The Cold War was a “cold” war in Europe but became a “hot” war in Asia. Korea and Vietnam were front lines of the Cold War.
Basic Knowledge
In 1948, the Korean Peninsula was divided along the 38th parallel into the Republic of Korea (South Korea, Syngman Rhee) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea, Kim Il Sung). On June 25, 1950, North Korea advanced southward, and the Korean War began. The United Nations forces, centered on the U.S. military and commanded by MacArthur, supported the South. The South Korean army, which had been driven back to Busan, recovered through the Incheon Landing Operation (September 1950) and advanced near the Chinese-Korean border. In response, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army entered the war, and the battlefront moved south again. On July 27, 1953, an armistice agreement was concluded at Panmunjom, and an armistice still continues today along the 38th parallel (military demarcation line). Japan gained an opportunity for economic recovery through the Korean War special procurement boom.
1950-53 Korean War (armistice agreement)
1954 Geneva Accords (French withdrawal from Indochina, division of Vietnam into North and South)
1960 National Liberation Front of South Vietnam formed
1965 Bombing of North Vietnam begins (full-scale U.S. intervention in Vietnam)
1968 Tet Offensive (turning point in the war)
1973 Paris Peace Accords (U.S. withdrawal)
April 30, 1975 Fall of Saigon (Northern victory, end of the Vietnam War)
1976 Socialist Republic of Vietnam established
In Depth (Background and Effects)
In 1954, the Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh defeated French forces at Dien Bien Phu and gained independence. Under the Geneva Accords, Vietnam was divided along the 17th parallel into the North (communist, Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and the South (U.S.-supported, Republic of Vietnam). In 1965, U.S. President Johnson began bombing North Vietnam, making the Vietnam War a full-scale conflict. The United States sent up to 540,000 troops, but international criticism of guerrilla warfare in the jungle and the use of napalm and Agent Orange, together with the intensification of the antiwar movement in the United States (hippie culture), made defeat increasingly likely. The Paris Agreement led to U.S. withdrawal in 1973; the war ended with the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, and the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam was established in 1976. About 58,000 U.S. soldiers and more than three million Vietnamese are said to have died.
- Korean War = 1950-53, began with North Korea's advance south
- Korean War armistice = 1953, Panmunjom (still in effect today)
- Vietnamese independence = 1954, Ho Chi Minh (Dien Bien Phu)
- Vietnam War becomes full-scale = 1965, U.S. bombing of North Vietnam
- Fall of Saigon = April 30, 1975
- Korean War special procurement boom = an opportunity for Japan's postwar recovery
- Agent Orange = long-term health effects
Points to Note (Easily Confused)
① Distinguish the Korean War (1950-53, 38th parallel, still under an armistice) from the Vietnam War (1965-75, 17th parallel, unification). ② Distinguish Syngman Rhee of South Korea (first president), Kim Il Sung of North Korea (chairman and grandfather of the current Kim Jong Un), and Ho Chi Minh (North Vietnam). ③ In Vietnam, foreign forces withdrew twice: France in 1954 and the United States in 1973. ④ Napalm (an incendiary weapon) and Agent Orange were different weapons.
Practice
- What was the name of the village where the Korean War armistice agreement was concluded?
- What was the name of the battle that forced the French army to withdraw from Vietnam in 1954?
- On what date did Saigon fall and the Vietnam War end?