Seems like every year in school we conveniently skipped over, or stopped just short of, the Korean War. I know literally nothing about it but the name.
My question is what book or podcast or perhaps documentary can I get to become at least generally aquatinted with the subject?
There sure are. Four I would strongly recommend are:
Enter the Dragon: China's Undeclared War Against the U.S. in Korea, 1950-51 by Russell Spurr
The Korean War: Australia in the Giant's Playground by Cameron Forbes
The Forgotten War: America in Korea, 1950-1953 by Clay Blair
The Korean War: A History by Bruce Cumings
I find the Korean War fascinating. The US goes from fighting this massively mobile war where their firepower plays a decisive role (WW2) to fighting a static war reminiscent of WW1 where firepower means nothing in the face of ridiculously difficult terrain (Korea) and in just the space of five years
I've just finished Max Hastings' The Korean War and I found it very compelling. Although I might add that you can tell the book was originally written while the Cold War was still ongoing (1987); also I feel it's a bit Anglo-centric, IE (over)focussing on the British aspect of the war. Which is of course something you might expect from a British writer, writing for a predominantly British following, but I did find it notable/obtrusive at times.
I'd recommend This Kind of War by T.R. Fehrenbach. It's very readable and is considered a classic on the subject.
Are there any books that look at the Korean War from the Chinese perspective? I haven't read much about the Korean war, but when reading about the Vietnam War I would read entire books that never mentioned a single NVA commander.