My name is Daniel. I was an English teacher in Seoul, South Korea, and now I am a writer and scholar who has written a number of books including South Korea: Our Story by Daniel Nardini.

                            Apparently, for some, the Korean War remains a subject of controversy. There are Korean historians who allege that U.S. General Douglas McArthur, supreme commander of the United Nations forces, had needlessly sacrificed thousands of South Korean soldiers during the Battle of Incheon. Nothing could be further from the case. The number of UN killed in the Battle of Incheon itself was 222. By contrast, the number of North Korean soldiers killed was 1,350. The number of UN dead includes South Korean soldiers who were part of the United Nations invasion force. By just about every perspective the Battle of Incheon was a very successful military maneuver. One thing that must be kept in mind is that General McArthur wanted to minimize UN casualties because he needed the troop strength in fighting the North Koreans. In the particular case of the South Korean soldiers, McArthur could not afford to needlessly sacrifice anyone. He needed as many of his soldiers to fight as was possible, and the mass slaughter of too many South Korean soldiers would have been bad for South Korean morale since the United Nations was trying to help rebuild the South Korean armed forces that had been so badly shattered just months before by the North Korean invasion.