---
description: LIFE.com commemorates the Korean War with pictures by three great photographers: Margaret Bourke-White, Carl Mydans and Michael Rougier.
title: LIFE in Korea: Rare and Classic Photos From the 'Forgotten War'
image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32f14b1fe758d75f/698845c28e06014c8545f5f7/00725245.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9
---
# LIFE in Korea: Rare and Classic Photos From the 'Forgotten War'
by
[Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/)
## Ben Cosgrove
Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/)
Close
Mar 18, 2014 11:38 AM CUT
Not published in LIFE. An American military man takes a nap, Korea, 1951.
Not published in LIFE. An American military man takes a nap, Korea, 1951.Carl Mydans—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
by
[Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/)
## Ben Cosgrove
Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/)
Close
Mar 18, 2014 11:38 AM CUT
In Korea, it’s known as the “6-2-5 (_yug ee oh_) War,” a reference to June 25, 1950, when the North Korean People’s Army invaded the South. Among North Koreans, it’s “the Fatherland Liberation War.” In America, however, the [Korean War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean%5FWar "undefined") is often called “The Forgotten War” _—_ a jarringly dismissive, imperfectly accurate phrase to describe a conflict that killed millions of combatants and civilians on both sides, including close to 40,000 Americans.
The brutal conflict lasted for roughly three years, from June 1950, until 1953, when the United Nations Command, the North Korean People’s Army and the Chinese People’s Volunteers signed an armistice agreement. South Korean president Syngman Rhee refused to sign the document, however _—_ meaning that, technically, North and South Korea have been at war (or, at the very least, have not been at peace) for the past six decades.
Here, LIFE.com remembers the Forgotten War with a selection of pictures _—_ none of which originally ran in LIFE magazine _—_ from Korea by three of the era’s finest photographers_:_ Margaret Bourke-White, Carl Mydans and Michael Rougier.
Throughout the war, as it had during World War II and as it would, again, in [Vietnam](http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war "undefined"), LIFE published articles, essays and editorials _—_ as well as matchless photographs _—_ in an effort to provide its readers with as complete a picture of the horrors, triumphs and plain, grinding realities faced by troops on the ground and by the civilians caught between the conflict’s implacable forces. Below, as a glimpse into the various ways the war was reported and “positioned” in the magazine’s pages in the early Fifties, are excerpts from first-hand reports from the battler zones as well as editors’ commentaries that appeared in LIFE while the Korean War raged half a world away:
---
> “”
---
Not published in LIFE. An American serving in Korea, 1952. Michael Rougier—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Not published in LIFE. South Korean and American officers pore over maps in a 1952 Margaret Bourke-White photo. Margaret Bourke-White—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Not published in LIFE. Turkish soldiers attend to a wounded prisoner, Korea, 1951. Carl Mydans—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Not published in LIFE. Slaughtered South Korean prisoners and peasants, 1952. Carl Mydans—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Not published in LIFE. Troops on patrol in Korea, 1952. Margaret Bourke-White—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Not published in LIFE. Bullets and gunpowder, Korea, November, 1952. Margaret Bourke-White—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Not published in LIFE. South Korean troops, 1952. Margaret Bourke-White—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Not published in LIFE. LIFE's Margaret Bourke-White shares a meal with South Korean troops in the field, 1952. Margaret Bourke-White—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Not published in LIFE. Wounded South Koreans, 1952. Michael Rougier—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Not published in LIFE. American and United Nations troops enjoy a Jack Benny performance at a USO show in Korea, July, 1951. Michael Rougier—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Not published in LIFE. Refugees cross into South Korea, March, 1951. Carl Mydans—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Not published in LIFE. Turkish Army soldier on duty in Korea, 1951. Carl Mydans—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Not published in LIFE. Fighter jets, F-86 Sabres, from the Fifth Air Force in Korea, 1953\. The Korean War was the first conflict in which the Sabre saw action. Michael Rougier—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Not published in LIFE. Three soldiers, Korea, June, 1952. Michael Rougier—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Not published in LIFE. An American military man takes a nap, Korea, 1951. Carl Mydans—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
A member of the South Korean National Police holds the severed head of a North Korean communist guerrilla during the Korean War, 1952. Margaret Bourke-White—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
```json
[{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3879371/life-in-korea-rare-photos-from-the-forgotten-war/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3879371/life-in-korea-rare-photos-from-the-forgotten-war/"},"headline":"LIFE in Korea: Rare and Classic Photos From the 'Forgotten War'","datePublished":"2014-03-18T11:38:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:03:45.553Z","description":"On Veterans Day 2013, LIFE commemorates the Korean War with a selection of pictures -- many of which never ran in LIFE -- by three of the era's finest photographers: Margaret Bourke-White, Carl Mydans and Michael Rougier.","url":"https://time.com/3879371/life-in-korea-rare-photos-from-the-forgotten-war/","keywords":["Military","History","South Korea","photography","Korea","Korean War","margaret bourke-white","Carl Mydans"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32f14b1fe758d75f/698845c28e06014c8545f5f7/00725245.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ben Cosgrove","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32f14b1fe758d75f/698845c28e06014c8545f5f7/00725245.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"American soldier takes a nap, Korea, 1951","caption":"American soldier takes a nap, Korea, 1951","creditText":"Carl Mydans—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3879371/life-in-korea-rare-photos-from-the-forgotten-war/","name":"LIFE in Korea: Rare and Classic Photos From the 'Forgotten War'"}}]}]
```