The Korean War: an artist's view

Investigations and activities (History/SOSE Focus)

1. Look carefully at the two paintings captured in The Korean War: an artist’s view. How would you describe them? How many family members did this artist ‘lose’ either because of the family being split as a result of the division of the country into the North and South Korea, or because of war casualties?
2. Do some library or internet research to find out more about the Korean War: why it happened, who was involved, what the losses were, what the outcomes were and why Korea remains divided.
3. Visit the Korean War website to find out more about the involvement of people from forces from many parts of the world.
4. Explore the experiences of five Australian soldiers who fought in the Korean war in Convictions on the Australian Screen online site, conducting a search for ‘Korean liberation’ and selecting clip 3.
5. Search the internet for an image of the 38th parallel at Panmunjon. Draw your own sketch of this scene, and complete further internet research to allow you to label all the buildings and explain the activities of the soldiers in this area. A fascinating insight into Panmunjon is provided through the film Pyongyang Diaries made by Solwyn Hoass. View this excerpt at the Australian Screen online site.
6. Visit the Korean War section of the Australian War Memorial website to see, and hear about Australia's involvement in the Korean War. Go to the Korean War Australian Album website to see photos and read the memories of Australians involved in the Korean War. Why was Australia involved in the war? How many Australians were involved? Why were conditions so tough for these Australians?
7. In the rollover text for the image The Korean War: an artist’s view, there is discussion of the ‘Sunshine Policy’. What is this policy, and why do you think it is so important for many Korean people that their country is reunified in the future?
8. Look at the section about Korean Reunification on the Wikipedia site to find out more about moves for reconciliation between the north and south. Use this article as the basis for further exploring what is happening at the moment in regard to this issue.
9. One positive feature of current moves to reunification is that there are more and more reunions of families divided since the Korean War. If you visit the demilitarised zone, you can see an imposing building that has been built as a place for families to meet. Visit Koreas agree to family reunions on the BBC News site to read the story about Korean’s joy when these reunions began.