Cold War · 1950-1953

The Korean War, 1950-1953

In June 1950 North Korea invaded the South. UN troops, among them Dutch soldiers, and later Chinese armies joined the fighting, and the front swept up and down the peninsula. Three years later it ended close to where it began. Students follow the war on the map and ask why it never officially ended.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1945 to AD 1960
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In June 1950 North Korea invaded the South. UN troops, among them Dutch soldiers, and later Chinese armies joined the fighting, and the front swept up and down the peninsula. Three years later it ended close to where it began. Students follow the war on the map and ask why it never officially ended.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why Korea was divided at the 38th parallel in 1945.
  • Follow the front lines of 1950-1951 on the map from Busan to the Yalu River.
  • Explain why the war ended in an armistice and not a peace treaty.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1945

A divided country

Open the map in 1945 and find Korea. The map shows it split into an American and a Soviet zone. Find the 38th parallel. Why would two outside powers divide a country?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1960

Up and down

Ask the atlas: "How did the front move in the Korean War in 1950?" Find Busan in the south-east and the Yalu River on the Chinese border. How far apart are they?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1960

The line today

Stay in 1960 and find the border between North and South Korea. Is it the same as the 38th parallel? Ask the atlas: "What is the Korean Demilitarized Zone?"

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why did North Korea's leaders think they could win quickly in June 1950?
  2. The UN sent troops from 16 countries, including the Netherlands. Why did so many countries get involved in a war in Korea?
  3. Why did China join the war when UN troops came close to the Yalu River?
  4. General MacArthur wanted to attack China itself. Truman fired him in 1951. Who was right, and why?
  5. The war ended in 1953 with an armistice, not a peace treaty. What does it mean for Koreans that the war never officially ended?
4

Game round

10 min

Play one round of Rule History as Sejong the Great, the Korean king who created the Hangul alphabet. Then discuss: in 1950 Korea's fate was decided largely by outsiders. Which decisions did Kim Il Sung, Syngman Rhee, Truman, Stalin and Mao each make?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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