They really had me worried...for a few days! [Rhee says Korea will go it alone if truce is signed]

A bearded, helmeted figure in armour marked 'WAR' wipes his brow with a cloth and says 'They really had me worried ...for a few days!', while a paper on the table reads 'Rhee says Korea will "go it alone" if truce is signed!'. The cartoon argues that South Korean President Syngman Rhee's threat to continue the war alone is a boost to the prospect of continued war; the technique tell is personification of war as a relieved character, a weak fear-appeal.

Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon

Fear appeal

Date

June 23, 1953

Period

Cold War

Made by

Washington Evening Star (cartoonist Jim Berryman)

Region

North America

Country

United States

Medium

Cartoon

Issuer type

Media

Regime

Eisenhower Administration

Leader

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Audience

Domestic public

Purpose

Warn or inform

Theme

War and the military

Event

Korean War

Source

Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are

Source

U.S. National Archives (NARA), Records of the U.S. Senate, Jim Berryman Political Cartoons (NAID 5730852), retrieved October 3, 2026

Rights

Public domain (U.S. government work)
Jim Berryman, Washington Evening Star. National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the U.S. Senate, 5743179 (NAID 5743179).

THEY REALLY HAD ME WORRIED
...FOR A FEW DAYS!
WAR
RHEE SAYS KOREA WILL "GO IT ALONE" IF TRUCE IS SIGNED!
[signature: Jim Berryman]