For starters, the struggle between the Communists and Capitalists was the root cause of the Cold War, as well as the Korean War, which was a major part of the Cold War as it demonstrated each of the Superpowers' capabilities in fighting in a foreign war. A short-term cause of the Korean War would be that North Korea crossed the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea on June 24, 1950. But long-term causes go far deeper into the world's major conflicts. The Communist side was intensely ambitious in expansion, and wished to secure the Korean peninsula to themselves, signifying a success in the spread of Communism. Leading up to this, the Korean peninsula was split into two states, North and South, by the 38th parallel on September 1945. And as of 1949, the Soviet troops in the North and American troops in the South were withdrawn, leading to the eventual North Korean invasion of the South; some even suspect that this attack launched was premeditated and backed by the Soviets. Afterwards, seeing as the USSR boycotted the UN and refused to take part in it, the Security Council was able to pass the initiative of allowing the Americans to intervene on the crisis in Korea; on September 15, 1950, US troops entered the war by invading Inchon and pushing the North Koreans back. This alerted the Chinese, as the Americans were pushing close to their borders, and so they entered the war on November 4, 1950 and pushed back UN troops, recapturing Seoul. After a seemingly endless fighting between the two sides, an armistice was formed to reestablish the two Korean states on March 1953. Important things to note about this war is that it legitimized the UN and its functionality, demonstrated the struggle and power between the two Superpower nations, and established two states on one peninsula--where the clash between the two are clearly evident.
I would argue that in the context of the Cold War, the Korean War was demonstrating more continuity in patterns rather than change. Judging from previous incidents and events from the Cold War, there seems to be more continuity in the actions and intentions for the major parties involved in the Cold War, especially from the USSR and US, being that these two were the major parties of the cold war. China was actually in a very poor state after the Age of Imperialism and WWII crippled its political state and economy, however as China became increasingly Communist, they aligned with the Soviets and entered the war on behalf of its allied relations with the Communist Superpower. This was indeed a major change, as before this event, a country has not intervened on a foreign crisis in order to support its alliance with a Superpower. And as previously mentioned, the war legitimized the United Nations as it demonstrated its functionality and capabilities. The UN allowed and implemented an intervention from the United States, and this not only dramatically changed the direction of the war, but proved the United Nation's efficacy that would matter much more in the present world; big decisions like this are further made in this organization. And this qualifies as a change in patterns of the Cold War.
However, there were more signs of continuity in the patterns of the Cold War present during the Korean War. Weaker nations asking for the help of stronger nations was not new in history, as we evaluate North Korea pleading for help from the USSR. Being that the the USSR and US were great powers fighting a proxy-war to demonstrate their capabilities, this proves to be a trend that wasn't new. During the Cold War, some examples of such proxy-wars before the Korean War were the Greek Civil War and the First Indochina War. The US continued its policy of advocating to instill democracy in newly emerging nations. Also, the struggle between pro-Communist and pro-Capitalist/Western was clearly evident in this conflict, and being the root cause of this event becoming a global affair was because of the struggle between these two sides. And so I would argue that there were more factors demonstrating the pattern of continuity in the broader context of the Cold War.
I would argue that in the context of the Cold War, the Korean War was demonstrating more continuity in patterns rather than change. Judging from previous incidents and events from the Cold War, there seems to be more continuity in the actions and intentions for the major parties involved in the Cold War, especially from the USSR and US, being that these two were the major parties of the cold war. China was actually in a very poor state after the Age of Imperialism and WWII crippled its political state and economy, however as China became increasingly Communist, they aligned with the Soviets and entered the war on behalf of its allied relations with the Communist Superpower. This was indeed a major change, as before this event, a country has not intervened on a foreign crisis in order to support its alliance with a Superpower. And as previously mentioned, the war legitimized the United Nations as it demonstrated its functionality and capabilities. The UN allowed and implemented an intervention from the United States, and this not only dramatically changed the direction of the war, but proved the United Nation's efficacy that would matter much more in the present world; big decisions like this are further made in this organization. And this qualifies as a change in patterns of the Cold War.
However, there were more signs of continuity in the patterns of the Cold War present during the Korean War. Weaker nations asking for the help of stronger nations was not new in history, as we evaluate North Korea pleading for help from the USSR. Being that the the USSR and US were great powers fighting a proxy-war to demonstrate their capabilities, this proves to be a trend that wasn't new. During the Cold War, some examples of such proxy-wars before the Korean War were the Greek Civil War and the First Indochina War. The US continued its policy of advocating to instill democracy in newly emerging nations. Also, the struggle between pro-Communist and pro-Capitalist/Western was clearly evident in this conflict, and being the root cause of this event becoming a global affair was because of the struggle between these two sides. And so I would argue that there were more factors demonstrating the pattern of continuity in the broader context of the Cold War.