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
United States Air Force In South Korea North Korean forces largely removed from the South, the United Nations decided to enforce its prewar intention of reuniting all of Korea under one government, and UN forces advanced across the 38th parallel and into North Korea in early October 1950. However, the decision to cross the 38th Parallel appears, in retrospect, to have been the turning point in the Korean War. On 1 October Chinese Premier Chou En-lai warned that China would not tolerate or stand aside if UN forces invaded North Korea. This was a clear threat that China would intervene if that should happen. On the second