The Role of Commonwealth of Nations in the Korean War and a Way to Remember It: the Establishment of Memorial Hall for Freedom and Peace at the Busan UN Cemetery

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the role of Commonwealth of Nations in repelling North Korean aggression on South Korea in 1950 with the concept of value alliance presented by Micheal N. Barnett and Risse-Kappen who claimed the alliance between or among states can be formed and kept well when it is based on the common values. It is said that the Commonwealth of Nations joined the UN troops under the pressure from US or expecting economic or military benefits from her who actually established and was th most responsible country for South Korea. At that time, South Korea and those Commonwealth states(Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South African Republic) didn’t have any pact or agreement to regulate both parties. There was no alliance between them, but those faraway states from Korea decided to help South Korea in crisis caused by North Korea and its supporter, the Soviet Union. The military alliance between or among states to help each other is generally made to overcome security threat from a common enemy or enemies. But some nations belonging to the Commonwealth sent their army to Korean Peninsular, although they didn’t have diplomatic relations or any agreement with South Korea to help each other. The announcements made by leaders of Commonwealth of Nations when they decided to help S. Korea show it was because they perceived North Korean invasion to be a big threat to their core values which were shared by S Korea, which proves Barnett and Risse-Kappen’s premise that the sharing of core values is a very important factor for alliance formation even if the document for alliance doesn't exist. The conclusion of this article is that the Korean War was not only an anti-communist war but also a war to defend the core values- freedom, democracy, and market economy, shared by South Korea and states belonging to the Commonwealth which sent army and helped her. Most tombs of the soldiers from Commonwealth of Nations died in the Korean War are at the Busan UN Cemetery. So, the cemetery is the symbol of sacrifice for the democracy and freedom, which we should keep well and make an holy place of world peace, freedom, and democracy by establishing a memorial hall.