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Decolonization and the Cold War Through an Asian Lens

Decolonization and the Cold War Through an Asian Lens

As Asian nations threw off the yoke of foreign colonial control and the Cold War intensified, wars in Korea and Vietnam reshaped East Asian politics.

Key Ideas

As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.

Think about the following questions as you watch the video


  1. What colonial-era events led to the Korean and Vietnam wars?
  2. Who were the main leaders on each side in Korea and Vietnam? What was one major similarity shared by these leaders?
  3. How was the Vietnam War both a decolonization struggle and a Cold War conflict?
  4. How was Korea’s experience with decolonization and the Cold War different from Vietnam’s?