It's known as "The Forgotten War", but all Americans should learn about it and remember it ... and that's where you can help. You have been asked to develop a "Korea 9 3 2 1" webpage to cover the basic information everyone should know about the Korean War - all on one page. Your page should include ...

9 - facts about the causes, events, and impact of the Korean War (look at my examples below)
3 - photos that help tell the story of the war, with descriptive captions
2 - maps that help to explain the war.
1 - quote that is essential to understanding the war, with authors and context

9 - Come up with 9 great facts that everyone should know about "The Forgotten War", using the examples below as guides. I will have my own list that will use to compare to yours - hopefully you will ge most of the facts on my list!
  • A non example ... I like cheese.
  • A bad example ... There was a war in Korea in the 1950s.
  • A good example ... The Korean War began in July of 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea.
  • A better example ... The 3 year long Korean War began in 1950 when communist North Korea invaded democratic and US supported South Korea, pulling the
United Nations into a peacekeeping effort in Asia. (ooooh, that's good - so good)

1. (Origins of the war) In September 1949, the Communists defeated the anticommunists in China. The fact that the Nationalists were defeated and the country with the largest population in the world was taken over by communism really shocked, and not to mention, really scared Americans.

2. Korea had been a colony in Japan since the end of WWII and was currently occupied by the USSR at the 38th parallel (line of latitude) The US governed South Korea, and now the communists had control of the North.

3. In June, 1950, North Korean troops crossed the 38th parallel and what was to come after this was to be known as the Korean War.

4. The US appealed the United Nations and to stop the spread of Communism and we invaded Korea. 16 different nations provided soldiers, but most of the soldiers were from the US, and we did most of the fighting. General MacArthur was the commander of the UN forces.

5. At first, North Korea pushed South Korea all the way back to Pusan, then the South pushed the North all the way up to Inchon, a city behind the North Korean's line. This was an extremely dangerous and risky idea, but it worked. North Korean was being squished from both sides, and retreated on the 38th parallel. and started towards Yalu River, the dividing line between North Korea and China. They were warned to stop.

6. UN troops started towards the Yalu River, the dividing line between North Korea and China. They were warned to stop.

7. UN troops ignored the warning and on November 25, 1950, hundreds of thousands of communist Chinese troops crossed the Yalu River, and they drove UN troops back to South Korea. Now the two sides were "deadlocked" across the 38th parallel.

8. MacArthur asked permission to block China's coast and bomb China. Truman refused. Many Americans criticized MacArthur's viciousness, and Truman therefore fired him and brought him back to the US.

9. The war became increasingly unpopular. Truman's term ended and Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected. He promised to end the Korean War quickly. A cease-fire ended the war in July 1953, and the Korea's were left with about the same borders as before. Communism was contained in Korea.

3 - Photos should help tell the story of the war, so find three photos that work ... and provide a descriptive caption, like the one on my example.

Many people think that the Korean War was fought in tropical weather, but the winters in Korea are actually bitter and challenging for the troops.

Picture from National Archives and Records Administration

This is a picture of the Korean War Memorial in Washington DC. It is great in showing how the soldiers were carrying heavy loads along with them everywhere, and also showing the fear in the soldiers' faces.

Many times we are so busy thinking about the many soldiers who died in the war, that we forget about all of the civilians that were killed. This is a picture of many natives who we killed by the North Koreans. Here, they are being identified.

Since the soldiers were so bravely fighting for our country, they were often times received visits from some very famous people. This is a picture of Marilyn Monroe entertaining the troops.

2- What's a war without maps? Insert two maps that help tell the story of the causes, events, and/or impact of the map (with a caption for each)

Here is a great animated map that shows the flow of the war!

This map shows when North Korea invaded and pushed South Korea to Pusan. It also shows when our forces moved north.

1 - You know historical quotes can bring old crusty things to like, so find one decent quote that helps add to the content of the Korean War (and provide some context for the quotes). For example ...

"The attack upon Korea makes it plain beyond all doubt that Communism has passed beyond the use of subversion to conquer independent nations and will now use armed invasion and war." - President Harry S Truman in his speech describing the military involvement of the US in Korea, without a declaration of war from Congress.

"In my generation, this was not the first occasion when the strong had attacked the weak….Communism was acting in Korea just as Hitler, Mussolini, and the Japanese had acted ten, fifteen, and twenty years earlier. I felt certain that if South Korea was allowed to fall, Communist leaders would be emboldened to override nations closer to our own shores." ~President Harry S Truman is talking about how the Red Scare is in America, and countries have been trying to take over other countries lately just because the other is weak and they want more power. We must put an end to this.

Looking for some good resources? Consult ...

795-797 in Creating America
"Democracy vs. Communism - the Korean War" video
Korean War 50th Anniversary
Korean War Project
Truman Museum & Library: The Korean War
Korean War Veterans Memorial Home Page