The Korean war lasted from June 1950 to July 1953. The war started when North Korea invaded South Korea to unify it under communist rule. The North was backed by China and the Soviet Union. The South was backed by the U.S. and the other democratic countries. Korea was divided at the 38th parallel. After the North Koreans crossed this line, the United Nation, on June 27, 1950, called for military sanctions. This military action was led by General Douglas MacArthur. General MacArthur devised a brilliant plan to push the North Koreans all the way back to the Yalu River. This plan partially succeeded and would have, but the Chinese entered the war. The Chinese fought the U.S. and the South Koreans back to Seoul. China pulled out. In July, 1953 a truce was finally signed. Now Korea is still divided at the 38th parallel. Below, June Sullivan recalls her experience in Korea after the war.
Sean Sullivan
My husband and I lived in Massachusetts. My husband, Duncan, was in the army. He was transferred to South Korea. It wasn't something I wanted to do but it was his job and we had no choice. We went there on a crowded military plane. The war was now over and my husband was there to keep the peace. Even though the war ended a few years ago there were still many U.S. soldiers there. We were to live in Seoul, which was the capital city. I remember the night we arrived. I was so scared. We landed at 1:30am. There was a curfew in place from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. but we were allowed to be out since we were with the military. Still we were stopped by armed soldiers at every street corner. They demanded identification at every corner so it took us a long time to get "home". It was very frightening.
While in Korea I was really never worried that the North would attack, although the thought was always in the back of my mind. I was more worried about accidentally crossing the 38th parrallel and getting shot. While at our apartment I always felt safe because of all the soldiers around us. Even though there were many communist countries surrounding us, the communist ideas never spread into South Korea. I think that the U.S. presence kept democratic ideas prevalent. The U.S. presence was definately needed because at any moment the North Koreans could have invaded. The South was not strong enough to fight them off.
The Koreans were very hard workers. They are very bright and intelligent people. No matter how smart they were, most of them made only $200 a year because the economy was very bad. Most of these people's money went right to their childrens's education. For Korean children to go to school, the parents had to pay. They thought of it as tuition but I considered it more like a bribe. Then the kids would have to pass tests to get into these schools.
Many of the customs in Korea were different. The first born was traditionally supposed to take care of his parents until they passed on. The weirdest one to me was that whenever men went out the wives would stay home and knit or do household chores. When my husband and I went out together I always got funny looks. The restaurants and bars were fillled with only men. It was kind of funny. Some of the unmarried Korean women would try to marry soldiers so when the soldiers returned home they would get an allotment of money. Then the women would go off and marry another lady. The black market was also very prevalent in Korea. You could always get hard to find items. We never had to buy these items because the military had everything we needed.
If I could have the chance to go back to South Korea I would, but just for a vacation. Despite what some people say, I thought it was a lovely place. They always kept it so neat, clean and orderly. The public works kept the roads and towns very clean, but there was always that threat from the north. It was such a beautiful place yet I was so scared.
June Sullivan
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