‘ The Long Term Causes Of The Korean War Were The Most Important In Its Causation.’ Flashcards
(4 cards)
Intro
Short term causes are more important than the LT causes of the Korean War in deciding its causation. There are multiple grounds to consider such as the Japanese brutal occupation of Korea and ww2, the aid from Mao and Stalin, and the usa’s intervention. However, if we were to decide causation based on the acceleration of conflict, the wide pool of actors, use of weapons and when the war ignited and became active, then undoubtedly, it was the short term triggers that transformed civil conflict into a proxy war. Despite the long term historical reasons underpinning the war and making Korea structurally weak, it did not fundamentally accelerate the conflict or amounted to the large scale involvement of weaponry. Moreover, the support from Stalin and mao did strengthen the north’s army by making them more confident in fighting, but this confidence was a result of Korea’s exclusion from the Acheson line. Therefore, the short term trigger causes of us involvement escalated the war, ossified the conflict by getting involved, testing its new approach to containment and using the new UN to its advantage. Flash point
Long term
Japan’s occupation from 1910-45– used assimilation tactics like forbidding the Korean language and de-emphasising Korean history in favour of Japanese culture. Impact- structurally weak and more divided due to years of occupation. Ww2- country and its constitutions had a lack of stability and direction, consequently, it was easier for the country to be divided in both the north and south.
CA- not a major acceleration of involevemnt, lack of militarisation and weapons involved, it was the USA and su that divided Korea along the 38th parallel, confusion about the legitimacy between the two koreas and transformed conflict into a flashpoint.
Kim ill sung and foreign support
More confident invading the south bc MZD consolidated his communist control over china in 1949, Stalin provided 1600 pieces of artillery, 178 military aircraft and 258 t-34 tanks.
Ca- it was Kim who convinced them to invade, Stalin wanted it to be covert as he was still focusing on Europe. Moreover, not included in Acheson line. Further illustration to Kim that America would not intervene immediately
USA
When the communists invaded South Korea, dean acheson believed that the purpose was to destabilise the capitalist Japan and SEA. Truman was able to use the un without soviet intervention- widened the pool of actors. NSC-68 testing ground= militarised the conflict first boots on the ground, Asia first.
Ca- reactionary than creators.
