Korean War

This volume examines the social history of the Korean War and includes material on the newly racially integrated US fighting forces, war and disease, women and war and life in the Prisoner of War camps. The book carries the story through to the Geneva Conference in the spring of 1954. The Korean War was a major twentieth century struggle which emerged out of the nexus between Korean, American, Soviet, and Chinese diplomatic and strategic objectives in Northeast Asia in the aftermath of the decolonisation of the Japanese empire. It was at this point that Communist China came onto the international stage for the first time and, in the wake of the conflict, Germany entered NATO, Japan received its peace treaty, the Cold War became militarised and the US increased its global commitment to fighting communism. The war had a transformative impact on North and South Korea, and consolidated the postwar division of the two states. This volume provides a concise international history of the Korean War. It situates the origins and dynamics of the conflict within a global context and relates the events surrounding the hostilities to the broad currents of twentieth century world history. The discussion addresses significant themes and topics, including the conflict's origins and social dimensions, the armistice negotiations, and the 1954 Geneva Conference on Korea. Key features include: Contextualisation of the conflict within a global setting Discussion of the social history of the war Analysis of historiographical debates Primary documents section allowing the reader greater depth of understanding of critical developments in the conflict Glossary and Who's Who providing easy reference introductions to important events and personalities Written in an accessible and lively style, the book also includes maps and illustrations and a further reading section. Steven Hugh Lee is Associate Professor in the Department of History, University of British Columbia. Tens of thousands of US soldiers and untold millions of Koreans died in this war the first major arena of the East-West conflict. This concise international history of the war offers a new approach to its understanding, tracing its origins and dynamics to the interplay between modern Korean history and twentieth century world history. The narrative also uniquely examines the social history of the conflict, and includes material on the newly racially integrated US fighting forces, war and disease, women and war and life in the Prisoner of War camps. While most surveys stop at 1953, with the signing of the armistice, Steven Hugh Lee carries the story through to the Geneva Conference in the spring of 1954 the last major international effort before recent years to negotiate a permanent peace for the Korean peninsula.