Volume IV – Number 1
William C. Jackson
Abstract:
On June 25th, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, igniting the Korean War, a three-year conflict. North Korea was aided by China and the Soviet Union, and South Korea was aided by the United Nations, chiefly by the United States. The motivations and ramifications of this conflict stretched beyond the Korean Peninsula, it was a proxy war pitting democracy against communism. During the mid-twentieth century, communism found a foothold in Asia by way of the Eastern Bloc, a coalition of countries stretching from East Germany to China. Following the end of the war, the United States realized the necessity for a democratic lodestar, a state and system that could be emulated by other Asian nations. For this state to be established in a hostile atmosphere, it required stability on three fronts: economic, military, and political. South Korea was the subject of this experiment in state-building, and aid was given to build a robust agrarian economy and adequate defensive capabilities. For a shift in the political order to stand the tests of time, much more than financial support was needed. Both parties needed to be equally invested in traversing the peaks of legitimacy. This article examines multiple avenues of aid explored by the U.S, their impact on South Korea, and offers insight into how a fifteen-year effort could have been more fruitful.
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