Abstract—The Korean War holds a significant place in the
history of modern Korea. However, because it was a highly
political and ideological conflict, it has been difficult to assess its
true nature in a more-balanced, less-biased manner; both North
and South Korea have argued for each side regarding the
justness of the war. By reassessing the historical question of
“Was the Korean War a just war?” this paper attempts to
redefine the just-or-not question, since such a narrow viewpoint
does not allow the forgotten parts of the Korean War to be
revealed. By applying the just war theory and reassessing
historical facts from a more historical perspective, this paper
shows how unjust elements existed in both Koreas during the
Korean War. Following demonstrations, this paper further
suggests that it is more important and even necessary to
consider wider perspectives and more historical factors in order
to assess this major historical event from a more balanced
viewpoint.
Index Terms—Historiography, history, Korea, Korean War.
Hoeun Choi is with the Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies, Korea
(e-mail: isakhe@hanmail.net).
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Cite: Hoeun Choi, " Just War or Not: A Reassessment of the Korean War," International Journal of Social Science and Humanity vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 229-232, 2014.