In American society, the Korean War (1950-1953) is called "the forgotten war." The reason for this is the fact that the war, notwithstanding the enormous sacrifice of the American soldiers, ended with the status quo intact.
There were no victory feasts, nor Hollywood movies dedicated to the conflict as happened with World War II; rather it simply faded from people's memory. The Korean War was the first war of the nuclear weapons era and was destined to be a restricted war from the beginning.
The conflict left valuable heritage for the Korean people ― a spiritual reformation which became the spiritual base to make "the Miracle on Han River" possible and the Korea-U.S. alliance which became the backbone for the security of South Korea in deterring North Korean aggression. During the war, Koreans learned about American democracy and a pioneer spirit that they used themselves to have the "Miracle on the Han River." Without the participation of the United States in the war, South Korea may have fallen within a month. When the war broke out, there was no security alliance between South Korea and the United States, and the Korean Peninsula did not have such strategic value as nowadays.
President Harry Truman decided to send American soldiers just to keep peace of the free world and to deter the communist expansionism. During the war, South Korea aspired for concluding security alliance with the U.S. to deter North Korea's re-aggression, but the public opinion of American society was against it.
Anti-war sentiment was so prevalent in the American society at that time that the prime election pledge of presidential candidate Dwight Eisenhower was the "early cessation of the war."
The South Korea-U.S. Alliance was the result of the life-or-death aspirations of South Korean people. In spite of the hesitant attitude of American people toward the agreement, the U.S. poured full efforts into making South Korea a successful example to the free world based on democracy and a free market economy.
The U.S. rescued South Korea from communist aggression through great sacrifice and 37,000 deaths, 100,000 wounded, and 8,000 missing and helped South Korea's economic progress with an astronomical amount of assistance.
In the Korean War, 142 sons of generals voluntarily participated, and 35 among them including the 8th Army Commanders Walker, Van Fleet, and Clark were killed or seriously wounded.
That was an example of the "noblesse oblige" the Korean leaders of today should learn from. The miracle on the Han River is the result of "blood, sweat, tears and efforts" our two peoples shared together. The twice blood-sharing friendship between our two countries during the Korean War and the Vietnam War will be cherished in our hearts and minds as "God-given asset" for our co-prosperity in the future.
As long as we Koreans cherish the dedicated sacrifice of the American soldiers and people, the Korean War will be remembered in our bosoms forever as "the unforgettable war."
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