"End" of Korean War

 I researched the end of the Korean War. When you first search this term, the first thing that comes up is the fact that the war never actually ended because a peace treaty was never signed! I think that is an interesting fact. Additionally, the Korean War received much less public attention than other wars. Also, after the two sides agreed to a ceasefire, negotiations still continued for two whole years. Eventually, South Korea gained about an extra 1,500 miles, and a demilitarized zone (DMZ) was created. This zone is still active today! Though the Korean War was relatively short, about 5,000,000 people died. That is a major loss of life. 40,000 of those were American, and an additional 100,000 Americans were seriously wounded. In the current day, South Korea and the US agree that an official end of war proclamation is needed. However, North Korea still perceives hostile behavior from both sides and is not interested in a peace treaty unless the ‘hostile behavior’ ceases. North Korea has also made mini threats against South Korea. In January of 2022, North Korea test fired a missile while the South Korean president was in one of the border towns. However, this could potentially be in retaliation to frequent joint military exercises performed by the US and South Korea. The North Korean government probably sees these as a threat.  All in all, technically the Korean War is still happening. There is no end, though an end is much closer than it ever has been. 


Comments

  1. Bailey BlackFebruary 13, 2022 at 11:41 PM

    I do think that it's interesting that we tend to hear much more about the Vietnam War than the Korean War, even though they are very similar in a lot of ways. Maybe this just has to do with the impact they had on American life, but I think that it's important to also understand the history of the Korean War, because it explains many of the tensions that exist on the Korean Peninsula today.

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  2. Jenna ChinnFebruary 14, 2022 at 11:18 PM

    I never knew that the Korean War didn't actually end. I find it interesting that North Korea perceives the US and South Korea as hostile while actively engaging in hostile behavior. While The US and South Korea have also likely done provoking things, it seems somewhat hypocritical for North Korea to fire missiles while calling for the US and South Korea to behave peacefully.

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  3. KrisFebruary 22, 2022 at 2:01 PM

    Yeah, the Korean War not having an actual end is talked about here and there, insofar as that there was never a formal agreement. The missile thing could have been a threat, but I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't. To my knowledge, southeast Asian countries have had so many missile warnings from North Korea doing tests that they legitimately have become jaded to the obnoxious, blaring noise.

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