In a very narrow sense, some may refer to it as a civil war, though many other factors were at play.
[1] After failing to strengthen their cause in the free elections held in South Korea during May 1950[2] and the refusal of South Korea to hold new elections per North Korean demands, the communist North Korean Army moved south on June 25, 1950 to attempt to reunite the Korean peninsula, which had been formally divided since 1948.
The conflict was then expanded by the United States and the Soviet Union's involvement as part of the larger Cold War.
The main hostilities were during the period from June 25, 1950 until an armistice was signed on July 27, 1953.
By partial comparison, as of June 2022[update], the U.S. Department of Defense shows 49 awarded to Navy recipients[3] and 248 to Marines Corps recipients,[4] for acts of valor during the Korean War.