How much of a choice did South Korea have in decision making during the war when compared to its former occupier the United States?
Another question: did South Korea recognize that it was fighting a proxy war on behalf of the Americans?
South Korea had a soverignty at least since the country had their own president and the government since 1948. The first president of South Korea, Syngman Rhee, even declared that the Korean forces will fire against Japanese forces if the US brings Japan into the Korean War.
Not at all. All South Koreans still remember that many lives of American soldiers were sacrificed during the war.