The Long-Term And Short Term Causes Of The Korean War

The Korean War was an intricate conflict that stemmed from the rise of many complex political and situational factors. To put simply, this war was mostly fought over communism, an issue that never seems to leave the spotlight as this war develops and unfolds. However, there are many nuances, details, and notable differences between each power involved within this greater reason that contribute to the overall timeline of the war. Fought between North Korea and South Korea, this event had many long-term and short-term causes that became increasingly more intense and complicated, especially as other world powers such as China, Russia, and the United Nations began to become involved.

Starting at the beginning, the first major long-term cause

Specifically, Russia and China favored communism while the United States defended a democratic approach in government. Furthermore, Russia and China aimed to spread communism beyond their borders and install it in other countries as well while the United Sates were devoted to containing the spread of communism at all costs. With the rise of the Cold War, Russia and China wanted to work towards their overall objective by extending communism into not only North Korea, but South Korea as well. The United States (along with the United Nations) reacted to this effort by also staying true to their objective and attempted to prevent North Korea and its communist supporters from forcing South Korea to convert to being a communist regime as well. This effort was justified behind and supported by the “domino effect theory” presented by President Eisenhower which predicted that if communism was not contained as early as possible, it would quickly lead to the rapid spread of the communist regime and neighboring states will continue to be taken with ease. These global politics are responsible for the fact that “the Korean War was not simply a civil war in Korea but a war between the United States and the Soviet Union, fought on Korean soil” (Haruki 1). This peculiar situation boils down each party’s motive for fighting in the Korean War. In essence, North Korea wanted to reunify the country while also forcing

The situation spiraled out of control on June 25th, 1950, with “an attack by the North that was endorsed and aided by the Soviet Union” (Haruki 1). This swift surprise attack occurred when the North Korean army crossed the 38th parallel and quickly captured the capital of South Korea: Seoul. This caught the South Korean army entirely off guard so defending against the swift attack was close to futile. This invasion sparked widespread panic throughout South Korea, the United Nations, and the United States, leading to the severity of the situation to increase. While addressing the situation, Truman advocated for action in defense of South Korea as he claimed that “this attack has made it clear beyond all doubt that the international communist movement is willing to use armed invasion to conquer independent nations” (Truman, President Truman Reports, 1950) and that this act of aggression “creates a very real danger to the security of all free nations” (Truman, President Truman Reports, 1950). This event is responsible for increasing tensions between all parties involved and prompting the need for action within the conflict from both sides, making it a significant short-term cause of the