The Korean War (1950 to 1953)
Explore our resources on the Korean War.
The Korean War was fought between North Korea / Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (with the support of the Soviet Union and China) and South Korea / Republic of Korea (with the support of the United Nations, including New Zealand.)
War was declared on 25 June 1950 and news broke in New Zealand newspapers the next day with reports that "North Korean armed forces invaded South Korea at 11 points along the border along the 38th Parallel" (The Press, 26 June 1950 p7). The 38th parallel (running along latitude 38° North) was the line that divided the north and south of the Korean Peninsula. The dividing line had been put in place after the Second World War when the country was divided and occupied by members of the Allied coalition, and had been a site of confrontation in the years leading up to the war.
New Zealand's involvement
The United Nations Security Council called for help and New Zealand was one of the first of 16 UN members that answered. On the 29th of June 1950, Prime Minister Sidney Holland announced that New Zealand naval units would be made available for service in Korea. During the war, over 1300 New Zealanders served on Royal New Zealand Navy frigates.
Kayforce, or K-force as it was more often called in newspapers at the time, was a New Zealand contingent that joined the conflict in December 1950. The first group of men that left New Zealand numbered just over a thousand. By the time troops were recalled, over 4700 New Zealanders had served in Kayforce.
An armistice took place on 27 July 1953, but New Zealand forces remained in South Korea until 1957 to monitor the ceasefire. In early August 1957 the last men from Kayforce arrived back in New Zealand, including five men for Christchurch.
In total, 45 New Zealanders lost their lives during the war or as a direct result of it. You can read their names on the Korean War Roll of Honour.
International relations
In terms of our relationship with other countries one significant impact of the war was that New Zealand managed to secure a treaty with the United States. This was the Australia, New Zealand and United States Security Treaty (ANZUS), which was signed on 1 September 1951 and affected the relationship between these three countries for years to come.
Bonds that were made with Koreans during the war remained. In February 1995, Christchurch became sister cities with Songpa-gu, one of the 25 autonomous districts of Seoul, and in March 1996 Korea Day was celebrated in Christchurch for the first time.
Memorials
Memorials to the Korean War can be found in Songpa-gu Garden in Halswell Quarry Park. On 26 July 2003 the Korean Veterans Association unveiled a Memorial Bridge to commemorate the ceasefire at the end of the Korean War.
In 2022 a jeongja (traditional Korean roofed pavilion) was added to the gardens to commemorate Canterbury veterans of the Korean War. Names of local veterans are sheltered by the overhang of the roof.
A memorial in the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan, Korea commemorates New Zealand's contribution to the war. It is where most of the New Zealanders who died during the war are buried.
Korean War resources
Photographs
Norman Pierson: Korean War photographs
Norman Pierson was a young man from Christchurch who went to Korea with the first unit of Kayforce in December 1950. We have a collection of his photographs, slides and negatives that he took between 1951 to 1952.
Newspapers
- The Press covering the period of the Korean War has been digitised on PapersPast.
- The Christchurch Star during this period can be viewed on microfilm on Tuakiri | Identity, Level 2, Tūranga.
- Access to international historical newspapers can be found on our Historical Newspapers page.
