The Korean War (1950-1953). A note on this Coldest and Bloodiest War (in the 20th century)
by Ton van Zutphen (June 2023 Seoul / Leende)
CONTEXT
I recall that the first Korean I ever talked with in detail in my life was Miss Biya Han who would later become my lawful wife in Seoul, 24th June 2021. We married by power of attorney in Korea, and our marriage was soon after registered in the village of Heeze-Leende, the Netherlands on 20th July 2021 (see at bottom of this blog for details on 'marriage with the glove').
We met in Herat, Afghanistan, 2nd week of February 2002. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on important public buildings in 2001 in the USA by islamic terrorists linked to Al Qaeda, the USA decided immediately to invade Afghanistan, root out the suspected Osama Bin Laden group and destroy the Taliban regime that earlier had offered shelter to this dangerous anti Western Bin Laden / Al Qaeda organisation.
Let us not forget that the attacks in the USA nearly killed 3,000 people, and caused President George W. Bush to run over Afghanistan (with British troops as well) and launch the 'War on Terror'. In my function as Regional Humanitarian Director I convinced World Vision to open an office in Herat (coming in from Mashad, Iran), expecting a large movement of internally displaced persons (IDP's) once the Taliban was chased. And indeed this happened already by the end of November. A first and succesful emergency food distribution by World Vision was set up in the local sports stadium (where previously the Taliban on Fridays publicly hanged offenders against Islamic values).
Gradually this aid programme developed with health and protection related activities and more distributions in kind, like clothing and eduaction materials. In February 2002, nearly three months after the beginning of this emergency programme I decided to see its progress and challenges for myself, and that's when I met Biya who was working out of the basement of the office making reports on financial contributions and projects that were initiated and supported by World Vision Korea. It was her first assignment in the humanitarian business and I had no idea about her background at all. She proved an eager learner and hard worker and we became good colleagues for more than 10 years. Only in June 2014 after meeting in Chang Mai, Thailand, did our relation become amorous. By then I had left World Vision International nearly one year ago and was working in Gaziantep, Turkey, again assisting in part refugees that came out of Syria and had fled the 'Caliphate' of IS (then ISIS or ISIL / 'Daesh' =Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant).
So the above easily explains why I take an interest in many things 'Korean', including the country's (recent) history, of which the Korean War is a key moment in time. Much of the info and data provided below comes from 2 'handbooks' on this war, which destroyed the country (North and South) practically entirely. The story goes that in Pyongyang (now the capital of North Korea) only one building remained standing upright. And in the South only the Busan-Daegu perimeter (region) was never occupied by the Chinese/Korean communists (but flooded with internally displaced persons).
NEVER TO FORGET
The following figures have never been accepted by many parties but civilian casualties were higher than in WWII. Civilian casualties in North Korea (1953) were an estimated one million killed ( a similar number wounded), and 796.000 fled to the South; or went missing. Estimated population in 1950 in North Korea around 10 million people. Civilian casualties in South Korea (1953) were also an estimated one million killed (a similar number wounded) with only small numbers of civilians fleeing North. Estimated population in 1950 in South Korea around 20 million people. More than 900.000 Chinese soldiers are estimated to have died over a period of close to four years!
BOOKS TO READ
The Coldest War, America and the Korean War; Book by David Halberstam (2007)
The Bloodiest War, the forgotten Dutch batallion; Book by Robert Stiphout (2009) only in Dutch language
Then a most interesting/fascinating book about daily life in North Korea, and vividly written, is by USA journalist Barbara Demick: 'Nothing to Envy', ordinary lives in North Korea (2009); it takes the reader through detailed narratives by families and individuals that fled North Korea by the turn of the last century. In a gripping way it sketches the situation of many Koreans (including soldiers from the South) in the sixties and seventies in North Korea, and later through the famine in the nineties.
And worth consulting is the website of the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan, Korea www.unmck.or.kr. The burial grounds are impressive and give testimony to the 40,896 fallen UN forces.
IMAGES OF THE MAIN PLAYERS
President of the USA (1945-January 20, 1953)
Harry S.Truman (1884-1972)
President of the USA (January 20, 1953 - 1961)
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969)
General US Army / removed from Command in Japan/Korea 11 April 1951
Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964)
General US Army 11 April 1951 - Command until armistice 27 July 1953
Matthew Ridgway (1895-1993)
General Secretary USSR (1924-1953)
Joseph Stalin (1878-1953)
Founder, Premier, President North Korea (1948-1994)
Kim Il Sung (1912-1994)
President South Korea (1948-1960)
Syngman Rhee (1875-1965)
Founder People's Republic of China, Chairman Communist Party (1949-1976)
Mao Tse Tung (1893-1976)
Generalissimo-Leader Republic of China (1928-1949), President Taiwan (1950-1975)
Chiang Kai Shek (1887-1975)
Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1948-1958)
Willem Drees (1886-1988)
Lt.Colonel Dutch Batallion 'van Heutz troops'
Marinus den Ouden (1909-1951 killed in action Hongchon)
Lt.Colonels Dutch Batallion 'van Heutz troops' (3 until armistice of July 27, 1953)
W. Eekhout, G. Christian, C. Schilperoord
Harry Truman, a much respected leader (Democratic party) who is remembered outside the USA for making the decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan, greatly engaged in rebuilding post-war Europe, and worked feverishly to contain and fight communism. In his memoirs he wrote that while visiting Prime Minister Drees in his simple living quarters in the Beeklaan, the Hague, NL, apparently Drees' wife opened the door and ushered Truman in, taking his hat and coat while offering a cup of tea. Truman mentioned that at that very moment he knew that the 'Marshall Plan Dollars' would be well spent by the Netherlands authorities! He was a man that was able to make firm decisions. Visitors could not avoid seeing the motto displayed on the presidential desk 'The Buck Stops Here'.
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| Harry Truman |
Dwight Eisenhower (Republican party) was a real warhorse and well known in Europe as the Surpreme Commander of the Allied Forces during WWII. He took over from Truman just before the armistice between North and South Korea. Nevertheless in Korea he fully supported Truman and his Commander General Ridgway. Eisenhower, alias 'Ike', set up the NASA and started the Inter State Highway system in the USA (which he copied in part from Hitler) and signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Equally important, he as an old soldier, kept the USA at peace and without external military enagements despite the serious threats by many independence movements/wars and communist challenges in many parts of the world. Famous quote: 'A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both'.
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| Dwight Eisenhower |
Douglas MacArthur, General, came from a well known and respected American military family and made it all the way to the top, including as Surpreme Commander SouthWest Pacific Area (including Japan, China, Korea). Although immensely popular with the American people that gave him a hero status, MacArthur developed in the years running up to the Korean war an attitude that led him to think he was always right and of course his staff only remained when they proved full loyalty. This kind of arrogance and narcism led to a misinterpretation of military intelligence fom the battlefield in China and in Korea. He himself rarely traveled to Korea, preferring to remain in his HQ in Tokyo, Japan. It is fair to acknowledge that MacArthur did a sterling job to turn a feudal Japan into a country that started to accept democracy with the usual elments of parties/voting and representation. The emperor Hirohito was allowed to remain in a ceremonial function. But effectively MacArthur ruled! MacArthur was completely surprised when the Chinese massively and succesfully engaged in the war. Not believing signs from the field and trying to slowdown or even ignore decisions by the Truman government led to the removal of his command. The detailed analysis in Halberstam's book, staved with documents and portrayed through many personal interviews with his staff proved him to have made crucial mistakes that could have been avoided, had he used the information better that was offered to him. Clearly, because of this behaviour, and much of this by his own fault, the war in Korea exploded and became so bloody. An estimated 33.000 American soldiers died in it. Another 105.000 were wounded. Although MacArthur was able after the American landing and battles of Incheon/Seoul to turn the tide, it was too late: so many USA, South Korean and UN soldiers had died because his leadership in the Korean war was for a significant part guided on neglecting field related information and underestimating the strength and drive of the (Chinese) enemy. To no one's surprise he probably ended up a bitter man, feeling misunderstood, in particular by the politicians in Washington DC. Famous quote: 'Old soldiers never die; they just fade away'.
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| Douglas MacArthur |
Matthew Ridgway, General, took over from MacArthur the surpreme command but had in fact already inside Korea halted the advance of the Chinese who had been close to taking Busan. The airpower of the US army and their new fresh recruits proved to be changemakers although many more soldiers died on the hills against the everready Chinese and North Koreans supplied in great numbers. Ridgway, alias 'Old Iron Tits' (he wore a pair of handgrenades over his battle dress) was a soldier's soldier, very close and supportive to his men. He had the full confidence of 'Washington'. As the war dragged on during 1952 and 1953 he was recalled and made Surpreme Allied Commander Europe for NATO in June 1953, just before the armistice. Famous quote: 'Your job as a soldier is to point that rifle into the other guy's face and shoot him dead'.
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| Matthew Ridgway |
Joseph Stalin was born in what currently is the country of Georgia in the Caucasus. His leadership developed into an unprecedented ruthless dictatorship removing systematically all potential candidates that could become a threat to his position. He started the agricultural collectivization of the country (as a first step to an industrialization process), uprooting the farming system completely causing hunger, and death of an estimated 40 million farmers/families. He distrusted particularly ethnic minorities from the Caucasus and of people suspected to have been sympathizing with the Germans. He deported millions to Gulag camps and to the harsh Eastern regions of the USSR after WWII. All in all he can be held responsible for the death of more than 60 million citizens. He never trusted anyone, though agreed to a secret anti-agression pact with Germany's Hitler (to cut up Poland). Stalin did not believe in Mao's rural revolution (as a Marxist purist he only believed in the urban proletariat and its uprising). He looked down upon Mao and considered him an uneducated peasant. Initially he did not support Kim Il Sung's military ambitions. When he approved the attack on South Kores he refused to give Sung what he needed most: planes. Famous quote: 'A single death is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic'.
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| Joseph Stalin |
Kim Il Sung came to power after the end of the Japanese occupation in 1945 and swiftly organized the Worker's Party of (North) Korea, that was infused with communism. He was backed by Stalin and Mao and authorized the invasion of South Korea on June 25, 1950 convincing them he could take the complete Korean peninsula within a few weeks. Starting with 75,000 soldiers from North Korea, the Chinese then provided possibly all in all three million troops over a period of over three years, with mainly small weapons. The Russians provided tanks and only small weaponry. Had Kim Il Sung received what he wanted and needed most i.c. planes, the war could have indeed been over in a few weeks. Once the Americans reacted in full force and after an exorbitant high number of casualties on both sides for more than two years, the armistice between North and South was signed. As of 1953 Kim Il Sung governed for 45 years the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), in reality a ruthless one party-one person dictatorship of what became one of the most isolated, extravagant and poorest countries in the world, where the individual never had any voice. The country turned into a family dynasty powerbase ever since, until today. Kim Il Sung, Kim Jung Il and currently Kim Jong Un. Controversial motto of Kim Il Sung: 'The people are my God'.
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| Kim Il Sung |
Syngman Rhee was born into a noble family and educated by Methodist missionaries during which period he converted to Christianism and became a fervent nationalist, particularly against Russian and Japanese imperialis objectives. He graduated from Harvard and achieved a Doctorate from Princeton; all exceptional during the early years of the past century. He made it his life goal to find all over the world support for the Korean case against the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945). During the Korean war he was able to convince the Americans for ever more support but by the end of the war his pushing for a military solution and his trying to stall peace negotiations made him controversial. The South Koreans lost 415,000 soldiers killed and had 429.000 wounded. Nevertheless he remained firmly backed by American supporters and became their 'man in Seoul' after WWII. Once President from 1948 onwards his stardom faded quickly as he ventilated constantly criticism toward various US governments but the USA had no alternative: Rhee was 'their son of a bitch' (originally a quote from President Franklin D. Roosevelt about Nicaraguan dictator Anastazio Somoza in 1939). During the last ten years of his Presidency he also became a dictator, and surrounded by sycophants purged the National Assembly members who opposed his rule. It all ended with his exile to Hawai in April 1960, where Rhee died in 1965. Interesting quote: 'Communism is cholera and you cannot compromise with cholera'.
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| Syngman Rhee |
Mao Tse Tung was and remains a legend about whom only recently and sparsely important verifiable and objective details have been established and published. When I started at university in 1969, his heroism, strategic and tactical insights (illustrated through the Long March) against the feudal, corrupt and capitalist order which had exploited rural China for centuries, was unquestionable. So be it. Then when Mao took the reins in 1948 as Chairman Mao (until his death in 1976) he enforced a command economy with industrialization and building up military puissance, while supporting worldwide independence movements with weapons and advisors. One of his first targets was to turn Korea into a communist state (mirroring China with its Marxis-Leninist ideology); and he almost succeeded. Mao is estimated to have sent perhaps three million 'volunteers', mainly foot soldiers into battle. Americans estimate that some 1.5 million Chinese and North Koreans died. China had unlimited resources of soldiers/peasants who had no other choice than fight against 'American capitalist imperialism' in Korea. And Mao appeared not to care for his (individual) people: 'The Great Leap Foreward' (1958-1963) that aimed to turn China 'overnight' from a rural into an industrial society caused the largest famine ever recorded on earth. Again, estimates of deaths vary between 15 and 50 million people. Offical records from China have never been shared / totally unknown as if none of it happened. One more serious criticism about Mao is mentioned by Halberstam: 'Mao lived like a sexual predator, relentlessly devouring peasant women, who were eager to serve their leader and thus their nation in whatever way he suggested'. And this in the light of Mao's propaganda machine that ordered women to be equally treated and for which he was deeply admired and respected in the Western world, again by almost all students, socialists, and basically those considering themselves 'left' in the spectrum of international and national politics. Mao's myth has in fact now ended; except in China. Famous quote: 'Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun'.
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| Mao Tse Tung |
Chiang Kai Shek was never directly involved with his troops during the Korean war although at several periods he had offered to do so. Once it became clear that Mao's China engaged fiercely and massively inside Korea, the attention nearly automatically focussed a bit on what the Taiwanese leader was considering doing. When the Korean war broke out in June 1950, the American government (with MacArthur) had not given up as yet to fight the regime established so recently by Mao. A strong political lobby in Washington existed; initial funds had been made available to the 'Chinese nationalists' of Chiang but nothing serious ever materialized. Chiang was 'old hat', caught in his own political and corrupt past. During the second half of the 1950ies Taiwan, with the support of the USA developed its own brand of 'nationalism' and the country became very succesful in terms of governance and prosperity. Controversial quote from Chiang Kai Shek: 'War is not only a matter of equipment, artillery, group troops or air force; it is largely a matter of spirit, or morale'.
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| Chiang Kai Shek |
THE KOREAN WAR ITSELF (1950-1953) / THE KEY EVENTS AND AFTERMATH
On August 14, 1945 Japanese emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender in Korea over the radio. In the Northern part of the country the Russians (sharing a 17 kms narrow border with Korea) had advanced with tanks and artillery against the Japanese a few weeks before they surrendered, whilst in the Southern part the Americans had liberated the country from the vicious Japanese occupation. Very soon the US government, not willing to face the Russian advance, proposed that the Russians administer the Northern half in what was supposed to be a temporary trusteeship. Therefore an agreement was signed on the map along the line of the 38th Parallel, cutting the country into two different sphere of influence: one suggesting a Russian style communism, the other following the US capitalist approach. Both Syngman Rhee and Kim Il Sung totally rejected this divide and stood up (not in arms) by mobilizing their supporters against it. To no avail: gradually the schism between the two ideological systems deepened and once Kim Il Sung received the formal approval (with tanks, artillery and munition) from Stalin to go the war, he attacked the South.
1. Military historians now agree that the USA made a capital strategic error in January 1950 by not including South Korea in America's Asian defense perimeter. As a result there were only US advisors and some platoons training the South Korean army in the country when the North Koreans attacked. This led Stalin to believe that the USA was not preparing to come to the rescue of such a small and rather insignificant country. The onus of the USA was on the new Republic of China, Taiwan, the rebuilding of Japan, and to a lesser extent on Indonesia. Kim Il Sung convinced Stalin in 1949 that he could take the whole of Korea with his communist troops (inlcuding ethnic Koreans from China who had fought with Mao and were battle hardened) in a week or two. He also rather naively expected the farmers in the South to massively joing the 'communist case'.
2. General MacArthur, away and residing in Japan, in another world, and at odds and disagreeing with the Washington based government, had his eye on advancing as far as the Yalu river, bordering China (Manchuria). Early in 1950 the South Koreans (ROK) forces were able to win large tracts of terrain until at Unsan some 40 kms South of the Chinese border they and their US advisors met with fierce resistance and had to withdraw South. MacArthur took intelligence reports of a North Korean military build-up reinforced with Chinese 'volunteers' not serious. When the North Koreans attacked on June 25, 1950 a devastating blow came and the ROK army and their small contingent of US military found itself up against a very motivated military force. The South Korean army was obviously ill prepared, with old weaponry and not capable to resist. Kim Il Sung took Central Korea in a few days only, and moved swiftly toward the bigger prize that was Busan, the main port of Korea. The famous Busan perimeter where ROK and hastily brought in American GI's with lots of hardware were concentrated, could just about be saved during August, and that along the Naktong river. Then the Americans went out to a full blown war, but initially were ill prepared. Kim Il Sung threw all his 13 divisions (some estimated 175.000 soldiers) into the final battle on August 31, but by then the Americans/ROK/UN troops were better informed and equipped, and could hold their stand.
3. The Incheon landing and turning of the tide as of 15th September 1950. This proved to be the breakthrough against the North Koreans and the last daring and succesful military feat of MacArthur. With hindsight it somehow/with luck turned out a straightforward logistical amphibious landing operation (the North Koreans and Russians did not believe the Americans would do it). The flats around Incheon provided the possibility of a speedy march to Seoul some 35 kms. East, and to cut and slice the North Korean armies in two halves, which gravely impacted their supply lines. The Americans this time were able to use their superior weapons in large quantities (with air support) and advanced as planned: in a few days they occupied Gimpo airport, and in just over two weeks they secured Seoul, the capital without much casualties.
4. On to the 38th Parallel and beyond. Mac Arthur's orders were to proceed military beyond the agreed 38th Parallel but to avoid any confrontation with the Chinese and Russians because any such confrontation could lead for the Americans and the UN to be sucked into an even bigger war. Again it was at this time that Macarthur's initiatives upset the US administration and led to his downfall: he appeared to ignore the orders to avoid military contact close to the Chinese border / too close for comfort it indeed was in the eyes of Mao. And Mao threw in 12 divisions of soldiers (more than 150,000 soldiers) starting to cross the Yalu river South of the Chinese border on 19th October without making contact with the Americans; the North Koreans were not in command anymore, it was now a Chinese war by Mao and his succesful General Peng, against the Americans/UN forces. Since Mao did not mind loss of life for his soldiers he kept sending new divisions across the North as of 25th November as they moved South, against heavy losses by US firepower. Then Mao had the advantage of a huge surprise attack since the Americans still did not believe the Chinese would go to war. It was bitterly cold, the Americans were about to fight in hostile and dangerous hilly and rocky terrain. And it proved quickly that their tanks and large artillery were difficult to manoeuver against the hordes of Chinese soldiers who preferably fought during the night, and kept coming hill after hill that they took back.
5. The advance of the Chinese army went on and on and the Americans/UN troops had to retreat 160 kms in 10 days only! It was later called the 'Big Bugout' with huge losses on both sides fighting over hills, passes and rivers such as Chongchon River, South of Unsan again, Hagaru, Kunuri, the Funchilin Pass, the Chosin Reservoir, Pyongyang the North Korean capital, and Kanyon-dong to name a few locations. It remained bitterly cold with more than often temperatures dropping below 25 degrees Celsius at night. The bloody war, man against man using handgrenades and bajonets had become the norm. On 31st December 1950 the Chinese and North Korean armies had reached roughly the 38th Parallel and now it was them who did not want to stop in their drive Southwards.
6. By early February 1951 the Americans and Chinese knew that who would won the 'Central Corridor' (a hilly/mountaineous area East of Seoul through Chipyongni, Wonju and Hongchon) would then be able to move Southwards direction Busan and take the port. Again with hindsight, the Americans had full air supremacy, their supply lines had improved enormously, their weaponry modernized and their command structure changed with a new field commander Matthew Ridgway inside Korea; in summary they had some clear advantages. Mao still believed that his numerous soldiers would make the difference and threw more and more divisions into the upcoming battles. Mao (against the arguments of his experienced General Peng) was convinced the war was nearly won and he ignored the issue of bad supply lines and inferior equipment. The Chinese army had no aircraft either! From the first week of February until the the end of the third week huge battles raged in now infamous locations like the Twin Tunnel Pass, Chipyongni, Hongchon, McGee Hill, and the outskirts of Wonju. Peng threw his best soldiers at a modern US/UN army. And was close to victory. Then the Americans had a stroke of luck at daylight as they were able to neutralize some 15,000 footsoldiers with equipment on the move to Wonju. Some analysts say this avoided the town of Wonju to be taken by the Chinese and meant that the Chinese had to regroup/withdraw whilst the UN forces were able to make their stand in the Chipyongni and Hongchon areas (see below the crucial support by the Dutch batallion). Interestingly, during these battles the Americans added a new weapon the Chinese came to fear: a jellied death that American planes spread from the air and which burned out entire units. It was called napalm.
7. The Dutch batallion and its fighting is described with excellent and relevant detail in the book by historian Robert Stiphout 'The Bloodiest War', the Forgotten Batallion of Dutch soldiers in Korea'. Sadly the adjective 'forgotten' can relate to the Dutch politicians (the agreed budget to support the mission was never fully spent....those stingy Dutch!), to the Dutch historians, to the lack of education about it in our schools (I can hardly remember it being mentioned in my history classes), to the decision makers to support the Batallion financially in the Netherlands (and later the soldiers and their families upon their return!), to the Dutch press and journalists at the time, to the general public, but most prominently to the soldiers themselves who (had volunteered) and had fought so bloody hard in lands they would never had imagined so different from anywhere they had been before.
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| Prime Minister Netherlands: Willem Drees |
The first full batallion of about 700 soldiers consisted of experienced men, most of whom had fought in WWII and in the Dutch East Indies. They were tough and fearless. Nevertheless they had never fought in such a severe cold and up against Chinese who kept coming and coming during the nigthly attacks. I assume that also other UN troops like the Belgians, Turks, Thai, French and others may have felt similar like the Dutch that at times they were sent to do some very specific 'sheer impossible' and dangerous attacks for the commanding US army.
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| Commander Marinus den Ouden, Lt.Col./ killed in action at Hongchon |
The 'Dutchies' fought with distinction at the following crucial battles: 'the hell of Hongchon'; Hill number 325 Northwest of Wonju; the Chosin Reservoir line defense; and they secured the advance in the area around Inje and Taeusun Mountain (to put pressure on the peace negotiation table in the near future!). Nevertheless the Dutch batallion was constantly understaffed, lacking munition at times and often without air-support. The individual stories in the book relay a horrendous experience for all of them, including those who were not supposed to fight (like cooks, medical staff, drivers, mechanics ...more than once they had to as well!). The hardships as described about long nightly marches, lack of food and rest, constant pressure from commanders, and a around the clock danger to keep their lives from the Chinese soldiers, snipers and the firing of mortars. All in all, over a period of over three years 4748 Dutch military participated in the war. Far more importantly though, from November 1950 to August 1951, and during the height of the war the 700 soldiers batallion lost half of its men! 63 Soldiers were killed in action, three missing in action, one taken prisoner by the North Koreans, 135 wounded and unable to continue fighting, with another 153 too sick to continue fighting. All in all the dead, wounded, missing in action, and the sick, counted for half the batallion of 700 pacs. Soldiers felt about Korea: too many mountains and hills, too cold, too many marches, too few rest periods, too many Chinese, and too few Dutch soldiers.
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Names of Dutch soldiers buried at UN forces cemetery in Busan
background Bona Han and Anton van Zutphen
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The books by Halberstam and Stiphout give testimony of heroism by individual soldiers fighting for a cause very far away from their own fatherland. Impressive and never to forget!
8. By the end of February 1951 the Americans were certain they could contain the Chinese armies and the Truman administration sent a secret cable to MacArthur (still in Japan as surpreme commander) on March 20 that it felt the time was now right for a major peace initiative. MacArthur's response in a letter made public was a full disagreement and he argued that China without a manufacturing base for modern weapons was not able to resist the US army. Truman called it 'rank insubordination' and it torpedod the General's military position and future. On April 11 he was removed from power and called back to the States.
9. The battle of Chipyongni end of February 1951 signalled the beginning of a new stage: each side had neutralized the other and certainly the Americans were unwilling to risk many more lives. The Chinese dared a major attack in May with some 300.000 soldiers which the Americans were able to stop. Chinese losses were horrific according to the US military. There continued small battles here and there but the war had grinded to a standstill. By then the US had not formally recognised the Republic of China (Taiwan was the 'official China') and although initial armistice talks started mid July in Kaesong, just South of the 38th Parallel, distrust was great and talks were soon moved to Panmunjom in the no-man's land of the 38th Parallel. The repatriation of POW's was problematic from the onset and was never really implemented. In fact tens of thousands of South Korean soldiers ended up in North Korea for the rest of their lives to become and remain with their families for ever third rate citizens there. Most were relocated to the rural areas far away from Pyongyang and to the North where the winters are long and severe and where many were assigned to work in the mines. Then in 1953 Stalin suddenly died and the pressure to continue fighting became less. Some heavy battles like the one during which the Chinese tried to take Pork Chop Hill in April, and again early July 1953 still raged. The Americans and Britisch finally left the hill a few days before the truce was signed on July 27, 1953.
A cruel war had ended with a truce no one (in particular Kim Il Sung and Syngman Rhee) was happy with.
10. The war benefitted China greatly and although an estimated one million Chinese soldiers died and a similar number wounded, its outcome was that the Chinese were able to hold their stand against the US/UN troops. Mao felt this as a success and he established himself as the one great leader. The Russians had lost their influence since they had not supported China with air power nor with boots on the ground. The North Koreans were at the end of the war completely at the mercy of the Chinese. The US had never before in history lost so many troops over such a short period and had greatly underestimated the Chinese and North Korean forces. Kim Il Sung was able to establish his dynasty ruthlessly and developed his own model of totalitarianism. Syngman Rhee had to depend on the US initiatives to rebuild the country. North and South Korea effectively became two very different countries as basically most, if not all communication between the two came to a standstill.
11. My wife's family (father's side) hails from the inland region of Hamhung (a coastal city in North Korea). For multiple generations they owned land and as such were immediately suspect when Kim Il Sung started to introduce communism in 1945. Definitely their lands must have been confiscated. Biya's grandfather and wife had two sons and one young daughter. The middle son was Biya's father. Grandfather, a scholar and wise man, decided to send his middle son to university in Busan (South Korea), probably around 1948 (family coping mechanism). He was a serious student, married his university sweetheart and became a well known and respected journalist in Seoul. Even before the war started in 1950, communication had become difficult with the family in North Korea. Biya, nor anybody else in her family ever found out what happened to the family in North Korea. There has never been contact, and although Biya has been to North Korea twice on governmen related missions it proved impossible to find out anything about grandfater's family. Such is the sad reality for millions of Koreans from both North and South.
Without going into details from 1953 to 2023, and over a period of 70 years the following stands out:
South Korea shed various (military) dictatorships but by the end of the eighties had transferred into a democratic society. I do remember clearly that when I was a student at university (1969-1975) we witnessed on tv the ferocious student uprisings against the dicatator Park Chung Hee (President from 1962-1979 until his assasination). Violent streetfighting seemed the norm during these protests and were very different from most of the peace/compromise infused protests of the students in the NL. Many of my wife's close friends/students were rounded up by the military in that period, were tortured and spent time in jail. We should not forget that also in Europe we had after WWII our share of dictators who ruled harshly against their opponnents and critizers: what about Franco in Spain, Salazar in Portugal, Ceaucescu in Rumania, and Jaruzelski in Poland? Nowadays, South Korea is the bright star of all Eastern Asia countries: it is now a valuable member of the UN and of the G20, a leading country in Asia, producing a huge variety of crucial products like automobiles, home appliances, chips, smart phones, and even the money spinning K-pop music culture (like 'BTS' and 'Black Pink'). Its population is highly educated and well off. Population stands at 52 million in 2023 / men and women live very long....well into their eighties. One cannot deny the following fact: those (small) countries supported strongly by the USA/Western world have done remarkably well in Eastern Asia such as Taiwan, Singapore, HongKong (former crown colony of the UK), though others less so like the Philippines and Malaysia.
North Korea continues to struggle against deep entrenched poverty and the country went through a number of famines, although immediately after the Korean war Kim Il Sung made fast and good progress providing basic education and health services for all. Then, the break-up of the USSR in 1991 impacted heavily on the North Korean economy: no more loans and no oil, medecines, raw materials without cash payments. The country then lost its momentum and remained unable to recover. The Kim family rules as never before with its nationalist, quasi independent Korean styled ideology of home grown communism / called 'juche' ideology. It tries to keep its population isolated. Additionally it shoots off all kinds of technically advanced rockets direction Japan these days. Population stands at 26 million in 2023 and average life expectancy is about 70.
From where I sit in Seoul and in the Netherlands, a reunification is not about to happen: the Korean war is now long time past / some 70 years. Most North Koreans would not know how to adjust to the fast and professional South Korean working approach. Young people in Seoul hardly ever mention North Korea to me. Life has moved on. For most people around the world it is now a forgotten war.
Blog written in Seoul and Leende, the Netherlands.
Finished 24th June 2023 just before 25th June (annual Memorial Day in South Korea to remember the war and its dead, wounded and missing), and just before my wife Biya Han celebrates her 65th anniversary on 26th June.
Comments and suggestions to correct where I made errors will be appreciated. Or write to tonvanzutphen@gmail.com
Marriage by Proxy / Glove / Handschoen. In Dutch language 'trouwen met de handschoen' literally means 'marrying with the glove', and means a proxy marriage. People marry 'with the glove' if they cannot be in the same location during the marriage ceremony. The bride or groom is represented by someone with a power of attorney. Originally, a glove was displayed to signify the absent party, hence the informal name of this ceremony. 'Trouwen bij volmacht', 'with the glove' was quite usual in the Netherlands from 1890-1940 when (mostly) young males left for the Dutch East Indies as civil servants or soldiers leaving their fiancees behind...whose families were often eager to have their girls married 'with the glove', so they could more easily join their new husbands later.
