After their massive success at Inchon and on the Pusan Perimeter, the UN Forces were finally backing away from the brink of disaster. That role was now held by the North Koreans, who were retreating as fast as they could back across the 38th Parallel. The big question now was: would they be followed by the South Koreans and their American allies?
September was an eventful month in Korea. Not only were US Marines going ashore in Inchon, both the KPA and UN forces undertook massive offensives to break the Pusan Perimeter. Only one could be successful, though. There is a reason this episode is called Break-out, and not Break-in.
Douglas MacArthur knew he needed to make a splash to relieve the pressure on his men around Pusan. UN forces had faced disaster after disaster in the first two months of the war, and it appeared that there was an anchor around their necks. Would an ambitious amphibious strike at the heart of Korea, just 20 miles from Seoul but 200 miles from Pusan, keep Mr. MacArthur’s illustrious career from sinking?
August 1950 was a month of stalemate, as United Nations forces on the Korean Peninsula, still entirely American and South Korean, were pushed to the brink. The battle line known as the Pusan Perimeter was the site of brutal combat, with the North Koreans trying to push their enemy off the peninsula and the South Koreans fighting for the fate of their country.
On June 25th, the United Nations went to war...sort of. The United Nations would enter the Korean War shortly after it began, but how...and why? July goes about as poorly as June does for South Korea and the United States, and ends in tragedy.
On June 25th, the Korean War began. The first four days went very well for one Korea and very poorly for the other. What made the North Koreans so much more successful than the South Koreans and allowed the Korean People's Army to capture Seoul on the fourth day of the War?
On June 25th, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea. Were the South Koreans prepared for it?
There might be an audio issue with this episode; I'm recording from a hotel room in Iowa and plan on sorting out the audio properly once I'm back in my home studio.
On June 25th, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea. What did they do to prepare for the war?
Prod. Note, 4/20/21 - The Korea Institute of Military History places KPA strength at just under 200,000 troops split between 10 infantry divisions, one air division, about five support divisions, and one naval combat team of division-strength. So, you can see that there is a lack of accurate information about the true strength of the KPA before the beginning of the Korean War.
As 1949 turned into 1950, the Soviet Union and United States tried to persuade the new People's Republic of China to side with them in the Cold War. One would fail, and one would gain a valuable ally. In North Korea, Kim Il-sung pressed for war against South Korea. Would Stalin finally grant Kim's greatest wish?
Because I'm taking a bit of a vacation this week, here's a shorter special episode. On June 25th, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea. It's important to understand how people experienced and wrote about these events as they happened, so listen to what was written about the invasion by the Associated Press and published in the Chicago Sunday Tribune. We're just a few weeks away from discussing this historic day in the course of our history of the Korean War. Be sure to subscribe wherever you enjoy podcasts and stay up-to-date on the first season of Coming Together/Coming Apart!
In 1949, Mao Zedong shocked the world and proclaimed the People's Republic of China. How did he get there? Will it have an effect on Korea? Let's talk about the Chinese Revolution and Civil War.
The Cold War did not begin in 1945. Why did it take a few years for the Grand Alliance of World War II to fall apart? What role did the United Nations play? What were the challenges the UN faced in the first years of its existence?
Two Koreas became independent in 1948 and immediately began trying to get rid of the other.
Update, 4/2021: Listener Brian S. informed me of the official ruble-dollar exchange rate for 1949 as provided by the Central Bank of Russia. At $.1887 rubles-per-dollar (or 5.3 dollars-per-ruble), the 212 million ruble loan the Soviets extended to the DPRK is equal to approximately US$40 million in 1949, or approximately US$432 million adjusted to 2021 value. Thank you, Brian!
Between 1946 and 1948, it was the best of times and it was the worst of times in Korea. How do we get from an occupied former colony to two separate states?
The American Occupation of southern Korea began in September, 1945. How did those first few months go? And why did things start to fall apart after the Moscow Conference of December 1945?
The Soviets pushed the Japanese out of Korea in August 1945, occupying one half of a divided peninsula. Who's Cho Man-sik and why was he the Soviet's first choice for leadership? When does Kim Il-sung come into play?
What happened between the surrender of Japan and the arrival of the American and Soviet occupation forces in Korea? Did the Koreans really have their own government controlling the entire peninsula?
Korea was not always divided. Why was division the chosen option for the peninsula post-WWII? Were there other options?
70 years ago, on June 25th, 1950, North Korean soldiers crossed the 38th Parallel into South Korea, marking the beginning of the Korean War. How was this reported when it happened?
Part 2 of the prologue, wherein we introduce five current and future authoritarians and witness the end of the Empire of Japan.
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