Cultural Memories and Geopolitical Dynamics of the Korean War

The Korean War came dangerously close to going nuclear, and if would have if Gen. Douglas MacArthur had gotten his way. He proposed using 30 to 50 nuclear primarily to targeting air bases, depots, and supply lines across the neck of Manchuria to create a radioactive barrier and halt Chinese and North Korean advances. This would have killed millions and almost definitely brought the Soviet Union into full-scale war against the United States.

In this episode, we explore the Korean War’s pivotal role in shaping the Cold War, diving into the tense standoff between East and West. The conflict erupted with North Korea’s 1950 invasion, prompting a daring counteroffensive by MacArthur, whose strategic overreach drew Communist China into the fray. The rapid escalation pushed the U.S. to contemplate using nuclear weapons, a decision that could have reshaped the 20th century.

To explore this is today’s guest, Robert Lyman, author of “Korea: War Without End.” The Korean War was not planned as a Communist offensive against the West. In turn, the East did not understand the principle at the core of the Western response to Kim Il-sung’s aggression, namely a refusal to appease an aggressor, the key mistake the West considered to be at the heart of the rise of Nazi Germany and militaristic Japan in the 1930s.

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