Korean War Quick Facts
1. How many Korean War Veterans are living in the U.S. today?
As of 2000, the U.S. had 2.5 million Korean War Veterans living in the U.S. Estimates place the
number at around 2.2 million in 2011. In five years, this number is expected to drop by half.
2. How many soldiers fought in the Korean War?
Approximately 5.72 million soldiers fought in the Korean War.
3. Where do most Korean War Veterans live today?
Most Korean War Veterans live in California, Florida, Texas, New York, and Pennsylvania.
4. How long was the Korean War?
The Korean War was from June 1950 to July 1953.
5. Has the Korean Peninsula been reunited?
No. Since 1953, the Korean Peninsula has halted hostilities with a ceasefire maintaining the
original 38th parallel border from the start of the Korean War in 1950.
6. Why do people call the Korean War a "forgotten war?"
There are many answers to this question and it is hard to clarify in a simple answer. First, the
Korean War was never an officially recognized war by the United States government. It has been
called the "Korean Conflict" or a "police action." The Korean War followed only five years after
the end of WWII and many people, tired of fighting in WWII, did not want to fight in a new war.
As a result, the Korean War was not highly publicized. Second, the Vietnam War followed the
Korean War and the scope and scale was much greater, involved more troops, and led to a high
death toll as well as vast humanitarian devastation, but most importantly, the Vietnam War was
highly publicized by the Western media. Finally, the Korean War merely maintained the existing
38th parallel. At the time when America had defeated Germany and Japan in WWII, the failure
to push communist forces out of North Korea and establishing a ceasefire treaty signaled no clear
"end" to the war, but simply a pause. Both sides assumed the war was not over yet.
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