KW
Fall Semester, 2006
The Korean War: International Conflicts
Jae Chang Kim
Course Description
Korean War was one of the most important events in the international
relations during the Cold War. Although it was a limited war that took
place in Northeast Asia, almost all major powers in the world were
involved. In many ways, it served as a substitute for World War III. This
course analyzes the policies and strategies of the major participants of
the war and their interactions.
Requirements & Evaluations
1. Class Participation: 20%
2. Mid-term exam: 40%
3. Final Exam or A short review essay 40%
Books recommended to purchase:
Chen Jian, China’s Road to the Korean War: The Making of the SinoAmerican Confrontation (New York: Columbia University Press, 1994)
William Stueck, The Korean War: an International History
(Princeton: Princeton University Press 1995)
Zhang Shu Guang, Mao’s Military Romanticism: China and the Korean
War, 1950-1953 (Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1995)
Sergei N. Goncharov, John W. Lewis, and Xue Litai, Uncertain Partners:
Stalin, Mao and the Korean War (Stanford: Stanford University Press,
1993)
Sep. 1. Introduction:
Sep. 8. Regional Setting of the Korean Peninsula & the Cold War:
Russo-Japanese Rivalry over Korean Buffer at the Beginning of the 20th
Century and its Implications by Seung-young Kim (Lecturer, Department
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of Politics and International Relations, University of Aberdeen); Joseph S.
Nye, Jr., Understanding International Conflicts (New York: Longman,
2003), ch. 5, The Cold War, pp. 112-128
Sep. 15. Division of the Korean peninsula
William Stueck, Rethinking the Korean War (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 2002), ch 1: The Coming of the Cold War to Korea, pp.
11-38; ch. 2, Syngman Rhee, the Truman Doctrine, and American Policy
toward Korea, 1947-1948, pp. 40-60
Further Reading: William Stueck, The Korean War: an International
History (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995), ch. 1, pp. 10-46.
OO Extra Program # 1: Origin of the Korean War:
Bruce Cumings, The Origins of the Korean War: Liberation and the
Emergence of Separate Regimes, 1945-1947 (Princeton: Princeton
University Press), Preface; Peter Lowe, The Origin of the Korean War
(London: Longman), ch. 1: Korea, Japanese Empire, and the Pacific War,
pp. 1-17, ch. 2: The Establishment of Two Koreas, pp. 19-42, ch. 3: The
Approach of Confrontation in Korea, pp. 43-71.
Sep. 22. Stalin, Mao, and the Chinese Civil War:
Sergei N. Goncharov, John W. Lewis, and Xue Litai, Uncertain Partners:
Stalin, Mao, and the Korean War, (Stanford: Stanford University Press,
1993), ch. 1, Stalin, Mao, and the Chinese Civil War, 1945-1948, pp. 135; ch. 2, Prelude to Negotiations, pp. 36-75
Sep. 29. Making the Alliance:
Sergei N. Goncharov, John W. Lewis, and Xue Litai, Uncertain Partners:
Stalin, Mao, and the Korean War, (Stanford: Stanford University Press,
1993), ch. 3, The Making of the Alliance, pp 76-109, ch. 4, End Game,
pp 110-129.
Oct. 6. Chuseok
Oct. 13. North Korea Crosses 38th Parallel:
Roy E. Appleman, South to the Nakdong, North to the Yalu, (Washington
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D.C.: Office of the Chief of the Military History, DoD, 1961), ch. 2:
Armed Forces of North and South Korea, pp. 7-18; ch. 3: Invasion
Across the Parallel, pp 19-35; ch. 4: The United States and the United
Nations React, pp. 36-48; ch. 5, The North Korea Crosses the Han River,
pp. 49-58, ch. 6: American Ground Forces Enter the Battle, pp. 59-76;
Joseph Goulden, Korea: The Untold Story of the War (New York:
McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1982), ch. 3: A Police Action: Truman’s Decision
to Use Force in Korea, pp. 84-108.
Oct. 20. Delaying Action and Incheon Landing:
Appleman, ch. 7, Delaying Action: Pyongtack to Chochiwon, pp. 77-100;
ch. 9, Eighth Army in Command, pp. 109-120; Appleman, ch. 24, The
North Korean Great Nakdong Offensive, pp. 454-487; ch. 25, The
Landing at Incheon, pp. 488-514; Joseph Goulden, ch. 7, A Winning
Gamble at Inchon, pp. 184-232.
Oct. 27. UN Forces Crosses 38th Parallel:
Joseph Goulden, ch. 8, pp. 233-247; Appleman, ch. 29, The Plan for
Complete Victory, pp. 605-621; ch. 30, Eighth Army and X Corps Enter
North Korea, pp. 622-637; ch. 31. The Capture of Pyongyang, pp. 638653;
OO Extra Program # 2: Chen Jian, China’s Road to the Korean War: The
Making of the Sino-American Confrontation (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1994), ch. 5, Beijing’s Response to the Outbreak of the
Korean War, pp. 125-157; ch. 6, After Incheon: The Making of the
Decision on Intervention, pp. 158-189.
Nov. 3. Mid-term
Nov. 10. Road to Chinese Intervention: Goncharov, ch. 5, The Decision
for War in Korea, pp. 130-167; Goncharov, ch. 6: China Enters the
Korean War, pp. 168-202; Shu Guang Zhang, Mao’s Military
Romanticism: China and the Korean War, 1950-1953 (Kansas: University
Press of Kansas, 1995), ch. 2, pp. 12-30; ch. 3, Preparedness Eliminates
Mishaps, pp. 31-54; ch. 4, We Can’t Sit Still with folded Hands, pp. 55-
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87; Goulden, ch. 11, The Idle Armed Millions of Communist China, pp.
274-285
Nov. 17. Chinese Offensives: General Peng Teh-Huai’s Strategy:
Shu Guang Zhang, ch. 5: Luring the Enemy in Deep, pp. 86-119; ch. 6:
Between the Offensive and the Defensive, pp. 120-153; Joseph Goulden,
ch. 12: Enter the Chinese, pp. 286-308, ch. 13: The November Lull, pp.
309-322.
Nov. 24. Stalemate and Negotiations:
Shu Guang Zhang, ch. 7: Fighting a Stalemated War, pp. 154-187; ch. 8:
Mobilization of Minds on the Battlefield, pp. 188-215; Shu Guang Zhang,
ch. 9, Negotiating While Fighting, pp. 216-246;
Dec. 1. Armistice:
William Stueck (1995), ch. 6, Armistice Talks: Origins and Initial Stages,
pp. 204-236; ch. 8, Deadlock, pp. 268-307; ch. 9, Concluding an
Armistice, pp. 308-347. ch. 10, The Korean War as International
History: The Korean War as a substitute for World War III, pp. 348-370.
Dec. 8. Lessons of the Korean War:
Shu Guang Zhang, ch. 10: The Lessons of Korea, pp. 247-261; Heny
Kissenger, Diplomacy (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994), ch. 19, pp.
473-492; Appleman, ch.39, The Big Question: Why China Intervened, pp.
749-776.
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