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Episode details

World Service,12 Jun 2018,9 mins

The Beginning of the Korean War

Witness History

Available for over a year

North Korean communist troops invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950. Initially they were very successful until UN forces (mainly American) helped drive them back. The war lasted until a ceasefire was declared in July 1953, millions of Koreans were killed in the fighting. Dr Yoon Goo Lee was living in a town in South Korea when the invasion started. In 2010 he told his story to Louise Hidalgo. Photo: Korean refugees fleeing to the south. Credit: Getty Images

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