KOREA - THE FORGOTTEN WAR PART 1: Origins and Defeats

This episode covers the background of the Korean War and the opening months of the war. I start with a brief overview of how Korea was divided in half after the Second World War. Then, as the Cold War begins and tensions rise between the Communist-sponsored North Korea and US-sponsored South Korea, the temporary division becomes permanent. The US occupation troops depart Korea in 1949, only for Kim Il Sung to launch a surprise invasion on June 25, 1950.

This invasion forces the United States to come to grips with the realities of war in the nuclear age and the threat of World War III breaking out in Europe. This war also serves as the first test of the newly-formed United Nations and if it is able to overcome the weakness that plagued the League of Nations. Regardless of international support for South Korea, the opening months are a disaster for the UN and South Korean forces as they are pushed into the Pusan Perimeter in the southeast corner of Korea. This episode ends with the last North Korean attack on the Pusan Perimeter in September 1950.