Korean War: Continuity or Change?

The Korean War was one of the first major conflicts between the two superpowers of US and USSR. It happened just half a decade after the end of WWII and was present with many themes that would apply to the rest of the Cold War. Now here's the question of whether these themes were new at the time or simply repeating. Did the Korean War represent the pattern of change or continuity?

The Korean War from June 25th, 1950 to July 27th, 1953 was an armed conflict fought between North Korea and South Korea. However, it was fought primarily between the major actors of the Cold War, including the United States, China, and the USSR. Communist North Korea, led by Kim Il-sung and backed by the USSR, attacked South Korea, led by Syngman Rhee and backed by the United States. Both leaders of each Korea wanted to unify the peninsula, but the USSR heavily supported North Korea with equipment while the US appeared to loosen their grip on South Korea by not giving as much support. This was apparent when North Korea had a highly organized government and was more successful financially and militarily compared to South Korea. It seemed like a sign for no US intervention should the north attack, and so with the support of Stalin and Mao of People's Republic of China, Kim Il-sung invaded across the 38th Parallel and swept past the inferior South Korean forces. The US proposed and managed to pass Resolution 82 in the Security Council due to the USSR's boycotting of the UN meetings, and gained the support of the UN to defend South Korea. The South Koreans have already lost most of the land to North Korea, although UN (mostly US) intervention quickly pushed back the 38th Parallel and reversed the situation to overwhelming most of North Korea. China saw the intervention as a threat to their security and with the support of USSR air force, helped North Korea push back to the 38th Parallel. After repelling another major North Korean offensive that swept across most of South Korea, the US began attempting peace talks with North Korea. The talks resulted in an armistice in 1953 that created a demilitarized zone to separate each country.

To summarize the events, both Koreas wanted to unify the peninsula. Stalin supported Kim Il-sung to invade South Korea as a part of the policy to expand Communism. The US continued their policy of containing Communism as originally part of the Truman Doctrine, although it wasn't until the beginning of the war when they realized the threat of North Korea. They sought to rebuild and unify all of Korea in their ideal, democratic methods. Mao Zedong of People's Republic of China agreed to support North Korea under the promise that the USSR would help rebuild and strengthen China alongside a Communist-unified Korea, although they were hesitant at first. It wasn't until the UN intervention when Mao viewed it as a direct threat from the US to control land directly bordering China. While the USSR supported North Korea, they were unwilling to send troops against the US to avoid direct confrontations between the two superpowers. The question of continuity or change comes with whether these themes were present here in the Cold War for the first time.

It's difficult to deny the fact that it wasn't the first time the USSR tried to expand its influence or the first time the US tried to contain any sign of Communism. It's also difficult to deny that it wasn't the first time that each tried their best to avoid direct confrontations. After WWII, Germany became a major symbol of the Cold War for a reason, while the Korean War was often known as the "forgotten war" due to the infamy of WWII and the Vietnam War before and after. Germany was split between the four victors of WWII, although it eventually was split primarily into east and west. This split was much like the Capitalist and Communist split present later in Korea's situation. Both superpowers wanted to rebuild all of Germany the way they envisioned, with the US focused on free trade while the USSR focused on establishing Communism. North Korea requested help from the USSR just like how west Berlin and the Federal Republic of Germany was heavily reliant on the US and its allies.