How did containment policy manifest in the Korean War?

The containment policy manifested in the Korean War through the United States' military intervention to prevent the spread of communism.

The Korean War (1950-1953) was a significant event during the Cold War era, where the policy of containment, primarily advocated by the United States, was put into action. The containment policy was a strategic foreign policy pursued by the US to prevent the spread of communism abroad. This policy was based on the 'domino theory' which suggested that if one country fell to communism, then the neighbouring countries would also fall like a row of dominoes.

In the context of the Korean War, the North, supported by communist powers China and the Soviet Union, invaded the South in an attempt to unify the peninsula under a communist regime. The South was backed by the United States and other Western powers. The US, under President Harry Truman, viewed the North's invasion as a test of the containment policy and responded by sending troops and providing military aid to South Korea. This was done under the auspices of the United Nations, marking the first military action undertaken by the international body.

The US involvement in the Korean War was a clear manifestation of the containment policy. The Truman administration believed that failure to defend South Korea would send a message to other nations that the US would not stand against communist expansion. The US, therefore, committed significant military resources to the conflict, including ground troops, naval forces, and air power. The war ended in a stalemate with the signing of an armistice in 1953, resulting in the division of Korea along the 38th parallel, a division that still exists today.

In essence, the Korean War was a proxy war, a battleground for the larger Cold War between the two superpowers, the US and the Soviet Union. The US's active involvement in the war was a practical application of the containment policy, demonstrating its commitment to halting the spread of communism worldwide. The Korean War, therefore, serves as a significant example of how the containment policy was implemented during the Cold War era.