Faces of the Korean War

The armistice agreement on July 27, 1953 marked the end of almost three years of war. In September 1950, all alone, this girl cries desperately in the ruins of Incheon. The child's identity is unknown. Shortly before this picture was taken, American troops had retaken the South Korean city from North Korean troops. At this stage of the conflict it all pointed to a South Korean victory.

This family's hut is located in the border area between the warring North and South. By the summer of 1951, the conflict had become static, taking place mainly along the 38th parallel.

These North Korean refugees try to escape the fierce battles that have been raging on since 1951. On their way south they pass by frozen rice fields.

A Korean civilian carries his father on his back as they cross the Han River in 1951. Despite the counter offensive launched by UN forces to stop the Chinese and North Korean troops, Korean civilians continued to flee the northern Korean region.

A total of 4.5 million North Koreans left their homes because of the war and headed south or abroad. Its unclear how many people lost their lives during the three-year conflict. By the time the armistice agreement was signed in 1953, North Korea had lost half of its pre-war population.

Carrying her wounded grandchild on her back, this elderly woman wanders among the debris of their wrecked home in the aftermath of an air raid by US planes over Pyongyang, the Communist capital of North Korea, in the fall of 1950.

A fateful encounter: In the cold of winter, US lieutenant William Doernbach comes across this Korean orphan girl in a deserted village and leaves her in the care of an orphanage. She escapes the orphanage and finds her rescuer. They reunite in May 1951.