Published: July 27, 2018
The Korean War began June 25, 1950 with the North Korean army's invasion of South Korea. On July 27, 1953, the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed ending the war, now officially recognized as Armistice Day. At 10 a.m. that day, in Panmunjom, 18 official copies of the tri-language Korean Armistice Agreement were signed. The signing of the agreement marked the end of the longest negotiated armistice in history with 158 meetings spread over two years and 17 days.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Defense
Did you know?
- Sixty-five years after the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, there are 1.7 million Korean War veterans living in the United States and Puerto Rico.
- The median age of Korean War veterans is 84 years and nearly all are men (97.4 percent).
- While large states like California, Florida and Texas have the highest number of Korean War veterans, Puerto Rico has the highest percentage of all veterans who served in the Korean War (18.5 percent), and Alaska has the lowest (3.0 percent).
(Source: America Counts: Korean War Armistice Was Signed 65 Years Ago (July 2018), U.S. Census Bureau, 2016 American Community Survey )
Related Documents
36 U.S.C. 127 - National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day
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123 Stat. 3675 - National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day, 2009
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123 Stat. 1962 - Korean War Veterans Recognition Act
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100 Stat. 3226 - Korean War Memorial Act
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1992 Public Papers 934 - Remarks at the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Korean War Veterans Memorial
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1995 Public Papers 1160 - Remarks at the Dedication Ceremony for the Korean War Veterans Memorial
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Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H.W. Bush (1992, Book I)
Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (2000, Book I)
Resources
- National Archives: Korean War Records
- Korean War Archival Materials: (Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum)
- Browse the U.S. Government Publishing Office online bookstore’s collection of Korean War publications.
- Check out the Library of Congress American Folklife Center’s Veterans History Project to view collections of firsthand interviews and narratives of U.S. military veterans from World War I through the present.
- The United States Enters the Korean Conflict – Teaching activities with documents lesson plan (National Archives)
- Plan your trip to the National Park Service's Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. The memorial was dedicated in 1995, and its Wall of Remembrance and 19 stainless steel statues commemorate the sacrifices of the millions of Americans and allied partners who fought during the Korean War.