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Here are the teacher pack items for Military Conflicts of the Cold War:
Overview In this experience, students examine a nighttime satellite image of the Korean Peninsula and generate questions about it, and they examine visuals that compare and contrast between North and South Korea. Then they watch a video and read articles about the Korean War and its effects. Next they learn about the Vietnam War as a Cold War conflict. Finally they analyze the domino theory and whether it justified U.S. involvement in military conflicts. This experience covers a lot of material. You may choose to teach it over two class periods. Objectives
Shortly after the end of World War II, the United States was once again involved in a war on the other side of the world. This time it was in Korea, and the struggle was not between democracy and fascism, but between liberal capitalism and communism. The war in Vietnam began to escalate a few years later. In this experience, you’ll learn about these two wars, which were part of the larger Cold War conflict.
Objectives
The Korean peninsula at night, 2012
Look at the satellite image of the Korean Peninsula at night. Locate the border between North and South Korea.
Ask one or more questions based on what you see in the image.
Have students try to infer answers to the questions that the class posed. Sample questions and answers: An incorrect inference students might draw from the image is that North Korea is less powerful militarily than South Korea. That conclusion is likely false, because North Korea is an absolute dictatorship that has devoted most of its resources to building its military rather than serving its people.
As of 2022, North Korea had an estimated 26,000,000 people compared to South Korea’s 52,000,000—about half as many as its southern neighbor. South Korea is also much richer, and it is far ahead of North Korea in every measure of development except for military expenditures.
For more information about the similarities and differences between North and South Korea, explore South v North Korea: How Do the Two Countries Compare? Visualized.If time allows, have students explore the above link and make some classwide observations. Otherwise, encourage students to visit the link on their own time.
