Study Of The Korean War Prisoners Of War

As one of the major obstacles in the armistice negotiation of the Korean War, theissue of Prisoner of War involved intensive struggles and conflicts amongstakeholders. Meanwhile, the POWs of both sides went through numerous hardshipsboth in captivity and back home.POWs of United Nations Command experienced the “Death March” in the coldwinter of1950. Having attended various activities in war camps, some of them wereaccused of being “brainwashed” and betraying their country when they were backhome. The POWs of Chinese and North Korean forces, likewise, were torturedseverely under the management of American forces. After repatriation, they weredetermined by nation leader as being guilty and ashamed, subjecting to muchsuffering in the following decades. Forces of national and international level led to themisery and suffering of POWs of both sides. China’s national political situation, fightbetween New China and the Kuomintang power in Taiwan, cold war betweencommunist world led by Soviet Union and capitalist world led by the United States allplayed important parts in the process. It would be of great significance to make aninsightful analysis into history of this period. Moreover, by doing a comparative studybetween the United States and China in their management and settlement of the POWissues, a deeper understanding of the difference between these two countries in theirrelated cultural traditions and political mindsets can be achieved. This will, to someextent, serve the development of Sino-US relations of today.