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Ib History Ia: Why Did Mao Intervene in the Korean War?

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Ib History Ia: Why Did Mao Intervene in the Korean War?
| History Internal Assessment | Why did Mao intervene in the Korean War from 1950-53? | Gyeonggi Academy of Fo reign LanguagesHa Rim Kim006370-008 | 2013-04-20 |

Word Count: 1997 |

A: Plan of Investigation
The research question that will be addressed is: Why did Mao decide to intervene in the Korean War (1950-53)? As far as the scope is concerned, I will be looking at the three major reasons behind Mao’s intervention in the war: Mao’s need of Soviet support, apprehension of American aggression, and his obligation to help North Korea. Thus, to achieve accuracy and depth in my research, I used relevant secondary sources such as books written by reputable authors with expert knowledge in history of modern China such as Spence, Fenby and Cumings, and also used journal articles. I followed a chronological approach in the summary of evidence, and a thematic approach in the analysis.

B: Summary of Evidence 1931 * September 18th Manchurian Incident: Japanese troops stationed in Korea invade the Chinese border (Spence 370).
1937-45
* 90,000 Koreans fought on the CCP’s side in the anti-Japanese resistance, and among them only 28,000 returned to Korea (Cumings 143-44). * Kim Song Ju joined the CCP’s Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army and fought against the Japanese in Manchuria (Behnke 33).
1947-49
* America supported the GMD in the Chinese Civil War (Lynch China: From Empire 125). * Kim Il Sung sent numerous soldiers to help the CCP in the Chinese Civil War (Behnke 44).
1949
* Chiang Kai-Shek retreated to Taiwan (Spence 500). * Mao confirmed that China will be on Soviet’s side by stating that he is “leaning to one side” (Spence 498). * Mao sought to unite China and Taiwan (Spence 500). * Mao issued propaganda saying America will try to hinder the revolution by sending “their troops to invade and harass China’s frontiers” (Chen 16). * October 1st Mao announces the creation of the PRC (People’s Republic of China) (Lynch China: From



Bibliography: Behnke, Alison. Kim Jong Il 's North Korea. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century, 2008. Print. Chang, Jung, and Jon Halliday. Mao: The Unknown Story. London: Jonathan Cape, 2005. Print. Chen, Jian. China 's Road to the Korean War: The Making of the Sino-American Confrontation Crocker, Harry M. "CHINESE INTERVENTION IN THE KOREAN WAR." Thesis. Louisiana State University, 1997. Gradschool.lsu.edu. Regentís College, Dec. 2002. Web. 15 Mar. 2013. Cumings, Bruce. The Korean War: A History. New York: Modern Library, 2010. Print. Fenby, Jonathan. The Penguin History of Modern China: The Fall and Rise of a Great Power, 1850-2009. London: Penguin, 2009. Print. Hanhimäki, Jussi M., and Odd Arne. Westad. The Cold War: A History in Documents and Eyewitness Accounts. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2003. Print. Hastings, Max. The Korean War. 3rd ed. London: Pan, 2010. Print. Lynch, Michael J. China: From Empire to People 's Republic 1900-49. 2nd ed. London: Hodder Education, 2010. Print. Lynch, Michael J. Mao. London: Routledge, 2004. Print. Rogers, Keely, and Jo Thomas. 20th Century World History: The Cold War. Harlow, Essex: Heinemann International, 2008. Print. Scobell, Andrew. "Soldiers, Statesmen, Strategic Culture and China 's 1950 Intervention in Korea." Journal of Contemporary China. 8.22 (1999): 477-97. Tandfonline.com. Routledge. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. Sheng, Michael. "The Psychology of the Korean War: The Role of Ideology and Perception in China 's Entry into the War." Journal of Conflict Studies [Online], 22.1 (2002): n. p Web. 11 Apr. 2013. Spence, Jonathan D. The Search for Modern China. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1999. Print.

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