Korean War Facts for Kids

Korean War
  • Conflict Name: Korean War
  • Conflict Start: June 25th, 1950
  • Conflict End: July 27th, 1953
  • Conflict Belligerents: South Korea and North Korea, and their allies.
  • Conflict Winner: Stalemate
  • Military Death Toll: Between 576,000 and 776,000
  • Civilian Death Toll: Between two to three million

14 Korean War Facts for Kids

  1. The Korean War was an armed conflict between North Korea, South Korea and their allies.
  2. The Korean War is sometimes called the Forgotten War or the Unknown War in the United States.
  3. The Korean War started on June 25th, 1950 and ended on July 27th, 1953.
  4. South Korea and the United States of America fought against North Korea, China and the Soviet Union.
  5. The Korean War is one of the many proxy wars fought during the Cold War between the United States of America and the Soviet Union.
  6. The Korean War was ultimately a military stalemate, and neither side officially won the war.
  7. The Korean Armistice Agreement ended fighting between both countries and created the DMZ (Korean Demilitarized Zone). Since no peace treaty was signed between both countries, they are still technically at war.
  8. It’s estimated that over 500,000 military personnel were killed during the Korean War.
  9. It’s estimated that between two to three million civilians were killed during the Korean War.
  10. Within the first two months of the Korean War the US Armed Forces and South Korean Army were on the verge of defeat. Their forces retreated to a small area known as the Pusan Perimeter.
  11. In October 1950, the United Nations coalition was moving rapidly to the Yalu River, which is also the border of China. Due to this rapid advance to the Chinese border, the PVA (People’s Volunteer Army) crossed the Yula River and joined the war on October 19th, 1950.
  12. The intervention of China on October 19th, 1950 is what triggered the United Nations collation to withdraw to the 398th Parallel, the original border between South Korea and North Korea.
  13. The United States considered using nuclear weapons during the Korean War. Prior to the Korean War, and to this day, nuclear weapons have only been used in war twice, both times by the United States of America.
  14. The capital of South Korea (Seoul) changed hands four different times throughout the Korean War.

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