Korea/Vietnam
What continent is the country in?
Korea
•Asia
Vietnam
•Asia
Who controlled the country before WWII?
Korea
Vietnam
•Japan – Korea
•France – Vietnam,
Laos and Cambodia
became a part
of the Japanese became part of the
empire in
Empire in 1905. French
the 1880s.
Who controlled the country during WWII?
Korea
•Japan
Vietnam
•Japan
Was the country split between North and
South?
Korea
• Yes – Following
WW2, Korea was
divided into a
Soviet-backed North
and an Americansupported South.
Vietnam
• Yes- Communist Ho Chi
Minh fought against the
French and drove them
out of Vietnam in the
1950s. An international
peace conference split
Vietnam in two– Ho Chi
Minh’s Communists in the
North and pro-American
non-Communists in the
South.
How did Communism come to the country?
Korea
• The Soviet Union
liberated North
Korea from Japan
and set up a
Communist
government there.
Vietnam
• Ho Chi Minh, who
wanted to free Vietnam
from French
imperialism, asked
Communists to help get
the French out of
Vietnam.
Who was the communist leader?
Korea
•Kim Il Sung
Vietnam
•Ho Chi Minh
Who controlled the North?
Korea
•Communists
(set up by the
Soviets)
Vietnam
•Communists
(led by Ho Chi
Minh)
Who controlled the South?
Korea
Vietnam
•Non-Communists •Non-Communists
(government set (led by U.S.up by the United backed Ngo Dinh
States)
Diem)
Why did Americans get involved?
Korea
• Communist North Korea
invaded non-Communist
South Korea, so USA and
UN troops came to help
South Korea not be
overrun by Communists
Vietnam
• To protect South Vietnam
from Communist North
Vietnam
• North Vietnam attacked US
ships
What U.S. President first sent troops into the
country?
Korea
•Harry S. Truman
Vietnam
• Lyndon B. Johnson
How long were American troops fighting in
the country?
Korea
• 1950-1953=
3 years
Vietnam
• 1964-1973=
9 years
Who were the Americans fighting?
Korea
• North Koreans and
the Chinese
(Communists)
• USSR (sending
money and support
to Communists)
Vietnam
• North Vietnamese and
the South Vietnamese
rebels called the
Vietcong (Communists
• USSR (sending money
and support to
Communists)
Who were the Americans helping?
Korea
• South Korea
(non-communists)
Vietnam
• South Vietnam
(non-communists)
Did the American public support the war?
Korea
• When American troops first went to
Korea, the majority of Americans
supported it. As the war went on there
was less support, and when a cease-fire
was called, support was about half and
half. After the controversy of the
Vietnam War, most people didn’t think
about Korea, and it is often called the
“Forgotten War.”
Vietnam
• At first the American people supported the war. As
the fighting dragged on and on, and as people
began to see actual images form the war on their
TVs, support lessened. Protests against the war
increased and by the late 1960s, most Americans
felt we shouldn’t be involved in Vietnam.
How many soldiers and civilians died in the
fighting (both sides)?
Korea
•4 million total
Vietnam
• 1.5 million
Vietnamese and
58,000 Americans
What was the outcome of the fighting (who
won)?
Korea
• Nobody? Both sides
ended up where they
started… The border
between North Korea
and South Korea stayed
the same.
• People said the soldiers
“Died for a Tie”
Vietnam
• Communist North
Vietnam takes over
South Vietnam and
the United States
pulled out in 1974.
• American public is
unhappy about the
loss.
Was the country reunited?
Korea
Vietnam
•Yes– As soon as
•No– North
U.S. troops
Korea remains the
left
in
1974,
Communist
Communists took
and South
control of the
entire country.
Korea is not.
Is the country friendly with the United States
today?
Korea
• North Korea- No. Their
current leader, Kim
Jong-un does not like
the United States.
• South Korea- Yes.
South Korea has had a
democratic government
since 1988.
Vietnam
•Yes (since 1993),
although they
are still
technically
Communist.
Video Clips
Korea
• The Korean War
• The DMZ Today
Vietnam
• The Vietnam War