1950 in South Korea 25 June 1950 in the whole of Korea. The Korean War happened because the North Korean forces surprised the South Korean army and the small U.S. force stationed in the country, and quickly headed toward the capital of South Korea. The trigger for the war was when, in 1950, Syngman Rhee, who was the South Korean president those days, boasted that he was going to attack North Korea. It was a good enough excuse, so the North Koreans invaded South Korea. This started the actual fighting. On 26 June 1950, U.S. President Harry S. Truman directs General Douglas MacArthur to
Tanks of South Korea its inferior mobility, and in November, 1949, the upgraded M26 received a new power plant and a main gun with bore evacuator, and the M46 Patton designation. Less than a thousand were upgraded to M46 standard. On 8 August 1950 the first M46 Pattons landed in South Korea. The tank proved superior to the much lighter North Korean T-34-85, which were encountered in relatively small numbers. By the end of 1950, 200 M46 Pattons had been fielded, forming about 15% of US tank strength in Korea; the balance of 1,326 tanks shipped to Korea during 1950 included 679 M4A3 Shermans,