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I was surprised that the Korean War barely stood out compared to most other conflicts (at least, if you're only looking for a Korean flag). There are indication

I was surprised that the Korean War barely stood out compared to most other conflicts (at least, if you're only looking for a Korean flag). There are indications of changes like Chinese involvement in late 1950, but I think it'd be hard to pick out the start date if you weren't sure of the decade. Compare that to Kosovo for example, where there's at least roughly half a year of prominence. One other factor that stood out to me was that it seems like there are more countries popping up from the mid 70s to the 90s, then it flips back to the previous pattern of a handful of countries dominating the picture (Iraq, then China). It's a very interesting visualization, thanks for sharing!

pessimizer 8y ago
It's because it was an early undeclared war authorized by proxy. The only time it dominates the news is when it is "over" which reads to me as a heavy government push to use a "victory" as a retroactive justification for a war that was never directly approved by US citizens or their representatives. Now, this is how all wars are done, but then, it generally wasn't the case. Probably the only lasting legacy of the Korean War in the US to people who weren't directly involved is the meme of "brainwashing" and its permanent association with Communist Asians due the Lifton book[1] which ironically popularized both the idea of the "thought-terminating cliche" and the throught-terminating cliche of "brainwashing." [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_Reform_and_the_Psychology_of_Totalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_Reform_and_the_Psychol...
kodablah 8y ago
> I was surprised that the Korean War barely stood out compared to most other conflicts Especially with regards to more controversial conflicts, this says more about what NYT chooses to drive. I'd argue in many cases they attempt to deliver narratives instead of reacting on them.

pessimizer 8y ago

It's because it was an early undeclared war authorized by proxy. The only time it dominates the news is when it is "over" which reads to me as a heavy government push to use a "victory" as a retroactive justification for a war that was never directly approved by US citizens or their representatives. Now, this is how all wars are done, but then, it generally wasn't the case. Probably the only lasting legacy of the Korean War in the US to people who weren't directly involved is the meme of "brainwashing" and its permanent association with Communist Asians due the Lifton book[1] which ironically popularized both the idea of the "thought-terminating cliche" and the throught-terminating cliche of "brainwashing." [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_Reform_and_the_Psychology_of_Totalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_Reform_and_the_Psychol...

kodablah 8y ago

> I was surprised that the Korean War barely stood out compared to most other conflicts Especially with regards to more controversial conflicts, this says more about what NYT chooses to drive. I'd argue in many cases they attempt to deliver narratives instead of reacting on them.