Quick Facts about the Korean War
Major Participating Countries
- North Korea (supplied and advised by the Soviet Union, and supported by People’s Republic of China)
- South Korea (supported by the United Nations, with the United States as the principal participant)
Abbreviated List of Important Dates
August 14, 1945: U.S. Army chooses the 38th parallel as the dividing line between Soviet and U.S. zones in Korea, post-WWII.
1948: Both the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) are established.
June 25, 1950: The North Korean War officially starts, with North Korean troops crossing the 38th parallel. Two days later, the United Nations Security Council allows UN member states to provide military assistance to South Korea via Resolution 83.
July 27, 1953: A demilitarized zone is established alongside the 38th parallel, signaling an armistice.
Source for Quick Facts: Britannica's timeline of the Korean War and the National Park Service's page Korean War Overview.
Image Source: Cropped image of Battle of the hills in Korea. 1952, Volume 5 page 623 Column 3 Row 6
Catalog Tips for Finding Maps at the Map Division
When searching the Online Research Catalog, in the Advanced Search, checkmark "Cartographic" under Format and type the following into the Keyword Field or Subject Field for most results:
- Korean War
- Korea [utilizing date function, limit to years from approximately 1950-1953]
For more specific results, combine the above search terms with any of the terms listed in the "Terms to Search in the Online Research Catalog" portion of this guide's Using Our Catalogs page.
For holdings of other items that are not in the Online Research Catalog, please search in the printed Dictionary Catalog of the Map Division (available online via HathiTrust), by:
- [Town/Village/City Name] + associated year
- Korea + associated year (Korea-related material starts in Volume 5, starting page 620)
A Selection of Korean War Maps and Atlases at NYPL's Map Division
Battle of the hills in Korea. 1952
- Volume 5 page 623 Column 3 Row 6
- Catalog Note: This map locates all the battlefront hills, which have carried...GI nicknames in dispatches from the front
- Pacific Stars and Stripes map of the War. 1952
- ...Map of the war. 1953
- Volume 5 page 624 Column 1 Row 2
- Catalog Note: Inset showing area of fighting. Flags and insignia on borders.
- Korea. 1954
- Map Div. 09-5644
- Created by Korea (Republic). Army Map Service
- 10 sheets
- The two Koreas / produced by National Geographic Maps for National Geographic Magazine. 2003
Image: Pacific Stars and Stripes map of the War. 1952; Volume 5 page 623 Column 3 Row 7
Digital Map Collections
- U.S. Army Center of Military History
- Korean War Home Page
- Korean War Maps: Includes digitized maps from Walter G. Hermes, Truce Tent and Fighting Front (Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, 1988) and Billy C. Mossman, Ebb and Flow: November 1950-July 1951 (Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, 1990)
Additional Recommended Books and Documents at NYPL
- Korea's independence. 1947
- Author: United States. Department of State
- Courtesy of Harvard Library
- Korea handbook.1950
- Author: United States. Department of the Army. General Staff.
- UA995.K6 U52
- Courtesy of Columbia University
- Guide to the U.N. in Korea; a year of collective action. [1951]
- Author: United States. Department of State
- Digitized copy available via Google Books: Click here to access
- Courtesy of Harvard Library
- The conflict in Korea ; events prior to the attack on June 25, 1950. [1951]
- Author: United States. Department of State. Office of Public Affairs.
- DS917 .U53 1950c and 76f 5175
- Courtesy of Harvard Library
- A pictorial history of the Victory Division in Korea / [U.S. Army. 24th Infantry Division]. [1953]
- BEO (United States. Army. 24th Division. Pictorial history of the Victory Division)
- Regimental history
- Utilization of Negro Manpower in the Army collection, 1951-1968.
- Sc MG 667
- Finding aid
- Note from catalog: This collection contains an advance draft of the "Utilization of Negro Manpower in the Army: A 1951 Study", and a copy of "The Reporter" (December 1954) which includes Leo Bogart's article. There are also several reports including "The Army and its Negro Soldiers"; "The Utilization of Negro Troops in Korea: A Report on a Field Survey", June 1951; and "The Utilization of Negro Troops in Korea: A Supplementary Report", September 1951. Additionally, there are copies of correspondence between Bogart and officials concerning the declassification of the "Utilization of Negro Manpower."
When searching your local neighborhood library for books about the Korean War, we recommend trying these keyword searches on the home page of NYPL.
- Korean War
Please see below for a list of recommended books about the Korean War that can be found at your local branch:
The Korean War by 
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ISBN: 9780810896307Publication Date: 2018-03-29This classic history of the Korean War--from its origins through the armistice--is now available in a paperback edition including a substantive introduction that considers the heightened danger of a new Northeast Asian war as Trump and Kim Jung-un escalate their rhetoric. Wada Haruki, one of the world's leading scholars of the war, draws on archival and other primary sources in Russia, China, the United States, South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan to provide the first full understanding of the Korean War as an international conflict from the perspective of all the actors involved. Wada traces the North Korean invasion of South Korea in riveting detail, providing new insights into the behavior of Kim Il Sung and Syngman Rhee. He also provides new insights into the behavior of Communist leaders in Korea, China, Russia, Eastern Europe, and their rivals in other nations. He traces the course of the war from its origins in the North and South Korean leaders' failed attempts to unify their country by force, ultimately escalating into a Sino-American war on the Korean Peninsula. Although sixty-five years have passed since the armistice, the Korean conflict has never really ended. Tensions remain high on the peninsula as Washington and Pyongyang, as well as Seoul and Pyongyang, continue to face off. It is even more timely now to address the origins of the Korean War, the nature of the confrontation, and the ways in which it affects the geopolitical landscape of Northeast Asia and the Pacific region. With his unmatched ability to draw on sources from every country involved, Wada paints a rich and full portrait of a conflict that continues to generate controversy.
The Korean War by - This link opens in a new window
ISBN: 9780679643579Publication Date: 2010-07-27The Korean War, More than any other war in modern times, is surrounded by residues and slippages of memory. The Great War's place is indelible, its annihilating violence a permanent reminder of war's carnage. World War II was the good war, an outright victory to be celebrated. Vietnam tore the United States apart. With Korea there is less a presence than an absence; thus the default reflexive American name: "the forgotten war." For years I rejected the "forgotten war" rubric; the unknown war seemed much better. But for Americans Korea is both: a forgotten war and a never-known war. For Americans Korea is just one among several wars best forgotten, just another transient episode among a myriad of interventions in Third World countries that do not bear close examination, but have unsettling ways of coming back to haunt us. Book jacket.
Twice Forgotten by - This link opens in a new window
ISBN: 9781469664538Publication Date: 2022-01-25Journalists began to call the Korean War "the Forgotten War" even before it ended. Without a doubt, the most neglected story of this already neglected war is that of African Americans who served just two years after Harry S. Truman ordered the desegregation of the military. Twice Forgotten draws on oral histories of Black Korean War veterans to recover the story of their contributions to the fight, the reality that the military;desegregated in fits and starts, and how veterans' service fits into the long history of the Black freedom struggle.
