The Catalyst Of The Korean War

Submitted By marchammy16
Words: 1643
Pages: 7
Open Document
The Catalyst of the Korean War Tensions between two sides are always high but it takes the first punch, the wrong phrase, an accidental miss fire that could set off a series of events of which the end is never for sure. The Korean War was in the mist of the tension of the Cold War but did the Soviet Union or the United States of America start it? We can point fingers at events prior to the troop movements from the North Korean forces and say that they played an aspect of the breakout of war but we would be incorrect. It was Kim II Sung’s perceptions of the perfect timing for him to go to war with the south that set all major players into action. Kim’s belief were that the leader of South Korea was losing his power, that Stalin would back him, and that his move would strategically be in the best interests of the communist bloc headed by Stalin. To Kim it was a win-win situation politically as a nationalist movement and militarily. It was a civil war and the two main leaders on opposite sides of each other were Syngman Rhee and Kim II Sung. Syngman Rhee was the leader for the South Korean government and he spend a large portion of his life in the United States. Rhee was imprisoned after the Government over Korea destroyed a club that supported Korean independence and later traveled to the United States upon his release in 1910. He attended and gained his PhD from Princeton and returned to Korea. After a few short years Rhee traveled back to the United States in fear that his opposition to Japanese rule would continue to be an endanger to him. While he was in the United States he became the president for the provisional government of Korea and was a spokesman for Korean Independence. He held this position in the United States for 20 years until a Chinese based set of Koreans took over the position. After WWII, the United States implanted Rhee back into Korea to gather up national support for the provisional government to come. Once Rhee was in power he used strong arm tactics and created a police state for his political purposes. Rhee was not above using assassinations to remain in power. He became a dictator (Jessup 626).
On the other side, Kim II Sung was a military Capitan and he understood the structure needed for a well trained army. He was conditioned by the Soviet Union and instilled the idea of a unified Korea. He also never believed that Korea could be unified peacefully (Goncharov 142). Kim II Sung noticed when United States President Truman pulled U.S. troops out of the Korea due to the increasingly strong arm tactics by Rhee. Kim also saw an opening within the military forces of power in Korea when the Soviet troop movement out of Korea created a vacuum. With the help of Soviet advisors Kim now could create his war machine in push it into motion.
Politically, Kim also saw that Rhee was losing much support due to Rhee’s style of governing. During Rhee’s clamp down on opponents he ended up loosing control of the legislature. Rhee’s tactics were not working and Kim saw this. What Kim perceived was that on the Korea peninsula there were two political ideologies with two leaders. One of them is weak and one of them is strong and that Korea was up for grabs (LaFeber 108).
Kim II Sung knew that he was supposed to rally the country over a nationalist movement. Because of his ties to Mao he knew that he would have to distance himself from Mao. His plan was to move closer to the Soviet military. As stated, they would help train the army and instill discipline. Additionally, Kim met with Stalin seeking supplies from the communist leader. Stalin kept his distance but agreed to supply the means for Kim’s armies to win. Kim made sure that his plan would be agreeable to Stalin (LaFeber 109).
Finally, Kim felt that the strategy that he chose would help Stalin by creating a unified Korea in which could off set the western militarized Japan. Korea would be the counter to the “little’ Marshal plan for Asia.” This would
Show More

Related Documents: The Catalyst Of The Korean War

The Cold War: The Impact Of The Cold War

The Impact of the Cold War Can you imagine a war that lasted nearly 50 years and was the cause for many developments in military and technology, but contained no fighting or battles? That war is the Cold War. The Cold War was a conflict between the world’s two superpowers at the time that was a power struggle between them and resulted in many technological advancements and a major arms race, though it never reached a point of actual armed combat. It began after the end of World War II, in 1945, as…

Words 991 - Pages 4

The Vietnam War: The Cold War

The Cold War is a term which describes the relationship between the two Superpowers of the world after World War II, the United States (supported by its democratic-Western allies) and the Soviet Union. It marked the end of the relations of the two alliance nations due to conflicts of national interests. The Cold War was not a typical kind of war that involve direct bombing or fighting, but there was a huge armistice race between two countries. Furthermore, it was a war of ideological discord. The…

Words 1111 - Pages 5

Containment In The Cold War

The years leading to the Cold War and the time during the Cold War was a great era of espionage, secrets, and propaganda. During this time there was a great deal of distrust and fear in the minds of Americans. The Americans distrusted some parts of our government and any commie. The Americans feared nuclear fallout or a nuclear war. The Cold War was a fight to stop the spread of communism in the world. The Communistic society is basically the opposite of a capitalist society so, the foreign affairs…

Words 1599 - Pages 7

The Cold War Essay

The Cold War is a major part of not only US and Russian history, but it had an effect on many parts of Europe and North America. The Cold War was a long period of tension between the democracies of the Western World and the communist countries of Eastern Europe. The west was led by the United States and Eastern Europe was led by the Soviet Union. These two countries became known as superpowers. Although the two superpowers never officially declared war on each other, they fought indirectly in proxy…

Words 1580 - Pages 7

Cold War Effects

Samaroo Mr. Venier CHC2D1-05 6 June 2014 The Effects of the Cold War on Canada Since the beginning of time, humans have thrived through their own wars. Whether they be internal, personal, or worldwide, they have all undergone the struggle, fight, and passion of war. Yet, in the late 1940s, “war” changed forever. In the post World War II era from 1946 to 1991, a universal conflict arose between two of the worlds leading superpowers, the communist…

Words 2634 - Pages 11

The Cold War Essay

The Cold War The cold war was a war that sparked controversies between nations. The causes of the cold war was, of course, a major part of the outcomes of the war. Also, the turning points of the war was very important. Finally, Canada during the cold war was very important to not only our country but a contribution to the war itself. The cold war frightened many Canadians and people all over the world of certain devastation itself. The causes of the cold war were possibly the most important parts of the war…

Words 1113 - Pages 5

Cold War Essay

Exam 11-24-12 World Civilization II The Cold War dated from 1945-1991. The Cold War was the result of political and military tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War got its name because both the United States and the Soviet Union both had access to nuclear weapons, and threatened to use them on one another. In 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed ending the Cold War. As far as the world being more safe now that the Cold War is over, no I do not think that is factual.…

Words 314 - Pages 2

Essay On The Cold War

The Cold War was a sustained state of political and military tension between the superpowers of the United States of America and its allies on one side, and the Soviet Union and its satellite states on the other [1]. Politically, Australia would undergo a dramatic shift in policy with reference to how the government dealt with individual movements, as well as trying to avoid disentangling civil and political affairs with the obvious added pressures of the Cold War [2]. Publicly it became evident…

Words 2530 - Pages 11

Essay on the cold war

The Cold War In 1945, the main reason for the start of the cold war was the alliance between America and USSR. It’s was called the Cold War because of how there was no active war between them, their fear of nuclear escalation kept them apart. USSR wanted to prevent Germany’s invasion by spreading communism through Eastern Europe. America didn’t agree so much with the idea of communism because they followed democracy. America had begun using their atomic weapons and the Soviets feared it…

Words 645 - Pages 3

The Cold War Essay

The topic of the Cold War parallels with one ideal, the ideal of Communism. The threat of Communism in our country and our allies dominated the United States’ mindset throughout the mid to late 20th century. It seemed as though war and hardship had a way of following the United States. The people of the United States looked to one person, the president, to pave the road through this time period and find a final solution for peace. The decades of the Cold War are marked by three presidents who…

Words 1467 - Pages 6