Korean War: Win, lose, or Draw for America?

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

America's other war that could be considered either way. Vote!

[politicus]

Obvious draw is obvious.

[Del Tachi]

Loss for the United Nations

[The Mikado]

Well, the stated objective was to repel North Korean aggression...however, the objectives obviously changed and annexing North Korea under South Korea became the goal, and the Chinese intervention prevented that from happening.

Draw.

Fun question: in the event of no UN intervention in Korea, could we have a scenario where the South Korean government exists in exile on Jeju Island as another Taiwan-style state in exile?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Fun question: in the event of no UN intervention in Korea, could we have a scenario where the South Korean government exists in exile on Jeju Island as another Taiwan-style state in exile?

Doubtful.  Jeju had been a hotbed of Communist activity before the war and it isn't very large.

[H. Ross Peron]

Partial American victory, the initial goal of beating North Korea back across the 38th Parallel was fulfilled.

[windjammer]

Obvious draw is obvious.

[Badger]

Partial American victory, the initial goal of beating North Korea back across the 38th Parallel was fulfilled.

[RINO Tom]

Partial American victory, the initial goal of beating North Korea back across the 38th Parallel was fulfilled.

[TNF]

I'd say loss, given that the conflict had zero popular support at home for pretty much its entirety, failed to achieve its stated goal of rolling back the communists on the peninsula, and propping up a right-wing dictatorship at the expense of the Korean people.

[Sumner 1868]

A loss for both sides.

[Frodo]

I'd say loss, given that the conflict had zero popular support at home for pretty much its entirety, failed to achieve its stated goal of rolling back the communists on the peninsula, and propping up a right-wing dictatorship at the expense of the Korean people.

Is that a fact?



http://www.gallup.com/poll/7741/gallup-brain-americans-korean-war.aspx

The war was divisive for its time (nothing compared with the Vietnam War, though), but it's not like no one supported it. 

[nolesfan2011]

Partial American victory, the initial goal of beating North Korea back across the 38th Parallel was fulfilled.

Depends on how you define objectives, but I said US win because quite simply it was a NK loss, they lost their sovereignty to China, and failed at their goal of conquering and annexing the South. The US bailed SK out from the Pusan perimeter, and then managed to stop the bleeding after getting pushed back by the Chinese too

[Zioneer]

Considering the difference in quality of life, culture, and basically everything in South Korea as compared to North Korea, I'd say the war was a short-term draw or minor loss, long-term win.

[Vega]

Pretty much the definition of a draw. That might change in the next 50 years, though.

[dead0man]

Considering the difference in quality of life, culture, and basically everything in South Korea as compared to North Korea, I'd say the war was a short-term draw or minor loss, long-term win.

Indeed.

[Lief 🗽]

You have to wonder if the people living in North Korea would have been better off if the communists had taken the entire peninsula. Was North Korea devolving into the dystopian hermit kingdom it currently is inevitable without a hostile South Korea right at its border? (this is not a rhetorical question, I'm hardly an expert on Korea) Probably the people living in South Korea would have been a little worse off, but those living in North Korea would have been many, many times better off if unified communist Korea just evolved into a miniature version of China or something.

[H. Ross Peron]

You have to wonder if the people living in North Korea would have been better off if the communists had taken the entire peninsula. Was North Korea devolving into the dystopian hermit kingdom it currently is inevitable without a hostile South Korea right at its border? (this is not a rhetorical question, I'm hardly an expert on Korea) Probably the people living in South Korea would have been a little worse off, but those living in North Korea would have been many, many times better off if unified communist Korea just evolved into a miniature version of China or something.

Well by this sort of reasoning, a Central Powers victory in World War I resulting in German domination of continental Europe would have been quite desirable without the Holocaust, World War 2. Soviet totalitarianism, and so forth. And East Germany never developed into a "Hermit Kingdom" despite being bordered by West Germany.

[Stranger in a strange land]

Considering the difference in quality of life, culture, and basically everything in South Korea as compared to North Korea, I'd say the war was a short-term draw or minor loss, long-term win.

Indeed.

I would say short-term draw, long-term win for much this reason.

[Sumner 1868]

You have to wonder if the people living in North Korea would have been better off if the communists had taken the entire peninsula. Was North Korea devolving into the dystopian hermit kingdom it currently is inevitable without a hostile South Korea right at its border? (this is not a rhetorical question, I'm hardly an expert on Korea)

Yes, the Orwellianism was from day one. Nonetheless, the North had the better standard of living of the sides until about the 1970s, mostly because it had the convenience of neighboring the two largest communist powers on earth.

[dead0man]

I believe it was the industrial heart of the country before the split too.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

You have to wonder if the people living in North Korea would have been better off if the communists had taken the entire peninsula. Was North Korea devolving into the dystopian hermit kingdom it currently is inevitable without a hostile South Korea right at its border? (this is not a rhetorical question, I'm hardly an expert on Korea)

Yes, the Orwellianism was from day one. Nonetheless, the North had the better standard of living of the sides until about the 1970s, mostly because it had the convenience of neighboring the two largest communist powers on earth.

South Korea was a horrible dictatorship until around 1990.

[NeverAgain]

A win in my opinion. I mean there was 11 seasons of M.A.S.H.