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Year 11
AQA

Consequences of the Korean War

I can explain the significance of the Korean War.

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Year 11
AQA

Consequences of the Korean War

I can explain the significance of the Korean War.

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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The Korean War ended in 1953.
  2. The USA rollback strategy failed during the Korean War.
  3. The Korean War was a proxy war between the USA and USSR.
  4. Proxy wars allowed the superpowers to avoid direct conflict.
  5. Soviet influence over China grew during and immediately after the war.

Keywords

  • Armistice - an agreement to stop fighting that is made between two countries

  • 38th parallel - the pre-war border between North Korea and South Korea

  • Strategy - a plan that you use to achieve something

  • Proxy war - a conflict where some groups fight on behalf of a larger country, which does not participate directly itself

Common misconception

The USSR only experienced benefits from the Korean War.

Some new strains were created in Sino-Soviet relations due to limits on assistance from the USSR which were intended to avoid a direct conflict between the Soviets and Americans.


To help you plan your year 11 history lesson on: Consequences of the Korean War, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Get students to also consider why the Korean War may not be considered significant: students may consider the question of immediate change. This could then be extended to an evaluation of the level of significance the war had for the Cold War.
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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
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Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Complete the sentence: An in the Korean War occurred after the US became involved.
Correct Answer: escalation, intensification
Q2.
Which country led an invasion that triggered the Korean War?
Correct answer: North Korea
South Korea
USA
USSR
Q3.
Who advised President Truman to launch a nuclear attack on China?
Correct answer: General Douglas MacArthur
Marshal Joseph Stalin
Chairman Mao Zedong
Q4.
Which word describes a situation in which neither group involved in a conflict can win or get an advantage?
Correct Answer: stalemate
Q5.
What would have meant an 'appeasement of communism' in the eyes of many Americans?
invading North Korea
Correct answer: not invading North Korea
invading South Korea
not invading South Korea
Q6.
When did China join the Korean War?
August 1950
September 1950
Correct answer: October 1950
November 1950

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Write the missing word: The Korean War has been often considered the first proxy war between the during the Cold War.
Correct Answer: superpowers
Q2.
The USA had a roll back strategy in Korea. What was this strategy?
Correct answer: trying to remove countries from communist control
trying to stop the spread of communism to countries
trying to destabilise capitalist countries
Q3.
Complete the sentence: The pre-war border between North and South Korea was located on the...
Correct Answer: 38th parallel, 38 parallel, thirty eight parallel, thirty eighth parallel
Q4.
How did President Eisenhower decide to manage the Korean War in 1953?
decided to continue the proxy war
accepted Soviet control over all of Korea
Correct answer: agreed an armistice to end the fighting
Q5.
How did the USSR participate in the Korean War?
Correct answer: gave financial aid to China and North Korea
sent an army once China was threatened
Correct answer: provided tanks and other supplies
readied nuclear weapons to be used by North Korea
Q6.
How did the Korean War put strain on Sino-Soviet relations?
Stalin agreed to support China, then went back on his word.
Correct answer: Stalin limited the support he gave to China.
Stalin fully supported China but did not do anything to prove it.
Correct answer: Stalin charged China the full price for supplies.

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