The Forgotten War of Korea

“We burned down every town in North Korea… We killed off twenty percent of the population.”

General Curtis LeMay

The Forgotten War

A war that many people forgot. A war most Americans simply view as another bombing in a far away, poorly understood country. A war that leveled the majority of cities in North Korea. A war that killed over 20% of the North Korean population. A war that caused the General Curtis LeMay to call himself a war criminal. The Korean War.

Korea Separated

After World War II, the War to End all Wars, tensions were high in Korea. Before the war, Korea was ruled by imperial Japan. The majority of Koreans hated Japan, so after World War II, when control was handed over to the axis powers, Koreans were happy. It was decided that Korea would be divided at the 38th parallel, with the North being controlled by the Soviet Union, and the South by the USA. In 1948 and 1949 respectively, North and South Korea were freed from Soviet and American control, becoming the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the Republic of Korea.

Communism

At this point in time, the Chinese Civil War began once again. The communists were supported by the North Korean government, sending 2,000 railway cars of supplies and tens of thousands of volunteers. Due to this, China agreed to help North Korea in the event of a war against South Korea.

The Actual War

That is the backstory dealt with. I did miss a few key points, but I don’t need this article to be 20 pages long. So, what happened in the actual Korean War? Well, the war lasted from 1950 to 1953, only 3 years. The war was between North Korea, with the Soviet Union and China backing it, and South Korea, backed by the USA. In 3 years, North Korea became one of the most bombed countries in the world. In 3 years, over half a million bombs were dropped, almost every major city leveled, with a healthy dose of napalm and chemical weapons mixed in there as well. In this 3-year period, over 20% of North Korea’s population was killed. It was estimated there were around 2.2 million casualties. So why is this all suppressed?

The American Viewpoint

The reason why the war is suppressed is pretty simple. The image that North Korea is painted as in America. What is the first thing you think of when you hear North Korea? Dictatorship? Kim Jong Un? Well, whatever you think of it most likely isn’t very positive. You may have been told things like “prison camps”, “rogue state”, and “death squads”. But really think about it. What are prison camps? They are places where you hold people against their will, with armed guards and fences. Hmm… seems a little familiar. Wait… aren’t those just prisons? But noooo our prisons are so much better. Our prisoners get nice beds, no guards, and get to go home before nightfall. But yeah, that is a joke. Some people may say that Kim Jong Un places people in prison camps for no reason, so that is dictatorship. Allow me to introduce you to internment camps. Now, what are internment camps? To put it simply, they are the nice term for concentration camps. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, over a hundred thousand Japanese Americans were incarcerated and put into internment camps, without being able to inform their family and their property seized. It was one of the largest infringements of the rights of American citizens in history. Now, for death squads. They are simply just the military. It is that simple. Well, I actually mean that death squads have nothing to do with our military. Our army has absolutely nothing to do with death! But now, to address some proper concerns.

Nuclear Tests

You may have heard about North Korea testing nuclear weapons. In total, North Korea has had 6 nuclear tasks. Oh no, North Korea has nuclear weapons. What will we ever do? We are so scared! Now imagine how scared North Korea is after finding out the US has conducted 1,054 nuclear tests. And unlike North Korea, we have actually used them. (ahem Hiroshima)

What You Should Take Away

Nobody is immune to propaganda. Some countries just use it better than others. Do your own research before believing everything the media says.