South Korea Proxy War

The Cold War was fought between the United States and the Soviet Union, however, there was never any direct contact between the two nations. In this war, the United States fought for capitalism and the Soviet Union fought for communism. The United States and Soviet Union fought each other through Proxy wars - wars incited by a major power that does not participate in the war. Two examples of Proxy wars during the Cold War are the Korean and Vietnam Wars. The Korean war began in 1950 when North Korea surprise attacked South Korea. While China fought for North Korea who supported communism, the United States backed South Korea who was a non-communist country. Three years after the war started, in 1953, an armistice was signed and the Korean war
After the Korean war, North Korea established collective farms, heavy industry, and a strong military with nuclear weapons, but they also developed strong economic issues. Under the help of the United States, South Korea prospered. Industry and foreign trade flourished and from the 1980’s to the 1990’s, South Korea had one of the highest economic growth rates. Moreover, in 1987, South Korea allowed free elections. Because of the political difference, North and South Korea did not unify. The United States still kept troops in South Korea and North Korea’s nuclear weapons is one of the biggest obstacles between the two countries. However, after the Vietnam war, North and South Vietnam coalesced under communism. Thousands of Vietnamese were sent to “reeducation camps” to conform to communism ideology and one and a half Vietnamese tried to flee the communist oppression forced upon them by the North Vietnamese. More that 200,000 died at sea trying to escape on overcrowded boats. The 70,000 Vietnamese who did escape ended up settling in North America or refugee camps in South East Asia. Subsequently, Korea remains divided and Vietnam stays merged into a communist