Learn about
The Korean War
Legasee has over 70 filmed interviews with British veterans of the Korean War. Additionally, we have created an excellent teaching resource which will help KS2/3 students engage with this chapter of Cold War history that is so often overlooked.
I shall grieve to my death over the losses... and the fact that any other worry in life is small compared to what we went through then
- John Bowler - Welch RegimentThe Korean War
The Korean War started between North and South Korea on the 25 June 1950. Following a series of clashes along the border, North Korea invaded the South and the resulting war became a 3 year battle for territory and political power with 17 foreign nations fighting across the 39th parallel.
60,000 British soldiers were sent to fight in Korea, a country that most had never heard of, and 1100 were killed.
To this day the Korean War has not officially ended, but for the surviving British veterans, it’s a war that should never be forgotten.
The Teaching Resource
This series of five lesson plans will help your students better understand the brutality of this often forgotten war through the personal testimonies of surviving veterans.
To help your teaching you will find planned thinking points which stimulate classroom discussions and task pointers for the activities associated with each session. The activities themselves are located within a separate workbook, and available to you to download and use with your learners – they include individual, pair and group tasks, research and written work, homework and family involvement.
Our resources are all provided free of charge, and whilst they remain the intellectual property of Legasee Educational Trust, We would be delighted if you would download, print off, photocopy and use in the way that best suits your learning and teaching styles.
Lesson Plan 1
Origins of conflict
Learn about the origins of the Korean War and why Britain and it’s Commonwealth allies were drawn into the fight so soon after the end of the Second World war.
Lesson Plan 2
The Draft
Find out about the lives of the National servicemen who went to Korea imagining an exciting posting in a far flung corner of the world. How different it would turn out to be.
Lesson Plan 3
Where is Korea?
After a month at sea, British troops arrived in the port of Pusan. They found a mountainous country, with an extreme climate which had been ravaged by war.
Lesson Plan 4
Life in a hutch
From June 1951, troop movement ground to a halt and the two armies faced each other along the 38th parallel. Both sides fortified their positions and dug in. Learn about the conditions they faced.
Lesson Plan 5
The future of remembrance
Find out what survivors of the Korean war think of the phrase, “The Forgotten war”
Print me out
Activity book
This Activity book links to the individual Lesson plans listed above.
