Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

The Korean War began on June 25, 1950, when North Korean forces launched a surprise attack across the 38th parallel into South Korea. The conflict quickly escalated into an international war, with the United States and a UN-led coalition supporting South Korea, and North Korea backed by China and the Soviet Union. After three years of fighting, the war ended in 1953 with an armistice, leaving the Korean Peninsula divided and no clear victor. By analyzing the events during the war that shaped its outcome and the subsequent debate through three perspectives on victory, as well as comparing these perspectives, the study contributes to a deeper discussion of victory in the conflict. 

The purpose of this study is to fill an existing research gap by examining how the three perspectives on victory, end-state, cost-benefit calculus, and match-fixing can help us understand the outcome of the Korean war.

The results of the study will show that two of the three perspectives, end-state, and cost-benefit calculus were successful in appointing victors in the war while the third perspective, match-fixing, was unsuccessful in doing so. The concept of victory is central to understanding war, yet despite this, it remains surprisingly underdeveloped and therefore needs to be studied further.