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
Air Battle of South Korea north and south were battling across the peninsula. On June 27 the South Koreans were losing the First Battle of Seoul. Most of South Korea's forces retreated in the face of the invasion. The North Koreans would capture the city the next day forcing the South Korean government and its shattered army to retreat further south. In the meantime, US naval and air forces were evacuating US diplomats, military dependents, and civilians by ship and air transport, hoping to get American civilians out of the country "by any means." Civilians were being gathered at Suwon Airfield and Kimpo Airfield near