in April 1951?

Answer 45

He sacked MacArthur

Question 46

What did general Omar Bradley say about MacArthur’s strategy?

Answer 46

It would have “involved America in the wrong war, in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and with the wrong enemy”

Question 47

When did peace talks between the North and South begin?

Answer 47

1951

Question 48

When was an armistice (ceasefire) finally signed?

Answer 48

July 1953

Question 49

Why did it take so long for the two sides to agree?

Answer 49

Partly because Mao, the leader of China, wanted to win the favour of Stalin by killing as many Americans as possible. He called the war ‘the meat grinder’.

Question 50

Who died in 1953?

Answer 50

Stalin

Question 51

What was significant about Stalin’s death?

Answer 51

It made the North Koreans and Chinese less confident

Question 52

In what ways was Korea a success for containment?

Answer 52

The Communism North Koreans were, ultimately, contained. South Korea to this day remains a capitalism country

Question 53

In what ways was Korea a failure for the USA?

Answer 53

- It cost a huge number of American lives (30,000 troops - more fatalities per year than the Vietnam War per year) - It showed the disagreements between US leaders: some wanted to ‘roll back’ (push back) Communism; others wanted to contain it.

Question 54

Why was it so important for Truman to use the UN?

Answer 54

So he could say it was a UN sponsored invasion - and the USA was not just acting alone. (This made it seem more democratic and legitimate.)

Question 55

What UN Security Council Resolution 82?

Answer 55

The first resolution (decision) issued by the UN in 1950, calling on the North to withdraw from South Korea

Question 56

What was UN Security Council Resolution 83?

Answer 56

After the first resolution (82) was ignored by North Korea, Resolution 83 allowed the UN to provide military ‘assistance’ to South Korea - i.e. send troops

Question 57

Why did Truman have a lot of influence over the UN?

Answer 57

The USA was the biggest contributor to the UN budget - giving Truman significant influence over it