Choosing a Topic

I was interested in studying the Korean War and how U.S. Policy (the Acheson line declaration) affected the war, because I was born and raised in South Korea until the age of 14. Even though I then moved around to different places in the world, I always wanted to learn about my country’s history. Since I also served in the military in South Korea, I’m very interested in researching the Korean War. However, this topic is too broad as it stands. So, I talked Professor Sleeper at the end of last semester, and he asked me to focus on some interesting parts of the war to narrow the topic for my research. At that time, I realized that the Korean War was the first war to introduce fighter planes with jet engines, and I remembered that my grandfather served in the Air force during the Korean War as an operations officer. Ever since I was young, he had told me about his experiences and how jet fighters had completely changed warfare.

In my research, I will aim to discuss how the military technology (aviation technologies) changed and affected warfare, as well as the tactics and strategies used during the war. In the Korean War, advanced military technology had an enormous impact, as the communists’ swept-wing jet-powered Mig-15 quickly surpassed the initial superiority of UN forces. However, when the United States introduced the F-86 Sabre to the Korean War, its kill ratios were as high as 10 to 1 against the Soviet Migs.

After the introduction of the U.S. F-86 Sabre, the air supremacy of the U.S. and United Nations increased to the point where opposing air forces were incapable of putting up effective interference. This air superiority provided many advantages for the U.S. and its allies, allowing them to stop the spread of communism in Northeast Asia.

During my winter break, I visited South Korea to see my relatives and friends. I also talked about my research topic with my grandfather, who is now one of the few remaining air force veterans, and he told me numerous things about the Korean War. I think his experiences could be used as one of my primary sources. I also visited the War Memorial of Korea during my break, where I learned about many materials that I can use as research sources. Finally, I can thoroughly read and understand Korean so that I can use many Korean academic sources, as well.