Cranes, 38th Parallel, and Reconciliation While reading this short story by Hwang Sunwon, it really opened my eyes to the reality of the conflict between North and South Korea. Being that I live in the US, a lot of my initial view on the separation of the Koreas was fairly oriented to see the way that the US did. A lot of the opinions I was surrounded by growing up favored the US as the “heroes” of the Korean War. But from the perspective presented in this short story, the US was not the hero
English 10 7 May 2014 “Cranes” Hwang Sun-won One line along the 38th parallel called the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) is all that separates two countries with very different views. North Korea on one side which is ruled by a communist type of view and the South which is more of a democratic view. This is one thing that happens in the story “Cranes” by Hwang Sun-won. Sun-won includes information about life in Korea and the tension between the North and the South. Many things happened in “Cranes” by Hwang Sun-Won
Literary Analysis of Cranes by Hwang Sun-won “Cranes,” by Hwang Sun-won was written in the midst of the Korean War, and the story takes place in the border of the North (where the soviets ruled) and the South (where the United States reign) called the 38th parallel. Throughout the story we meet two main characters named Song-sam (who is an officer in the war) and Tok-chae who is a farmer- who is a part of the Farmers’ Communist League. These two characters grew up in the same village growing up
attempted to change their language, they tried to switch their names into Japanese names, and they tried to modify their culture. Korea broke away from Japan in 1945 after Japan surrendered in World War II. Korea split at the 38th parallel because they fell into the Cold War. The 38th
After defending against North Korea, the decision that must be made now is whether or not to move on to the offensive and push past the original border at the 38th parallel. On June 25, 1950 the North Korean army crossed the 38th parallel, and United Nation forces were sent to help repel the attack. American forces got pushed back to the southeast corner on the country, not faring as well as expected. A bold move by General MacArthur turned the war around, the General made the decision to attack
analyze North Korea’s invasion of South Korea and even China entering the war. The result of unsuccessful anticipation was severe to the United States (U.S.) to include a lot of lives of U.S. troops and cost of war. This tragedy could have been prevented if U.S. Intelligence
control was invaded by North Korea. Now it was time for the United States to take action. At the end of the Second World War, the north was taken over by the Soviet Union, and the south was taken over by the Americans. At the Potsdam conference the United States and USSR agreed on a line which dived the north and south known as the 38th parallel line. There had always been tight relationships between the North’s leader Kim sung and Syngman Rhee the ruler of South Korea. North Korea had a much larger
The Korean War was a war between North Korea and South Korea that involved the support of the world’s most powerful countries. “ It was the only occasion in the Cold War when the military forces of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Soviet Union, and the USA (plus its Western allies) met in combat” (Malkasian 5). The Korean War was the first “hot war” of the Cold War which ended in a stalemate creating the two Koreas. Leading Up to the War During World War I, the Japanese tried to claim
The Korean War was said to have started in 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea, but in fact in Cumings book he explains that the Korean War started before 1950 with Guerrilla troops attacking South Korea and also the South provoking North Korea which lead to not only the Ongjin battle, but many others. The film Welcome to Dongmakgol directed by Kwang-Hyun Park was accurate for the most part in depicting what was going on in Korea at the time and how other countries like the United States were
The Korean War was only a 3 year war, but gosh was it bloody. The war was mainly fought because there was a fear of communism spreading and North Korea’s invasion of South Korea only made things heightened these fears. This paper will show the political, social, and economic effects of the war, along with why communism needed to be contained and the causes that lead up to the war. It will also show how the war ended, especially since there is no real treaty ending the war. 1-1 The Cold War was an
On June 25th, 1950, North Korean forces crossed the 38th Parallel and invaded the Republic of Korea (South Korea). This was a battle between democracy and communism, where the United Nations supported the South Democrats while the Soviet Union in cooperation with China supported the North Communists. Most Canadians knew nothing about Korea during the 1950s. Despite that, the Canadian army still sent an entire brigade group to military operations there. Besides the two world wars, the Korean War
creating new alliances or enemies. Political disagreements were not the only cause of division, the construction of physical and guarded barriers became popular. One barrier which was very effective in separating land was the 38th Parallel, separating North and South Korea. North Korea, led by the Soviet Union, was successful in maintaining a communist form of government, while the USSR eventually
South Korea was smashed by armed forces from communist North Korea and this set off the Korean War; at that time, the United States acted under the auspices of the United Nations. The act of the United States sprang to the defense of South Korea and this led to a bloody and frustrating war that lasted three years. Korea was a former Japanese possession and the country was divided into regions that followed the occupation of the Second World War. The United States forces accepted the surrender of
was one of the first tests of communism in Asia. North Korea was strictly communist while South Korea was democratic. As usual, the United States supported democratic South Korea and the Truman Doctrine was applied to the Korean situation. The North Korean forces crossed the dividing line (38th parallel) and invaded South Korea. Thus, they provoked a war over communism. With the possibility of democratic South Korea falling to the communistic North, the U.S. stepped in and supplied aid mostly through
both South and North Korea. This war is an example in history of how two superpowers decided the fate of smaller countries. I want to investigate and explore the overall significance the Battle of Inchon had on the future of the Koreas. I will be looking at what caused this specific battle to happen, and the overall effect it had politically, culturally, and economically. Before Japan formally annexed Korea, the country was united in language, culture, Before the Battle of Inchon, North Korea was gaining
would bring communism to other countries especially in Asia. Korea had split after World War II. The Soviet Union had backed the government in the north and America backed the government in the south. They both agreed that the 38th parallel would split North from South Korea. However, o July 25, 1950, North Korean troops passed through the 38th parallel and captured Seoul. This would forever be known as the First Battle of Seoul. The United Nations responded by creating a resolution that labels the
Korea from North Korean forces. Once the U.S. had been called to action they joined the war in a matter of days using all their military power to help put a stop to North Koreas advancements. Because of U.S. involvement soon South Korea was beginning to be successful in pushing North Korean forces toward their shared border with China. In November and December 1951, thousands of Chinese troops began to slaughter many American and South Korea forces pushing them back over the 38th parallel. The Korean
We know from our reading and from the lectures that both of these men were very strong willed and wanted nothing more than to unify Korea. The governments of both the North and the South forcefully proclaimed their determination to unify the country under their respective regimes. We can say that this struggle between these men would have no choice but to have great influence on the future of Korea. Syngman Rhee relied heavily on the United States and the United Nations for weapons, supplies, finances
greatly deteriorated due to two important factors. One of these factors is the Yalta Conference and greatly impacted American-Soviet relations in a negative way in the decade following the War. The second factor is the Korean War between South Korea and North Korea that placed the Soviet Union and the United States on opposite sides. On February 1945, the Yalta Conference took place which set divisions in Germany and began plans for a post-war world. The main figures of great authority that attended are
In 1950, the Korean War began, North Korea on one side, South Korea on the other. The result was a stalemate, but this created conflict that is still lasting to this day. The war was a major step in the battle of containing or expanding communism. The war also remembered as a war between two superpowers, the U.S.S.R. backing North Korea and the expansion of communism, the U.S. supporting South Korea and containing communism. After the war, no real peace was made, and so far isolated battles make