International Aspect of the Korean War

The depiction of the DMZ and the US army presence in South Korea from last night's film really highlighted for me the protracted nature of the Korean War.  The thousands of US troops still stationed there made me think about the various other nations that sent troops to Korea during the war.  I remembered listening to a BBC Witness program about an Ethiopian soldier who fought in Korea and became a decorated war hero. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00xxzs9

Captain Mamo Habtewold was one of over 3,000 Ethiopian troops sent to Korea to fight alongside the US and UN forces throughout the war.  In total, 20 different countries, not counting the US and South Korea, were part of the UN mission during the war.  If US soldiers had to be given pamphlets explaining, "What we are doing here," then this war must have seemed equally if not more mysterious to soldiers from countries like Luxembourg or Colombia.  If anything, this multinational aspect of the UN force underlines the global nature of the Korean War, as it is firmly entrenched in geo-politcal power plays which remain active to this day.