War Overview:What:
The Korean War When: June 25, 1950-July 27, 1953 Who: Anti-Communist: South Korea, Uniteds States, United Kingdom, United Nations Communist: North Korea, China, Soviet Union |
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A Closer look at Leaflets Used During the Korean War
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines propaganda as “ideas or statements that are often false or exaggerated and that are spread in order to help a cause, a political leader, a government, etc.” However, in wartime and a general guideline for this type of dissemination of information, it is extremely important to keep the materials used truthful (Herz, 471). Another important item to note about propaganda and psychological warfare is that it has been used to accomplish the same three goals in every war that uses these strategies. The first goal is to increase the morale-unity of your own country, the second is to weaken the morale of your enemy, and the third and final goal is to win over the morale of the neutrals (Bernays, 237).
The Korean War officially began on June 25, 1950 when North Korea attacked South Korea. This conflict is often overlooked due to the fact that it began while the Cold War was waging on and it followed World War Two which did not compare in scale. Much like World War Two, leaflets were an important tool in the propaganda and psychological warfare tactics in the Korean War. They were considered to be more effective when it came to disseminating information and was shown by the drop that occurred within a day of President Truman announcing that the United States would be aiding South Korea to tell Korea of the news. This was then followed up by a radio broadcast from Tokyo (“Psychological Warfare in Korea” 65). The leaflets were distributed mainly via the airplane or artillery shells as these were the most effective methods. In this essay I will first discuss briefly the importance of leaflet propaganda in the Korean Ware and then examine three examples of these leaflets in hopes to garner an appreciation and understanding of this important wartime strategy.
The propaganda of the Korean War goes along with the standard goals of propaganda mentioned previously, but the main objectives were slightly more specific. These objectives include: weakening the North Korean troops in effectiveness and resistance, to bring truth to North Korea, and to increase the morale of South Korea. The themes in which these objectives were carried out included a divide; propaganda aimed at the enemy soldier and propaganda targeting both enemy and friendly civilians. When targeting the enemy soldier, the UN used messages such as if the soldier surrenders, he would be cared for and given food. Another message was that if he surrendered, he would return home safely at the end of the war. Other messages included that the UN’s weapons and man power made fighting pointless, and that a live patriot was better than a dead one. When the civilian was targeted by the propaganda, messages that the Communists wanted to enslave all of Korea and that they wanted to take advantage of the Korean economy for selfish gains. Other civilian propaganda messages told of how the Communists were about war and disunity even though they spoke of the opposite, the Communists put North and South Korea against each other even though they are brothers, and lastly that all of the free countries around the world supported fighting against the Communists and aiding the Republic of Korea (“Psychological Warfare in Korea” 67).
(The following leaflets that are discussed are pictured in order in the "Gallery" section of this website. Please refer to this section to see the examples.)
The first leaflet example was distributed by the UN and targeted North Korean soldiers. The front of the leaflet shows a beaten up soldier sitting on top of a pile of skulls with a communist flag tucked into the side. The back of the leaflet contains all text that questions why the soldier fights for communism, especially when so many of his fellow soldiers are dying. The text goes on to end with offering a “warm hand” from the UN if the soldier surrenders. This particular piece of propaganda strives to damage morale of the North Korean soldiers by bringing up the number of lives lost. The text also praises the soldiers who have surrendered to the UN by calling them “the smart ones.” Both of these aspects within this text potentially cause a dilemma of choosing life or death within the soldier reading this leaflet. The picture on the front shows a sad and lonely soldier who looks defeated which attempts to resonate with the soldier as well. All of these elements of this one leaflet attempts to get the North Korean Soldier to surrender and if not, at the very least it attempts to break his drive and optimism, as well as to get him to question the war and fighting on the communist side.
The second leaflet example takes the form of a map and shows North Koreans where and how to surrender. Once again, the back of this leaflet features all text which says that if surrender occurs, they will be greeted with kindness and safety. The text begins by telling the North Korean person that they are suffering and questions why they do not seek safety from the UN’s attacks. The leaflet also says that people have already surrendered and that they are safe and offers the same to the person reading the paper, who is then offered warm cooked rice if they followed the map and surrendered. Once again this propaganda aims to get people surrender but also to decrease morale. This propaganda makes more use of a psychological warfare approach as it offers food to the starving soldier as well as safety from raids, two basic human needs that need to be met. The fact that the leaflet shows the soldier the way to this haven makes it easier for them to give in to surrender because the path is less uncertain as the map literally guides the soldier to shelter and food.
Finally the third leaflet shows a South Korean soldier who looks sad and is sitting with his gun against a tree and an older woman looking longingly, almost as if she is looking at the man. The back of the leaflet contains text that appears to be a letter. The text is a letter from a mother to son who writes to tell him that the Communists have wreaked havoc on her life by uprooting her and her husband to a new town and how they do not have any belongings anymore. The mother also compares the communists to mad dogs and murders and that she will die hating them. This leaflet is for the purpose of rallying the South Korean troops by making them angrier against the communists and to create a feeling of homesickness perhaps so that the troops will fight harder in order to go home sooner. Not only do the comments the mother makes about what is happening create hatred for the communists, but it is also the fact that they have been able to turn this sweet older lady into a lady full of worry, anger, and bitterness which is shown when she says that she will die hating the communists for what they are doing to Korea. This causes the South Korean soldiers to fight harder, as if they were saving their mothers from the same emotions. Reminding the soldiers of family and of home is also important to reinforce why the soldiers are fighting which successfully rallies the troops.
Examining these three leaflets out of the hundreds from the Korean War allows us to get a sense of the overall strategy that was used. The leaflets also show that repetition of the same type of messages seemed to be a key element for this type of war tactic to be the most effective. While no real resolution came about from the conflict, the support from the UN was able to help prevent the spread of communism into South Korea successfully.
The Korean War officially began on June 25, 1950 when North Korea attacked South Korea. This conflict is often overlooked due to the fact that it began while the Cold War was waging on and it followed World War Two which did not compare in scale. Much like World War Two, leaflets were an important tool in the propaganda and psychological warfare tactics in the Korean War. They were considered to be more effective when it came to disseminating information and was shown by the drop that occurred within a day of President Truman announcing that the United States would be aiding South Korea to tell Korea of the news. This was then followed up by a radio broadcast from Tokyo (“Psychological Warfare in Korea” 65). The leaflets were distributed mainly via the airplane or artillery shells as these were the most effective methods. In this essay I will first discuss briefly the importance of leaflet propaganda in the Korean Ware and then examine three examples of these leaflets in hopes to garner an appreciation and understanding of this important wartime strategy.
The propaganda of the Korean War goes along with the standard goals of propaganda mentioned previously, but the main objectives were slightly more specific. These objectives include: weakening the North Korean troops in effectiveness and resistance, to bring truth to North Korea, and to increase the morale of South Korea. The themes in which these objectives were carried out included a divide; propaganda aimed at the enemy soldier and propaganda targeting both enemy and friendly civilians. When targeting the enemy soldier, the UN used messages such as if the soldier surrenders, he would be cared for and given food. Another message was that if he surrendered, he would return home safely at the end of the war. Other messages included that the UN’s weapons and man power made fighting pointless, and that a live patriot was better than a dead one. When the civilian was targeted by the propaganda, messages that the Communists wanted to enslave all of Korea and that they wanted to take advantage of the Korean economy for selfish gains. Other civilian propaganda messages told of how the Communists were about war and disunity even though they spoke of the opposite, the Communists put North and South Korea against each other even though they are brothers, and lastly that all of the free countries around the world supported fighting against the Communists and aiding the Republic of Korea (“Psychological Warfare in Korea” 67).
(The following leaflets that are discussed are pictured in order in the "Gallery" section of this website. Please refer to this section to see the examples.)
The first leaflet example was distributed by the UN and targeted North Korean soldiers. The front of the leaflet shows a beaten up soldier sitting on top of a pile of skulls with a communist flag tucked into the side. The back of the leaflet contains all text that questions why the soldier fights for communism, especially when so many of his fellow soldiers are dying. The text goes on to end with offering a “warm hand” from the UN if the soldier surrenders. This particular piece of propaganda strives to damage morale of the North Korean soldiers by bringing up the number of lives lost. The text also praises the soldiers who have surrendered to the UN by calling them “the smart ones.” Both of these aspects within this text potentially cause a dilemma of choosing life or death within the soldier reading this leaflet. The picture on the front shows a sad and lonely soldier who looks defeated which attempts to resonate with the soldier as well. All of these elements of this one leaflet attempts to get the North Korean Soldier to surrender and if not, at the very least it attempts to break his drive and optimism, as well as to get him to question the war and fighting on the communist side.
The second leaflet example takes the form of a map and shows North Koreans where and how to surrender. Once again, the back of this leaflet features all text which says that if surrender occurs, they will be greeted with kindness and safety. The text begins by telling the North Korean person that they are suffering and questions why they do not seek safety from the UN’s attacks. The leaflet also says that people have already surrendered and that they are safe and offers the same to the person reading the paper, who is then offered warm cooked rice if they followed the map and surrendered. Once again this propaganda aims to get people surrender but also to decrease morale. This propaganda makes more use of a psychological warfare approach as it offers food to the starving soldier as well as safety from raids, two basic human needs that need to be met. The fact that the leaflet shows the soldier the way to this haven makes it easier for them to give in to surrender because the path is less uncertain as the map literally guides the soldier to shelter and food.
Finally the third leaflet shows a South Korean soldier who looks sad and is sitting with his gun against a tree and an older woman looking longingly, almost as if she is looking at the man. The back of the leaflet contains text that appears to be a letter. The text is a letter from a mother to son who writes to tell him that the Communists have wreaked havoc on her life by uprooting her and her husband to a new town and how they do not have any belongings anymore. The mother also compares the communists to mad dogs and murders and that she will die hating them. This leaflet is for the purpose of rallying the South Korean troops by making them angrier against the communists and to create a feeling of homesickness perhaps so that the troops will fight harder in order to go home sooner. Not only do the comments the mother makes about what is happening create hatred for the communists, but it is also the fact that they have been able to turn this sweet older lady into a lady full of worry, anger, and bitterness which is shown when she says that she will die hating the communists for what they are doing to Korea. This causes the South Korean soldiers to fight harder, as if they were saving their mothers from the same emotions. Reminding the soldiers of family and of home is also important to reinforce why the soldiers are fighting which successfully rallies the troops.
Examining these three leaflets out of the hundreds from the Korean War allows us to get a sense of the overall strategy that was used. The leaflets also show that repetition of the same type of messages seemed to be a key element for this type of war tactic to be the most effective. While no real resolution came about from the conflict, the support from the UN was able to help prevent the spread of communism into South Korea successfully.
Works Cited
Bernays, Edward L. "The Marketing Of National Policies: A Study Of War Propaganda." Journal
Of Marketing 6.3 (1942): 236-244. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. "Psychological Warfare In Korea." Public Opinion Quarterly 15.1 (1951): 65- 75. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. "The Korean War." U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian. U.S. Department of State, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. <http://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/korean-war-2>. |