History UsefulNotes / TheKoreanWar

Another legacy of the Korean War (and one which is less talked about) is that it helped to maintained the divide between communist Mainland China and its rival UsefulNotes/{{Taiwan}}. On 27 June 1950 (two days after war broke out), Truman ordered the US 7th Fleet to protect Taiwan. Before the Korean War, the [=PLA=] had already mobilised forces for an invasion on Taiwan[[note]]Indeed, some of these mobilized forces would see action in Korea.[[/note]], and America was not particularly keen on protecting the KMT forces led by UsefulNotes/ChiangKaiShek. The deployment of the 7th Fleet changed all these: there would never be an invasion of Taiwan and the US has supported Taiwan in various forms ever since.

Another legacy of the Korean War (and one which is less talked about) is that it helped to maintained the divide between communist Mainland China and its rival UsefulNotes/{{Taiwan}}. On 27 June 1950 (two days after war broke out), Truman ordered the US 7th Fleet to protect Taiwan. Before the Korean War, the [=PLA=] had already mobilised forces for an invasion on Taiwan[[note]]Indeed, some of these mobilized forces would see action in Korea.[[/note]], and America is not particularly keen on protecting the KMT forces led by UsefulNotes/ChiangKaiShek. The deployment of the 7th Fleet changed all these: there would never be an invasion of Taiwan and the US has supported Taiwan in various forms ever since.

* ''Film/{{Inchon}}'' (1981) an American-made film funded by Sun Myung Moon. Famously considered one of the worst movies of all time when it originally came out, it "won" four [[MediaNotes/GoldenRaspberryAward Razzies]]. As a box office failure, it's often mentioned in the same breath as ''Film/HeavensGate'', though like that film, it does have it's share of fans today, some of which think it got way more hate then it deserved. [=MacArthur=] was played by Creator/LaurenceOlivier, who [[TropeNamer provided the name for]] MoneyDearBoy when describing why he took the part.

Finally, in 1953, both sides agreed to a cease-fire, establishing a demilitarized zone between the two countries, and which remains in effect today.[[note]]Technically, though, as there never was an actual peace treaty between the two sides, the two nations are still at war with one another. There's even been a few incidents along the DMZ, as well as attacks on vessels in waters both nations claim as theirs.[[/note]]

* ''Film/{{Inchon}}'' (1981) an American-made film funded by Sun Myung Moon. Famously considered one of the worst movies of all time when it originally came out, it "won" four [[UsefulNotes/GoldenRaspberryAward Razzies]]. As a box office failure, it's often mentioned in the same breath as ''Film/HeavensGate'', though like that film, it does have it's share of fans today, some of which think it got way more hate then it deserved. [=MacArthur=] was played by Creator/LaurenceOlivier, who [[TropeNamer provided the name for]] MoneyDearBoy when describing why he took the part.

* ''Anime/{{Patlabor}}'': Kanuka Clancy's grandfather was a US Air Force bomber pilot who left for Korea on Christmas 1950 and didn't come back. In "Eve's Trap", her grandmother visits her over Christmas and then disappears; she turns out to have gone out to visit her husband's old base from fifty years earlier, the last place she ever saw him.

[=MacArthur=] promptly advocated the nuclear carpet-bombing of PRC cities to disrupt their supply lines (making him every bit as much of a GeneralRipper as the later [[Film/DrStrangelove movie version]]), followed by a full-scale invasion of China, a proposal which was rejected by [[UsefulNotes/HarryTruman President Truman]], who wanted to keep the war a limited military intervention. [=MacArthur=], dead-set in his plan, became increasingly critical of Truman in the press; Truman, being commander-in-chief, decided to relieve the general of command. Breathing a sigh of relief, the PRC's leadership went ahead with urban education and bomb-shelter programmes anyway just in case the USA changed its mind about nuking them. This led a generation of Chinese kids to fear an American nuclear holocaust. How nice.

And in a sane world, that's where the war would've ended, after only a single bloody year. But negotiations dragged on for two more years, and men continued to die by the thousands with no territorial gains for either side (much like UsefulNotes/WorldWarI a generation earlier, only this time with jets). The Soviet Union snuck in some pilots, partly as a show of solidarity with the PRC but also to gain experience in modern air-to-air combat. The UN forces knew they were there, but weren't keen on starting a war with the UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets.[[note]]American and British fighter pilots had standing orders to kill any enemy fighter pilot suspected of being a Russian. Not shoot him down, ''kill him''. This was to send a message to the Soviets, who insisted that [[BlatantLies every MiG-15 was being flown by a "brave Chinese volunteer."]] Such an order would be against [[UsefulNotes/TheLawsAndCustomsOfWar The Geneva Conventions]] if said pilot was killed after ejecting. [[/note]]

* ''War Hunt'' (1962)

* The historical World War 2 [[{{WarGaming}} miniature wargame]] ''Bolt Action'' has a supplement aptly called ''Korea'' which adds the story of the war, scenarios for battles and army lists. Since the war was very similar to WW2, there aren't many modifications of the rules. Available factions include the Korean People's Army, the Republic of Korea, United States forces, British Commonwealth and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.

[=MacArthur=] promptly advocated the nuclear carpet-bombing of PRC cities to disrupt their supply lines (making him every bit as much of a GeneralRipper as the later [[Film/DrStrangelove movie version]]), followed by a full-scale invasion of China, a proposal which was rejected [[UsefulNotes/HarryTruman President Truman]], who wanted to keep the war a limited military intervention. [=MacArthur=], dead-set in his plan, became increasingly critical of Truman in the press; Truman, being commander-in-chief, decided to relieve the general of command. Breathing a sigh of relief, the PRC's leadership went ahead with urban education and bomb-shelter programmes anyway just in case the USA changed its mind about nuking them. This led a generation of Chinese kids to fear an American nuclear holocaust. How nice.

[=MacArthur=] promptly advocated the nuclear carpet-bombing of PRC cities to disrupt their supply lines (making him every bit as much of a GeneralRipper as the later [[Film/DrStrangelove movie version]]) and [[UsefulNotes/HarryTruman President Truman]] had no choice but to fire him after he did so in public[[note]]Like most historical events, it was far more complicated than that. Essentially, [=MacArthur=] wanted to follow up the carpet-bombing with an invasion of northern China. Truman, who possessed a brain and an ounce of humanity, didn't. However, [=MacArthur=] was dead-set in his plan, and ultimately made it clear that he was going to ignore the orders issued by the President (who is, after all, Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces), and Truman had no choice but to ask for his resignation. However, [=MacArthur=] essentially walked into the meeting with the President ''knowing that would happen'', and baited Truman into doing so. They actually parted amicably, agreeing that both sides had done what they needed to do: Truman would get to run the war the sane way, and [=MacArthur=] would get out of the war with his integrity intact[[/note]]. Breathing a sigh of relief, the PRC's leadership went ahead with urban education and bomb-shelter programmes anyway just in case the USA changed its mind about nuking them. This led a generation of Chinese kids to fear an American nuclear holocaust. How nice.

* The eleventh book in the graphic novel series, ''Cold War Correspondent'', recounts many of the battles and events that took place in the war, mainly from reporter and war correspondent Marguerite Higgins' perspective.

In 1945 the Korean peninsula was divided between the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates and the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]], the latter having declared war on Japan in the final few days of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. The Soviets occupied everything north of the 38th parallel and the Americans everything south of it. Kim Il-sung was appointed to lead the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the north, while elections were held in the Republic of Korea (ROK) to the south. Those elections proved controversial, with many boycotts and protests, but in the end the right-wing Syngman Rhee was elected. Token attempts at reunification were attempted, but it was clear, especially after the 1948 election in the South, that it was not going to happen.\\\

* ''Film/SeventyOneIntoTheFire'' (2010) - a heavily fictionalized account of the Battle of Po'hang Dong in 1950.

* ''[[Film/{{Taegukgi}} Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War]]'' (AKA: ''Taegukgi hwinalrimyeo'', ''Brotherhood: Taegukgi''), a 2004 South Korean film. "Taegukgi" is a name for the flag of South Korea. The movie is about two brothers who get caught up in the war: the older brother does everything he can to get medals so he can request for his younger brother to be sent home; when he believes his brother has died in a fire he does a FaceHeelTurn to North Korea out of despair.
* ''Assembly'', a 2007 Chinese film which also takes place during the Chinese Civil War.
* ''Film/TheFrontLine'', a South Korean-made war film takes place in the closing days of the war, where an investigation officer goes to the titular front line to investigate the murder of an officer.
* ''Silmido'' is about the Second Korean War, a period of tension and armed skirmishes between 1966 and 1976.
* ''Film/{{Inchon}}'', a 1981 American film funded by Sun Myung Moon. Famously considered one of the worst movies of all time when it originally came out, it "won" four [[UsefulNotes/GoldenRaspberryAward Razzies]]. As a box office failure, it's often mentioned in the same breath as ''Film/HeavensGate'', though like that film, it does have it's share of fans today, some of which think it got way more hate then it deserved. [=MacArthur=] was played by Creator/LaurenceOlivier, who [[TropeNamer provided the name for]] MoneyDearBoy when describing why he took the part.
* ''[=MacArthur=]'', a 1977 film, made in much the same vein as Patton (it depicts the titular General's story from the man's own perspective) shows the glorious career of General Douglas [=MacArthur=] during World War II up until the Korean War. The film showcases [=MacArthur=]'s brilliant successes in Korea and his unexpected failures, but the story maintains that [=MacArthur=]'s tactics are working and that he is quite capable of winning if President Truman will only allow him to utilize the full military might of the United States. The President refuses and [=MacArthur=] becomes disgusted at the politics game that Truman is playing, namely not wanting to start a Total War with Communist China and the Soviets (which would be mind-bogglingly expensive and could kill (tens of) millions) and to avoid possible nuclear war, and claims that there is no substitute for victory in a war and one should either fight with everything one has or not fight at all. [=MacArthur=] is relieved of his command over the war and fades into obscurity until his eventual retirement from the army and in his last moments as a General and as a soldier he addresses many young and aspiring soldiers/cadets at West Point about what his career in the military has meant to him.

The closest the USA ever came to using several hundred nuclear weapons against the People's Republic of China, the Korean War is variously known as "the 6.25 War" (the war began on the 25th of June) or just "6.25" in UsefulNotes/SouthKorea, "the Fatherland Liberation War" in UsefulNotes/NorthKorea, and "the ''Franchise/{{MASH}}'' war" in the English-speaking world. While the actual fighting spanned from 1950 to 1953, the two Koreas are still ''de jure'' at war, as they only ever agreed to a ceasefire without signing a formal treaty. That said, because no serious fighting has ensued in the decades since, the Koreas are considered in a ''de facto'' state of peace at best and a miniature version of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar at worst. On April 27, 2018, the two Koreas agreed in principle to officially end the war, but despite this declaration an official peace treaty has not yet been signed, leaving the war – or ''conflict'', as it is often known – to continue in the form of a political and geographic divide.