Korean War Origin

The events and the origins of the 1950-1953 Korean War have been the source of continuously acrimonious debate for over half a century. There has been zealous debate between historians who have adopted a number of diverse opinions, with much controversy encompassing the credibility and establishment of putative ‘facts’ in relation to the origins of the Korean War. Those historians who have embraced the consensus interpretation of the origins of the Korean War, for example, base their knowledge upon research and observation from events, which, in effect, recount the tale of the Republic of Korea (ROK)/American fight to defend democracy, freedom and peace against Communist aggressors in North Korea , with the conflict being instigated and sponsored

This apparent partiality includes sentiments of animosity towards the perceived imperialist intentions in a United States intervention; and a belief that an organized plan was conceived by the South Korean and American governments to attack North Korea for economic and military motives . Therefore, authors of socialist or Communist background are often regarded as formulating arguments inherent with subjectivity about the origins of the Korean War by those historians of the South Korean / American consensus viewpoint of history of this conflict . It is therefore unlikely to be able to obtain an objective analysis of the precise cause of the War and the truth over the exact origins of the conflict will not be realised when the debate is obscured with ideological contention. A historian studying the conflict must be aware of the underlying bias within the works of authors, and come to realise the profound extent to which ideological differences prevent an objective analysis of the origins of the Korean

According to contemporary scholar William Stueck writing from a post revisionist perspective, Cumings saw US foreign policy as intrinsically imperialistic and that the war was “based on a larger quest for global hegemony and was a response to the allegedly insatiable requirements of American capitalism .” Cumings also highlights that too often historians following the anti-communism philosophy let hindsight and the “atrocities of the current North Korean regime to influence their perceptions of the origins of the conflict ”. He also affirms that President Syngman Rhee of the ROK also desired to unite the peninsula under Western philosophies and his own command .American academic of the socialist persuasion Oliver Lee avowed that it was the South Koreans, with help from the American government, who initiated a series of incursions antecedent to the North Korean offensive of 1950 , quoting the official U.S. Army history of the American Military Advisory Group in Korea which stated, "some of the bloodiest engagements were caused by South Korean units securing and preparing defensive positions that were either astride or north of the 38th parallel [prior to 25th June 1950]. ” With the