Korean War

HIS/135 - The American Experience Since 1945

Korean War

November 3, 2013

Korean War

The Korean War was able to bring diverse effects to not only Korea but the World. The Korean War was one of the most destructive and brought economic and social damage to Korea. However, the Korean War was able to boost the economy of both Japan and the US. The Korean War also legitimized the United Nations and led to further expansion of military power. The Korean War also showed the growing anti-communist feeling across the US. The Korean War brought both positive and negative effects to the world.

The Korean War brought many negative effects to Korea. The Korean War was one of the most destructive of the 20th century. Perhaps as many as 4 million Koreans died throughout the peninsula, two-thirds of them civilians. This compares, for example, with the 2.3 million Japanese who died in WWII. China lost up to 1 million soldiers, and the US suffered 36,934 dead and 103,284 wounded. Other UN nations suffered 3322 dead and 11,949 wounded. The Korean War also brought social damage to Korea, especially in the North, where three years of bombing left hardly a modern building standing. The war also reinforced the boundaries between the North and the South. North Korea remained a communist nation and South Korea became a free republic. This social difference still brings conflict even today.

Although the Korean War had negative effects on Korea, it did however boost the economy of Japan. The war had a lasting consequence beyond Korea. Much of the material used in the war was bought from nearby Japan. This gave Japanese economy such an dynamic boot after the ravages of WWII that some have called the Korean War, Japan’s Marshal Plan, a reference to the US economic aid program that helped rebuild post-war Europe. The Korean War had similar effects on the American economy, as defense spending nearly quadrupled in the last six months...