Category 1
When did the Korean War begin?
A) 1950
B) 1960
C) 1940
1950
The war began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following clashes along the border and insurrections in the south.
What American foreign policy contributed to U.S. involvement in the Korean War?
A) Eisenhower Doctrine
B) Roosevelt Doctrine
C) Truman Doctrine
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was an American foreign policy with the primary goal of containing Soviet geopolitical expansion during the Cold War. Truman told Congress that, "It must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures." He contended that because totalitarian regimes coerced free peoples, they automatically represented a threat to international peace and the national security of the United States.
What is the Korean War called in South Korea?
A) Fatherland Liberation War
B) 625
C) Korean Civil War
625
In South Korea, the war is usually referred to as "625," or the, "6-2-5 Upheaval," reflecting the date of its commencement on 25 June. In North Korea, the war is officially referred to as the "Fatherland Liberation War".
How many people died in the Korean War?
A) 2 Million
B) 1 Million
C) 3 Million
3 Million
The Korean War was among the most destructive conflicts of the modern era, with approximately 3 million war fatalities and a larger proportional civilian death toll than World War II or the Vietnam War. It incurred the destruction of virtually all of Korea's major cities, thousands of deaths by both sides, including the killing of tens of thousands of suspected communists by the South Korean government, and the torture and starvation of prisoners of war by the North Koreans.
Which country invaded South Korea, which marked the start of the Korean War?
A) China
B) North Korea
C) Russia
North Korea
Supported by China and the USSR, On June 25, 1950, the North Korean People’s Army invaded South Korea.
What conflict set the stage for the Korean War?
A) World War I
B) World War II
C) Vietnam War
World War II
After the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II, Korea was divided into two zones of occupation. The Soviets administered the northern zone and the Americans administered the southern zone. In 1948, as U.S. and Soviet forces began to withdraw, the occupation zones became two sovereign states. But the governments of the two new Korean states each claimed to be the sole legitimate government of all of Korea, and neither accepted the border as permanent.
How many countries contributed personnel to the UN force protecting South Korea?
A) 21
B) 11
C) 16
21
Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force, with the United States providing around 90% of the military personnel.
The Korean War was the first war with battles between _____.
A) Flamethrowers
B) Jet Fighters
C) Heavy Tanks
Jet Fighters
Jet fighters confronted each other in air-to-air combat for the first time in history, and Soviet pilots covertly flew in defense of their communist allies.
What was created by the Korean Armistice Agreement?
A) War Crimes Tribunal
B) Demilitarized Zone
C) Parliamentary Assembly
Demilitarized Zone
The fighting ended on 27 July 1953 when the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed. The agreement created the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to separate North and South Korea. However, no peace treaty was ever signed, and the two Koreas are technically still at war.
Which of these countries provided major support for South Korea?
A) Canada
B) Mexico
C) Italy
Canada
The UN coalition (led by the US) included 22 countries, with major support from nations like Britain, Canada, and Turkey.
What marks the border between North and South Korea?
A) 18th Parallel
B) 48th Parallel
C) 38th Parallel
38th Parallel
On 10 August 1945, U.S. Colonels Dean Rusk and Charles H. Bonesteel III were assigned the task of dividing Korea into Soviet and U.S. occupation zones. They proposed the 38th Parallel as the dividing line. This was incorporated into the US General Order No. 1 which responded to the Japanese surrender on 15 August. Explaining the choice of the 38th Parallel, Rusk observed, "even though it was further north than could be realistically reached by U.S. forces, in the event of Soviet disagreement ... we felt it important to include the capital of Korea in the area of responsibility of American troops".
What DIDN'T the United States do during the Korean War?
A) Use Helicopters
B) Declare War
C) Take Prisoners
Declare War
In the U.S., the war was initially described by President Harry S. Truman as a, "Police action," as the United States never formally declared war on its opponents and the operation was conducted under the auspices of the United Nations.
What U.S. general was fired for insubordination during the Korean War?
A) Douglas MacArthur
B) George S. Patton
C) William T. Sherman
Douglas MacArthur
In March 1951, secret United States intercepts of diplomatic dispatches disclosed clandestine conversations in which General MacArthur expressed confidence to the Tokyo embassies of Spain and Portugal that he would succeed in expanding the Korean War into a full-scale conflict with the Chinese Communists. When the intercepts came to the attention of President Truman, he was enraged to learn that MacArthur had secretly informed foreign governments that he planned to initiate actions that were counter to United States policy. Truman relieved him of command a few days later, saying, "We are trying to prevent a world war--not to start one."
What television show is set during the Korean War?
A) Hogan's Heroes
B) Band of Brothers
C) M*A*S*H
M*A*S*H
M*A*S*H (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American war comedy-drama television series that aired on CBS from 1972 to 1983. It follows a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the, "4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital," in Uijeongbu, South Korea.
The Korean War ended with __________.
A) An Armistice
B) A South Korean Victory
C) A Peace Treaty
An Armistice
The war ended with an armistice on July 27, 1953, creating a 2.5-mile-wide demilitarized zone (DMZ), but no formal peace treaty was ever signed, meaning the two Koreas are technically still at war.
Where was the first communist uprising in Korea?
A) Pyongyang
B) Jeju
C) Seoul
Jeju
The Jeju uprising was notable for its extreme violence. Between 14,000 and 30,000 people (10% of Jeju's population) were killed, and 40,000 fled to Japan. In 2006, almost 60 years after the Jeju uprising, the South Korean government apologized for its role in the killings and promised reparations.
What future Apollo 11 astronaut served as a fighter pilot during the Korean War?
A) Buzz Aldrin
B) Michael Collins
C) Reid Wiseman
Buzz Aldrin
Both Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong piloted planes in Korea, with Aldrin completing 66 missions and Armstrong completing 78.
What U.S. military policy ended during the Korean War?
A) Truman Doctrine
B) Sole Survivor Policy
C) Racial Segregation
Racial Segregation
General Matthew B. Ridgway, who took over for MacArthur, called racial segregation, "Both un-American and un-Christian." By May 1952 he had integrated the entire Far East Command, and by September 1954 the rest of the armed forces had followed suit.
What is the Korean War sometimes called?
A) The Forgotten War
B) The Invisible War
C) The Pointless War
The Forgotten War
In the English-speaking world, it is sometimes referred to as, "The Forgotten War," or, "The Unknown War," because of the lack of public attention it received both during and after the war, relative to the global scale of World War II, which preceded it, and the subsequent angst of the Vietnam War, which succeeded it.
General MacArthur was fired for ____________.
A)
B) Desertion
C) Insubordination
Insubordination
The Truman administration was willing to negotiate with the Communists, but MacArthur wanted to continue fighting. In 1951, he declared that there was no substitute for victory. Truman fired him a few days later for insubordination. “We are trying to prevent a world war—not to start one,” Truman said at the time.
Who was the leader of North Korea at the outbreak of the war?
A) Kim Jong-Un
B) Kim Jong-Il
C) Kim Il-Sung
Kim Il-Sung
In 1949, North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung began seeking the Soviet Union's support for an invasion, hoping to unite Korea after its division by foreign powers. In April 1950, Joseph Stalin gave Kim permission to attack the government in the South under the condition that China would agree to send reinforcements if needed. Kim met with Mao Zedong in May 1950, and although Mao was concerned the U.S. would intervene, he agreed to support the North Korean invasion because China desperately needed the economic and military aid promised by the Soviets.
What percent of American POWs died during the Korean War?
A) 8%
B) 18%
C) 38%
38%
An astonishing 38 percent of U.S. prisoners died in captivity. Life as a POW meant many forced marches in subfreezing weather, solitary confinement, brutal punishments and attempts at political, "Re-education." Torture was common and the Geneva Convention was not followed. More than 7,100 Americans were captured and imprisoned and just over 2,700 are known to have died while imprisoned.
What was the highest ranking American officer captured during the Korean War?
A) General
B) Captain
C) Colonel
General
A month after the war broke out, Major General William F. Dean, commander of 24th Infantry Division, was separated from his forces while going after water for a wounded man. He wandered alone in the mountains for 36 days before being ambushed by North Koreans. Although he tried to fight them off, he had lost more than 80 pounds and was too weak to resist. Dean was taken prisoner on August 25, 1950, and remained a prisoner until the end of the war.
How many statues of soldiers make up the Korean War Veterans Memorial at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.?
A) 19
B) 13
C) 9
19
The Korean War Veterans Memorial consists of 19 steel statues, each measuring around seven feet tall and weighing nearly 1,000 pounds, as well as a peaceful Pool of Remembrance.
After World War II, ________ occupied the northern half of the Korean Peninsula.
A) China
B) The Soviet Union
C) Japan
The Soviet Union
After World War II, the Soviet Union occupied the northern half of the peninsula and the United States occupied the south. The United Nations called for elections in 1947, but the Soviet Union refused, setting up a communist government in the North. The North and the South both wanted to unify Korea under their own rule. Fights along the border left thousands dead.