Liberation and the Korean War
 History of Korea
Other Issues of the Korean War
The Geneva Conference
There were two Geneva Conferences conducted in 1953. From April 26 to June 15,
there was a meeting to try and negotiate an armistice between the fighting Koreas.
However, from May 8 to July 21, the proceedings concerning Indochina overshadowed
the Korean problem. The issues brought forward during the Geneva Conference were
the problem of post-war elections assuming there was going to be reunification
and how to withdraw military forces from the area. Syngman Rhee remained opposed
to the ending of the war without a complete reunification of Korea throughout the
Geneva Conference. The United States delegation sided with Rhee's views and prevented
reunification.
The Unknown War
The Korean War is mainly an "Unknown War." Korea was not considered a political
or military hot spot until the 1950s. There were hardly any government officials
in any country who were knowledgeable on Korean culture. For many Americans who s
tayed home, it was difficult to support the war when one did not know the purpose.
Recognition of the war outside of Korea and the immediate Asian area is very sparse.
In fact, acknowledging and researching the war is a recent phenomenon. The most
popular presentation on the Korean War comes not from a history text, but rather,
the television series "M.A.S.H." But even this program shows characters who are
participating in a war they themselves do not understand. It was only in 1987 that
Great Britain erected a memorial in honor of those who fought in the Korean War.
Despite this recent interest in the memory of the war, still not enough is known by
the general public. Many people still have not heard about the Korean War, for it
is overshadowed by the World Wars that preceded it and the Vietnam war that followed
immediately after it.
Army Code of Conduct
One of the issues discussed at length at the Geneva Conferences and for a long time
afterwards was the repatriation of prisoners-of-war. For Korean and Chinese prisoners
the question was how to repatriate and who to repatriate to the respective sides.
The question remained unresolved as to an appropriate manner in which to carry out
this operation. For Western prisoners-of-war, they returned under suspicion of
being brainwashed or collaborators as their activity in captivity could not be
documented. The accusations and fears led the U.S. Army to compose and enforce
a uniform Code of Conduct for all prisoners-of war. It states that under no
circumstances can a captured soldier volunteer any information other than name,
rank, and number.
Liberation and the Korean War
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