This program provides a brief overview of the partitioning of Korea; the battles for Seoul, Inchon, and Pusan; the entry of Chinese troops into the war as United States marines approached the Manchurian border; General MacArthur’s famous speech to Congress; and the armistice at Panmunjom and the establishment of the demilitarized buffer zone. The program also shows the war’s aftermath in the North: the rebuilding of Pyongyang; the institution of Kim Il Sung’s personality cult, and his exhortation to achieve communism by undergoing cultural and technical revolutions and collectivizing labor; and North Korea today. In portraying South Korea, the program follows the parade of riots and assassinations as the country teetered between repression and promises of democracy. South Korea’s economy appears strong but precarious. And the buffer zone still stands—one of the last remaining monuments of the East-West confrontation. (30 minutes, b&w/color)