The Korean War—A History

 

By Bruce Cumings, 2010

Published by Modern Library, a division of Random House Inc.

A review by Steve Halpern

In Bruce Cumings’ book The Korean War—A History, he didn’t just give us the facts of the war, he also gives is a perspective for why this has become known as the “forgotten war.” In order to gain an appreciation for his perspective, we need to look at the contrast between the United States government’s portrayal of the war contrasted to what actually happened.

The United States government’s rationalization for the war against Korea

Shortly after the surrender of Japan in the Second World War, Syngman Rhee became the President of a supposedly democratic Korean government. 

Then apparently for no reason, the North Korean Army invaded the South. The United States responded with a supposedly heroic invasion at Inchon where they drove the North Koreans out of the South. In another supposedly magnanimous gesture, the United States invaded the North to rescue the people from “Communist slavery.”

Then hordes of the Chinese armed forces overwhelmed the U.S. military and drove them out of North Korea, back to the area around the 38th parallel. The United States continues to have a presence at the border between North and South Korea, to prevent an invasion that, they argue, would subject the people of the South to “Communist slavery.”

The reality of the war against Korea

Bruce Cumings dates the beginning of the war against Korea to the beginning of the Japanese occupation of the country. Japan also eventually occupied the neighboring region of China known as Manchuria. Historically there were many Koreans lived in Manchuria for long periods of time.

The Japanese repression of Korea, as with their repression in China, was unimaginably horrendous. The Japanese forced about 20% of the Korean population to move to Japan or Manchuria. Both northern Korea and Manchuria became industrial centers under Japanese occupation. 

One of the most horrendous aspects of this occupation was the Korean “comfort women.” These were Korean women who were used as sex slaves for Japanese men. Today Korea continues to demand a Japanese apology for the horrors inflicted in those years.

After the Japanese surrender, a revolution broke out in China. The ruling power of the Guomindang, headed by Chiang Kai Shek, lost most of their influence in the country. Prices for basic commodities skyrocketed and the government had no way of fixing this horrendous problem. 

Under those conditions the Chinese Communist Party gained influence and overcame the forces of the Guomindang. Korean resistance fighters in Manchuria fought alongside the Chinese in opposition to the Japanese and in support of the forces of the Chinese Communist Party. This is where Kim Il Sung became a central leader of the Korean resistance forces.

After the Japanese surrendered, the United States armed forces invaded southern Korea. They installed Syngman Rhee as the Korean President who would support the U.S. capitalist interests. Rhee had been living in the United States for 30 years, at the same time as Korean resistance fighters battled the Japanese occupation. 

Bruce Cumings has an entire Chapter dedicated to all the different areas in South Korea where the people organized to demand democratic rule of their homeland. These movements were not connected to the politics of North Korea. One of the main issues of these rebels was a redistribution of the wealth of the country. Syngman Rhee organized to brutally repress all those movements.

Who were the people who repressed those who demanded democratic reforms? These were the Koreans who worked for the Japanese and carried out the brutal repression of their homeland. When Syngman Rhee came to power, he used the same forces as the Japanese to support his ruthless rule of Korea. 

Rhee wasn’t satisfied with dominating South Korea. He continually attempted to provoke the North Koreans into a war he felt he could win. Finally, the North Koreans invaded the South and took Seoul, the capital, in a few days. Within about two weeks, the North Koreans took control of the entire South except for a small area around Pusan. 

One of the reasons for the rapid victories of the North Korean forces emanated from the mass opposition to Syngman Rhee in South Korea. Another reason had to do with the fact that the North Korean forces were battle tested in their resistance to the Japanese and in their armed support for the CCP in the Chinese revolution.

The massive U.S. invasion at Inchon was no surprise for the North Koreans. They simply were not able to mobilize to resist the invasion. Then, the forces of the north made a strategic retreat.

Syngman Rhee had the absurd idea that the armed forces of the north had been decisively defeated. At that time, most people in the north supported the government that had been in power. This is what Rhee had to say about anyone who supported the North Korean government.

“I can handle the Communists. The Reds can bury their guns and burn their uniforms, but we know how to find them. With bulldozers we will dig huge excavations and trenches and fill them with Communists. Then cover them over. And they will really be underground.”  

These were the words of the U.S. appointed President of Korea who was supposed to save that nation from what politicians from this country imagined as “Communist slavery.” For the short time that the U.S. forces occupied the north, Rhee carried out his plan to repress anyone who opposed his will.

On Thanksgiving Day of 1950 the U.S. forces were close to the Yaloo River that is the border between Korea and China. They had a holiday dinner with all the trimmings, as well as shrimp cocktails. 

Then, in three days those same forces were surrounded by the combined armed forces of China and Korea. An entire battalion became cut off from the forces in the south. 

Many U.S. so-called historians labelled General Douglass MacArthur as a brilliant military commander. In reality MacArthur began his career brutalizing veterans of the First World War who went to Washington to protest not being paid their military benefits. 

In Korea, MacArthur was in most cases a yes man. He followed his orders and invaded Korea at Inchon. Then he followed his orders again and invaded the North. He believed that the Chinese and Koreans were incapable of resisting U.S. military force. Then when the Chinese and Koreans divisively defeated his forces after their Thanksgiving dinner, Truman fired him and took away his command of the military.  

The United States government didn’t want to admit that they had been decisively defeated in this war. So, they went on an unimaginable bombing campaign of the North. Literally every building in large areas of the north were destroyed. After the U.S. Air force burned German and Japanese cities to the ground, they used firebombs against Korea to burn down entire cities. Dams were destroyed that only affected the civilian population. This same saturation bombing would be used against the people of Vietnam in later years.

The forgotten war?

So, when we look at the chasm of information between the U.S. government’s version of the war against the Korean people, and what actually happened, we might begin to see why many consider this to be the “forgotten war.” 1950 was just a few years after the United States defeated Germany and Japan in the Second World War. Media pundits at that time argued that this would be the beginning of the “American Century.” 

Then just five years after the U.S. military victory, an army of Chinese and Korean soldiers decisively defeated the supposedly most powerful armed force in the world. Even after destroying most of Northern Korea, the U.S. military failed in their attempt to force the Korean people to submit to their will. No wonder the power brokers in this country would like to forget the reality of their war against the Korean people.

Bruce Cumings also gave evidence that the North Koreans also carried out repressive measures. Many North Koreans died because of a famine several years ago. Comings argued that this might have been largely avoided. There was unjustified repression by North Koreans of their opponents in the South. Comings argues that there might be 200,000 prisoners in North Korean prisons. However, today the United States has more prisoners than any other nation in the world. We can conclude that the repressive actions of the North would not have been nearly as great if the United States had not militarily intervened in the affairs of another country.

Bruce Cumings also argued that a new war in Korea could erupt any day. There never was a truce signed between the United States and North Korea. He also argues that when the United States armed forces invaded Korea in 1950, they knew nothing about the Korean reality or its history. After close to seventy years of U.S. troops occupying Korean territory, the power brokers in this country continue to be completely ignorant of the Korean reality.

Truth and reconciliation in Korea

Bruce Cumings dedicated his book to former South Korean President Kim Dae Jung. Kim made significant efforts to uncover the many war crimes committed by the South Korean government and the U.S. military forces. In fact, he was one of the indigenous activists that was repressed by the regime of Syngman Rhee. 

Because of his efforts, the Korean people are much better informed about what happened during the war. While the people of the South might have disagreements with the politics of the North, there is a growing consensus that Korea is one nation with a very long history.

So, the story of the war against Korea isn’t just a story of the unimaginable horrors of that war. It is also a story of how the Korean people are working to bring about the one nation that the United States government is determined to keep separated.