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Personally, I am mystified that it is not front and center in history curriculums around the world.
I did not formally study the Korean War until I got to college in the late 90's--- and even then, it wasn't until my second year as a History MAJOR.
I remember there being enough time to get from Columbus to the end of the Civil War in a standard schoolyear, and that's pretty much where primary schools left off. Not until I reached high school, did I have a textbook with curriculum on anything past the 1860's.
I see this claim made periodically and it's silly. It's silly because war is not defined by some legal proclamation. Were that so, then we would all have to agree that the Korean War never happened because there were no formal declarations of war.
Does anyone believe that what happened from 1950 to 1953 on the Korean peninsula wasn't a war? Of course it was, regardless of legal declarations of the belligerents (or the lack thereof). And does anyone believe that today we are engaged in war on the Korean peninsula? Of course we aren't, and the absence of some document stating as much is irrelevant to that fact.
There is no war but there is no peace either. You know where is at peace? North and South Vietnam. Why? Because they won the war. Finished. Done. N/S Korea is what you get with negotiations. Endless misery. We should have finished them off and saved the world 60 years of trouble. Few know this but we at one time occupied Pyongyang. Think about it. The US Army was marching in N. Korean capital. Why give it up?
Well caught! I've been north of the 38th on the west side of the peninsula, involved in what the USN calls "freedom of navigation" exercises. Just one bitty boat sailing around daring the NK to enforce their "Mare Nostrum" edict.
Well, we did have a carrier battle group handy, but that's no big deal, is it?
There is no war but there is no peace either. You know where is at peace? North and South Vietnam. Why? Because they won the war. Finished. Done. N/S Korea is what you get with negotiations. Endless misery. We should have finished them off and saved the world 60 years of trouble. Few know this but we at one time occupied Pyongyang. Think about it. The US Army was marching in N. Korean capital. Why give it up?
A little matter of China also having a say and being more willing to expend soldiers to prevent an annual UN through Pyongyang then we were to capture a territory we didn't care about. The pre war status quo would get President Eisenhower a second term continued losses on something we didn't care about perhaps next Ted Williams fights harder to refuse his reserve call up and Elvis refuses induction like Muhammad Ali did when President Johnson was forced from office.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Grandstander
World War II was a tough act to follow. The Korean War falls into the same category as The War of 1812 which followed the more glamorous Revolutionary War, and both suffer from the same shortcomings with regard to fame.
Revolution & WWI II..both perceived as righteous causes, both result in unambiguous triumphs.
War of 1812 & Korea...causes are not popularly supported by large segments of Americans, both ended status quo ante bellum without a victory to celebrate. Irresolution doesn't sell at the box office.
No doubt I missed other good quotes, but this one sums it all up. Korea didn't lead to a fundamental realignment of world powers as WW2 did. Nor did it contribute to massive social change (not to mention overthrow of tradition) like Vietnam did. In fact, the social climate of the 1950s remained every bit as conservative as during the late 1940s (yes, there was the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement, but the Korean War had no effect on it - or at least none to speak of).
In later decades, the 1991 Persian Gulf War seems destined to be similarly remembered - a forgotten war for similar reasons (though admittedly at a much smaller scale than Korea and Vietnam, it involved the most troops since Vietnam).
The irony of Korea being a "forgotten war" is that it is technically still going on. We are still in a state of war with North Korea. Korea is in its 7th decade as one of the world's flashpoints.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unsettomati
I see this claim made periodically and it's silly. It's silly because war is not defined by some legal proclamation. Were that so, then we would all have to agree that the Korean War never happened because there were no formal declarations of war.
Does anyone believe that what happened from 1950 to 1953 on the Korean peninsula wasn't a war? Of course it was, regardless of legal declarations of the belligerents (or the lack thereof). And does anyone believe that today we are engaged in war on the Korean peninsula? Of course we aren't, and the absence of some document stating as much is irrelevant to that fact.
Unsettomati, you are missing the point here. This is not about technicalities of terms, declaration, proclamation, etc. Yes, the war is over in a sense that there has been a no steady flow of casualties from the war since September 1953. Moreover, all things considered, there is near zero chances of the war resuming in one of the most well-developed, sophisticated, civilized AND highly populated areas on earth, despite all the "lip services" from the warmonger in NK. No matter how crazy he (his father and grandpa alike) is, he is not that crazy to hurt himself. He know the moment he attacks the south, he will be blown away with a 10 times stronger strike. So, is that why you call it "silly" to consider it a war?
It doesn't matter whether people call it a state of war or mock people calling it so. What matters is that the conflict has not resolved and the hostility remains, even if that's lip-services only. Because of that, in a sense, general people haven't still figured out what to make out of this, other than listening to veterans personal accounts.
Yes, WWII was a huge victory. Resolved. People made up their mind however way from it. The war has ended far a long time ago, but there are many many stories still being regurgitated--interesting geopolitical factors around that time, personal stories, fun facts, sad facts, etc, ALL with a tag "RESOLVED." So we have so many books, articles, movies, documentaries, TV series, etc.
Vietnam war is different? Perhaps. It was not a victory. The American pride got a blow. The whole thing was so ugly. Americans felt pain. Big one. However, throughout the twist of recent world history, things magically turned around relatively quickly and somehow the US and Vietnam are not enemy to each other. So, it's a "done deal." it's not resolved by the "American power," still it is done. So, accordingly, many many stories, analyses and research follow.
What I'm trying to say is, as for WWII and Vietnam war, people have grown up and graduated from being the direct impact and not knowing what to take, and now they can enjoy watching/listening/reading further stories about it without any geopolitical and sociopolitical danger. No German people will be offended by movies depicting Nazi German an evil. No Vietnamese will be offended by movies depicting Viet Kong an American killer. As a world citizen, we can all enjoy.
But the situation in the Korean peninsula is far from it. Particularly, NK is not alone. They are backed by China, which is another huge hurdle to make any progress.
I don't think Korean War is a forgotten war. It's something people have been procrastinating to do anything because we don't know what to do with it. Some day, if it is "wrapped up," then people will try to make sense out of it.
You have no idea how many persons think M*A*S*H (both television series and film) are set in WWII rather than the Korean war. And yes there were plenty of shows on television featuring cast members who served in Korea. The M*A*S*H series was one of them including a head nurse nicknamed "Sarge".
Even though the movie and TV show "M.A.S.H" was set in the Korean War time period, it was actually about the Vietnam War, but at the time considered taboo to criticize the war effort.
As noted before there's been a lot of movies, a popular television series and many scholarly books and articles about Korea. As a kid growing up in the 50's it was a staple of comic books of the era. In the end it was really the first of a series of non declared wars that killed a lot of Americans and despite their sacrifice had no clear victory.
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