Connecting the End of the Pacific War with the Beginnings of the Korean War, 1945-1950
Connecting the End of the Pacific War with the Beginnings of the Korean War, 1945-1950

Summary/Abstract: The end of the Pacific War concluded the fighting between the Axis and Allied powers but set the stage for a second war, the Korean War, just five years later. Some scholars have written on the fighting on the Korean Peninsula that started soon after the Japanese surrendered and the U.S. took over occupation duties for them. The Peninsula had been divided between two allies of the former war, and they quickly turned into enemies well before the fighting broke out in June 1950 as an all-out war; indeed, certain signs show that some considered them adversaries even before Germany’s surrender in May 1945. This paper questions how the dating of wars is considered, arguing that more often than not this duration is determined by the victors who calculate the first attack against them as the start, and the moment a cease-fire is proclaimed as the end, of a war. Yet, wars generally do not end that neatly; they begin before the “first shot” and continue for some time after the belligerent states stop fighting. While this discussion focuses on the events of the Korean War, which is generally dated from 1950 to 1953 as an example, a similar discussion can be made for other wars, as well.

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