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World at War

Korean War

1950–1953 East Asia Status: ended Casualties: ~3 million

North Korean invasion; UN intervention; Chinese entry pushed front back to the 38th parallel. Armistice in 1953 — no peace treaty exists to this day. The 'Forgotten War' killed a higher percentage of Korea's population than WWII did of Europe's.

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Belligerents

  • UN/ROK (USA, UK, others)
  • DPRK/PRC/USSR

Casualties

~3 million

Key events

  • June 1950 — North invades
  • Sept 1950 — Inchon landing
  • Nov 1950 — China enters
  • 1953 — Armistice (no peace treaty)

Aftermath

Korean peninsula divided to this day — no peace treaty signed. Established the precedent of limited war between nuclear powers. NATO's military structure built up in response. South Korea's eventual democratic and economic miracle vs. North Korea's Stalinist isolation — one of the sharpest natural experiments in modern political economy.

Weapons & matériel

  • M1 Garand / SKS
  • T-34 / M4 Sherman tanks
  • F-86 Sabre vs MiG-15 (first jet-vs-jet combat)
  • Helicopters (medevac debut)
  • Napalm (extensive)

Technology

First jet-age air war; helicopter medevac doctrine; the war that locked in the Cold War military-industrial complex

Cost

~$30B (1953 dollars) US direct; ~$340B in 2025

Sources

  • Bruce Cumings, The Korean War
  • Max Hastings
From World at War, an interactive atlas by Jairus Pereira. Figures are approximate, drawn from Wikipedia, UCDP, ACLED and academic sources — a design artefact, not an authoritative register. Contact.