KW Syllabus
Spring Semester, 2010
The Korean War: An International Conflict
(For Graduate Students of International Studies)
Jae Chang Kim
Course Description
As Professor Stueck argued, the Korean War served as a substitute for World War III in its timing, its course, and its outcome. Although the war was limited to the Korean peninsula in geographical scope, it included combatants representing more than twenty different governments from six continents. Despite terrible destructions throughout the three years of bloody struggle, the war failed to resolve the political division of the Korean peninsula. It presents almost all aspects of multilateral nature of the war in its cause, execution, and termination. This course analyzes the policies and strategies of the major participants of the war and their interactions.
Requirements & Evaluations
- Class Participation: 20%
- Mid-term exam: 50%
- Final Exam or A short Review Essay 30%
Reference Books:
Peter Lowe, The Origins of the Korean War (New York: Longman, 1986)
Seung-Young Kim, American Diplomacy and Strategy toward Korea and Northeast Asia, 1882-1950 and After(New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009)
Chen Jian, China’s Road to the Korean War: The Making of the Sino-American Confrontation (New York: Columbia University Press, 1994)
William Stueck, The Korean War: an International History (Princeton: Princeton University Press 1995)
William Stueck, Rethinking the Korean War: A New Diplomatic and Strategic History (Princeton: PrincetonUniversity Press, 2002)
Zhang Shu Guang, Mao’s Military Romanticism: China and the Korean War, 1950-1953 (Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1995)
Allen S. Whiting, China Crosses Yalu, The Decision to Enter the Korean War (New York: Macmillan, 1960)
Sergei N. Goncharov, John W. Lewis, and Xue Litai, Uncertain Partners: Stalin, Mao and the Korean War (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1993)
* Thomas Christensen, Useful Adversaries: Grand Strategy, Domestic Mobilization, and Sino-American Conflict, 1947-1958(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996)
* Rosemary Foot, The Wrong War: American Policy and the Dimensions of the Korean Conflict, 1950-1953 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1985)
* Callum MacDonald, Britain and the Korean War (Cambride: Basil Blackwell, 1990)
* Robert Simons, The Strained Alliance: Peking, Pyongyang, Moscow and the Politics of the Korean War (New York: Free Press, 1975)
* Gen. Paik Sun Yup, From Pusan to Panmunjom (Virginia: Brassey’s 1992)
* Park, Myung-Lim, The Korean War: The Outbreak and its Origins (Seoul, Nanam Publishing House, 2003)
Lecture Schedule
Mar. 5. Introduction: Overview of the Korean War
Mar. 12.The Cold War and the Korean Peninsula: International Setting
Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Understanding International Conflicts (New York: Longman, 2003), ch. 5, The Cold War, pp. 112-128; Seung-Young KIM, American Diplomacy and Strategy toward Korea and Northeast Asia, 1882-1950 and After (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), ch. 5, pp73-82, Vision of Cooperation among Allies and the Four Power Trusteeship Plan for Korea.
Mar. 19. Historical Backdrop: Regional Setting
Seung-Young KIM, American Diplomacy and Strategy toward Korea and Northeast Asia, 1882-1950 and After(New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), ch. 7, pp 105-131, Consolidation of the Bipolar Perception and US Suggestion of the Thirty-eight Parallel; ch. 9, pp 155-174, The Reemergence of a Multi-polar Vision and the Decision for Withdrawal from Korea.
Mar. 26. Stalin and Mao
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. 1-35; ch. 2, Prelude to Negotiations, pp. 36-75
Apr. 2. Uncertain Partners:
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.
Apr. 9. North KoreanInvasion Across the 38th Parallel and US Road to Intervention: Seung-Young Kim, American Diplomacy and Strategy toward Korea and Northeast Asia, 1882-1950 and After(New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), ch. 10: pp175-201
Apr. 16.War Policy and Strategy: Delaying Action & Incheon Landing:
Roy E. Appleman, South to the Nakdong, North to the Yalu, (Washington D.C.: Office of the Chief of the Military History, DoD, 1961),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(Refer to Internet Sources); Joseph Goulden, ch. 7, A Winning Gamble at Inchon, pp. 184-232.
Apr. 23. China’s Road to the Korean War:
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; 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. 55-87; Goulden, ch. 11, The Idle Armed Millions of Communist China, pp. 274-285
Apr. 30. Mid-term
May. 7. 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.
May. 14. 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;
May. 21. No Lecture
May. 28. Uncomfortable Allies.
Callum MacDonald, Britain and the Korean War (UK: Basil Blackwell, 1990), ch. 3, The Korean Decision, pp. 18-28; ch. 6, Negotiations, pp. 53-66; ch. 7. Impasse, pp. 67-80; ch. 8, Armistice, pp. 81-93.
Jun. 4. 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.
Jun. 11. Lessons of the Korean War:
Sergei N. Goncharov, John W. Lewis, and Xue Litai, Uncertain Partners: Stalin, Mao, and the Korean War, (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1993), ch. 7, Summing Up, pp. 203-225; Shu Guang Zhang, ch. 10: The Lessons of Korea, pp. 247-261; Callum MacDonald, Britain and the Korean War (UK: Basil Blackwell, 1990), ch. 9, Conclusion, pp. 94-96; Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994), ch. 19, pp. 473-492.
Jun. 18. Final Exam or Term Paper
Note: This syllabus is subject to modification.
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