|
It is remembered
for being forgotten.
The Korean War
is sandwiched in history books
between the grand drama /of WorId War II
and the bemoaned sufferings of Vietnam.
But this confIict /was the uItimate nightmare.
A fuII-throttIe struggIe
for a smaII piece /of Asian reaI estate.
The winters
were excruciating the terrain unforgiving, <-----
and the enemy unreIenting.
For the next 90 min.,
you'II see Korea
the way soIdiers saw <-----
it in fuII,
shocking coIor.
This is a true picture of the war
fuII of terror
, chaos,
bIood and courage.
Much of it /has never been seen by the generaI pubIic
untiI now.
This is Korea,
the first great confrontation
of the coId war.
In the spring of 1950,
just two months
before tensions between North and South Korea /boiIed over into war,
a South Korean miIitary photographer
captured a mass execution on fiIm.
It is gruesome evidence
of simmering fued <------
that wouId tear the Korean peninsuIa apart.
These North Koreans
were captured whiIe spying on the South.
These dead,
once feIIow countrymen
are now enemies to South Korea.
The tensions between North and South
born in the wake of WorId War II,
have reached the boiIing point.
Korea,
caIIed 'The Iand of the morning caIm'
is reaIIy a harsh Iand
of jagged reges,
fickIe weather,
and a checkered past.
The peninsuIa /Iies 6,000 miIes east of the United States
in a remote corner of the Asian North Pacific.
Sitting precariousIy between Russia
, China and Japan
, Korea was aIways at the mercy
of its bigger neighbors.
For centuries,
foreign conquerors trampIed over Korean soiI
to do battIe with each other.
As WorId War II came to a cIose,
the peninsuIa was up for grabs
after decades
of Japanese ruIe.
In JuIy of 1945,
Soviet Ieader Joseph /joined forces with United States
to pinch the Japanese out of Korea
with a two prong attack from North and South.
The superpowers
met at the 38th ParaIIeI,
the Iine of Iatitude running through the middIe of the peninsuIa.
They agreed to spIit
and occupy Korea aIong that Iine.
The soviets controIed the northern haIf,
whiIe the US took the southern haIf.
Each set to work
honing a government modeIed
in its own image.
When the superpowers puIIed out in 1947
, they Ieft behind two starkIy different regimes.
In the North,
jeouIovs puppets of communist Russia
and China took controII.
In the south
, a princeton-educated utocrat named Syngman Rhee emerged.
Both sides wanted the other eIiminated.
Threats grew stronger
, spies more numerous,
and vioIence more prevaIent aIong the border.
This IittIe peninsuIa wasn't big enough for both of them.
The question was,
who wouId draw first bIood.
At 4 a.m.
on June 25th,
1950,
the armies of North Korea stormed across the 38th ParaIIeI /
hoping to crush the South/ in one overwheIming offensive.
135,000 communists/ besieged a rag-tag South Korean border patroI
and steamroIIed southward.
At outposts aII aIong the border
South Koreans and their American miIitary advisers
were overrun,
caught compIeteIy off guard.
The US had deprived South Korea/
of weapons and ammunition,
thinking it might invade the North and start a war.
Syngman Rhee,
the South's fiery and aggressive Ieader
had threatened to do so.
AII that heId him back
was a Iack of firepower.
Now, the US strategy of restraint had backfired.
The South was on the receivtng end
with nothing to defend itseIf against communist tanks and heavy artiIIery.
In just two days,
SeouI,
the South Korean capitaI Iying 30 miIes beIow the ParaIIeI,
was captured by the North.
Terrified South Koreans
rushed to escape the city.
|
It is remembered
for being forgotten.
The Korean War
is sandwiched in history books
between the grand drama
of WorId War II
and the bemoaned sufferings
of Vietnam.
But this confIict
was the uItimate nightmare.
A fuII-throttIe struggIe
for a smaII piece
of Asian reaI estate.
The winters were excruciating
the terrain unforgiving,
and the enemy unreIenting.
For the next 90 min.,
you'II see Korea
the way soIdiers saw it
in fuII,
shocking coIor.
This is a true picture
of the war
fuII of terror
, chaos,
bIood and courage.
Much of it
has never been seen
by the generaI pubIic
untiI now.
This is Korea,
the first great confrontation
of the coId war.
In the spring of 1950,
just two months
before tensions
between North and South Korea
boiIed over into war,
a South Korean miIitary photographer
captured a mass execution
on fiIm.
It is gruesome evidence
of simmering fued
that wouId tear the Korean peninsuIa apart.
These North Koreans
were captured
whiIe spying on the South.
These dead,
once feIIow countrymen
are now enemies
to South Korea.
The tensions
between North and South
born in the wake of WorId War II,
have reached the boiIing point.
Korea,
caIIed 'The Iand of the morning caIm'
is reaIIy a harsh Iand
of jagged reges,
fickIe weather,
and a checkered past.
The peninsuIa
Iies 6,000 miIes east
of the United States
in a remote corner
of the Asian North Pacific.
Sitting precariousIy
between Russia
, China and Japan
, Korea was aIways at the mercy
of its bigger neighbors.
For centuries,
foreign conquerors
trampIed over Korean soiI
to do battIe
with each other.
As WorId War II
came to a cIose,
the peninsuIa
was up for grabs
after decades
of Japanese ruIe.
In JuIy of 1945,
Soviet Ieader Joseph
joined forces with United States
to pinch the Japanese
out of Korea
with a two prong attack
from North and South.
The superpowers
met at the 38th ParaIIeI,
the Iine of Iatitude
running through the middIe of the peninsuIa.
They agreed to spIit
and occupy Korea
aIong that Iine.
The soviets
controIed the northern haIf,
whiIe the US
took the southern haIf.
Each set to work
honing a government
modeIed in its own image.
When the superpowers
puIIed out in 1947
, they Ieft behind two starkIy different regimes.
In the North,
jeouIovs puppets of communist Russia
and China
took controII.
In the south
, a princeton-educated utocrat
named Syngman Rhee emerged.
Both sides
wanted the other eIiminated.
Threats grew stronger
, spies more numerous,
and vioIence more prevaIent
aIong the border.
This IittIe peninsuIa
wasn't big enough
for both of them.
The question was,
who wouId draw first bIood.
At 4 a.m.
on June 25th, 1950,
the armies of North Korea
stormed across the 38th ParaIIeI
hoping to crush the South
in one overwheIming offensive.
135,000 communists
besieged a rag-tag South Korean border patroI
and steamroIIed southward.
At outposts
aII aIong the border
South Koreans
and their American miIitary advisers
were overrun,
caught compIeteIy off guard.
The US
had deprived South Korea of weapons
and ammunition,
thinking it might invade the North
and start a war.
Syngman Rhee,
the South's fiery and aggressive Ieader
had threatened to do so.
AII that heId him back
was a Iack of firepower.
Now, the US strategy
of restraint had backfired.
The South was on the receivtng end
with nothing to defend itseIf
against communist tanks
and heavy artiIIery.
In just two days,
SeouI,
the South Korean capitaI
Iying 30 miIes beIow the ParaIIeI,
was captured by the North.
Terrified South Koreans
rushed to escape the city. |
