AT THE EDGE OF THE KNIFE: AFTER 75 YEARS, KOREA’S LESSONS STILL CUT DEEP
Andy Bogusky , John Nagl June 26, 2025
The beginning of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union in 1947 set the stage for the first “hot war” in Korea.
June 25, 2025, marks the 75th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, a war which technically continues. This date is so impactful that South Koreans refer to this war that continues to divide their homeland as the “6-2-5 War,” or simply as the numbers “6-2-5” (pronounced “yook-ee-o”). With over 1.2 million South Korean lives lost—both military and civilian—the Korean War wasn’t just a national crisis; it was a deeply personal catastrophe etched into the memory of nearly every household. In the United States, it is often referred to as “The Forgotten War,” a tragic misnomer considering over 36,000 Americans lost their lives in just three years. While less than the 58,000 Americans killed in Vietnam over 20 years, the toll reveals the striking intensity and rapid escalation of combat in Korea. But Americans and Koreans were not the only ones to experience loss, as the Korean War also served as the first real test of the United Nations as a military entity, with 14 other countries providing combat units under the United Nations Command, sustaining 3,100 dead.
The losses serve as a grave reminder of a war that offers many lessons. Just two takeaways are offered here: 1) gaps in preparedness invite aggression with the cost of restoring deterrence paid in blood, and 2) the remarkable recovery of the Republic of Korea (South Korea), underwritten by the long-term commitment of the United States, speaks to the continuing relevance of the ROK-U.S. alliance—and other alliances—in today’s volatile environment. While deterrence failed in 1950, this robust alliance has prevented the resumption of hostilities on the Korean Peninsula since. Thus, seventy-five years on, the Korean War offers the United States and its allies pertinent lessons about the role of force posture and readiness for achieving deterrence in a world featuring the same players, just at a different time.
The beginning of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union in 1947 set the stage for the first “hot war” in Korea. This war would see communist-aligned North Korea (backed by Russia and China) square off against the United Nations Command-backed South Korea (de facto U.S.-led) along the 38th parallel. Prior to the invasion, the United States transferred the several army divisions that had been in Korea to Japan to oversee occupation and rebuilding efforts there. In the pre-dawn hours of June 25, 1950 North Korean forces, with Russian consent, mounted a surprise attack in which they encountered the reality of the U.S. post-World War II drawdown, which left only U.S. advisors and no combat divisions supporting South Korean forces. It took only three days for the capital of Seoul to fall, and it would take until 1 July for the first U.S. reinforcements to arrive in the form of Task Force Smith.
https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/articles/korea-at-75/
