The Korean War began when North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea. The peninsula had been divided at the end of the Second World War, with a Soviet-backed government in the north and a US-backed government in the south. The United Nations Security Council authorised military help for the south, and a US-led coalition under General Douglas MacArthur landed at Inchon and pushed deep into the north. Chinese troops entered the war in late 1950 and drove the UN forces back. After the front stabilised near the original border, an armistice was signed at Panmunjom, but no peace treaty has ever been concluded. Millions of Koreans died, and the peninsula remains divided by a demilitarised zone.
Before and after
- 15 February 1950Release of Cinderella
- 21 March 1950Birth of Sergey Lavrov
- 23 March 1950Founding of World Meteorological Organization
- 16 June 1950Construction of Maracanã Stadium
- from 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953Korean War
- 28 June 1950Seoul National University Hospital Massacre
- 9 July 1950Birth of Viktor Yanukovych
- 16 July 1950Uruguay wins the 1950 World Cup in the Maracana
- from 4 August 1950 to 18 September 1950Battle of Pusan Perimeter
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 5 June 1967 to 10 June 1967Six-Day War
- 11 February 1990Nelson Mandela is released from prison
- from 20 March 2003 to 15 December 2011Iraq War
- from 18 December 2010 to 1 December 2012Arab Spring
- from 15 March 2011 to 8 December 2024Syrian Civil War
- 7 October 2023Gaza War
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.