Korean War: Inchon to Panmunjom

In August 1950 the Pusan Perimeter runs along the Naktong River. The river is only about 1,300 feet wide and 6 feet deep, so infantry can wade it. On the night of 5–6 August, 800 North Korean soldiers do exactly that at the Ohang ferry site. The fighting for Obong-ni and Cloverleaf Hill follows, and by nightfall on 18 August the North Korean 4th Division is nearly annihilated and both hills are back in US hands.

Location precision: The bulge spans a wide river loop; the pin marks Changnyeong County, not a single battlefield.

At 06:30 on 15 September 1950, the lead elements of US X Corps hit "Green Beach" on the island of Wolmido, the first wave of the Inchon landing. The North Koreans had not been expecting an invasion at Incheon.

After the quick victory at Incheon, the advance on Seoul is slow and bloody. On 20 September the Marines enter the city and fight house to house. Almond declares Seoul liberated on the evening of 25 September, yet it is not until 28 September that the last North Korean elements are driven out or destroyed.

Location precision: The fighting covered much of the city; the pin marks central Seoul.

Chosin Reservoir is a man-made lake in the northeast of the Korean peninsula. The name is the Japanese pronunciation of Changjin and stuck because UN forces used outdated Japanese maps. On 14 November 1950 a cold front from Siberia descends over the reservoir.

The 1st Marine Division comes into Hungnam from the Chosin Reservoir on 11 December 1950 on its way out by sea. On Christmas Eve the 16-inch guns of the battleship USS Missouri join in. By then the ships carrying the last X Corps troops and supplies are well out of the harbor.

Location precision: The evacuation used the whole port area; the pin marks Hungnam in general.

The Korean Armistice Agreement is signed on 27 July 1953 and establishes the Military Armistice Commission. The Joint Security Area lies beside Panmunjom: the JSA and Panmunjom are often used interchangeably, though the original village was destroyed in the war. All that remains on the village site is the building constructed for the signing, and around 100,000 tourists visit the JSA each year through tourism companies.