Choi,+In+Sun+(Jenny)KWP


 * //To what extent was the United States responsible for creating the conditions which eventuated in the Korean War?//**

To a certain extent, the Korean War was the result of idealogical and political struggles within Korean society. However, the US should largely be deemed responsible for the circumstances that led to the conflict between North and South Korea. (A better attempt here would have discussed the complexity of the question. Here you simply present an abbreviated thesis.)

US, while a major combatant during Korean War, is not usually seen as the instigator of the conflict. Years before civil war begin, there was already discontent as a result of of communist ideas spreading and the economic malaise that was proliferating throughout Korean peninsula. The idealogical and political struggle between Mao style communism and western style democracy (capitalism) was already a dominant issue and divided much of the populace. But the clear aggressor of the conflict can definitely be seen as North Korea which had as can be seen in __document 4__ plan in place for invading South Korea and completing unification through force. However, the reason for this aggression can also be attributed to UN General Assembly which in 1948 declared republic of korea as soul legal government of Korea. This is also why the UN Security Council was so quick to respond to North Korean invasion on June 25th. This can be seen in document 6 where UN Security Council issue 82 asks North Korea to withdraw to 38th parallel, the original administrative division of Korean peninsula. Based on these facts alone, it could be presumed that the US was not that deeply involved as a cause of the Korean conflict.

However the truth of the cause of the conflict on the __k__orean peninsula can also be viewed as war of perception. As can be seen in __document 8__, the Chinese perception of America as an imperialist conquerer defined their reasons for entering the __korean__ war against the US. The reputation that the US had as that of a colonial power in Asia did not help to gain it sympathy to North Koreans. The fact that the US was backing the established South Korean government only worsened the situation and if anything, probably made North Koreans feel that they had legitimate cause to try to eradicate the South Korean American backed government so as to save Korea for Korean people (__document 3)__. America itself also contributed to the perception of a North Korea as being an enemy (__document 2)__ by setting up North Korea as a spring board for the spread of communism by Soviet Union. As Truman himself stated during Truman Doctrine, “the policy of the United States is to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures”. In accordance to Truman Doctrine, US could not let the “free people” of South Korea be subjugated by the communist ideals of North Korea and Soviet Union. The fact that the Korean peninsula served as a border between western democracy which was already dominant in Pacific base and communist ideals which was dominant on main land only served to heightened the tensions at play on the Korean peninsula (__document 1).__

Furthermore, the US should also be deemed responsible for the circumstances that led to __korean war__ as a result of its mere presence and involvement on Korean peninsula. The fact that a Soviet Union (__document 3)__ new letter go so far to point out presence or the impact of US on __south korean__ government as well as its corrupting influence should help highlight the tensions that US presence had on nations neighboring the Korean peninsula. But rather than remove itself from the sphere, it continued to unduly influence South Korea and further antagonize the surrounding neighbors. If US had truly withdrawn from South Korea to Japan, the Korean conflict may have not escalated. However, the extent to which US was involved in South Korea can also be easily seen as a fact that when North Korea invaded the president of South Korea Syngman Rhee did not request help from UN but rather USA directly (__document 5__). This relationship shows the importance of South Korea to US international strategy and further shows how to the USA, South Korea was just another chest peaks on the global conflict of the Cold War.

Because of the importance of Korea to us during cold war as well as the image of having USA as a backer of South Korean government, US can be deemed responsible for consequences that led to conflict between North and South Korea. If US was not involved in South Korea, if US did not supply arms and troops to South Korea, if US did not back the South Korean government, and if the US did not respond for its own sake in the Cold War, the North and South Korea conflict may have played out differently.

Works Cited

"Truman Doctrine." //Britannica Encyclopedia//. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. < [|www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/607195/Truman-Doctrine] >.

"UNHCR Resolution 82 (1950) of 25 June 1950." //UNHCR//. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. < [] >.