The Feared Korean Soldier: From KPOP to Spec Ops

soldiers of the Republic of Korea the Republic of South Korea has spent nearly all of its Short History at War sometimes sending its soldiers abroad but more often than not staring down their Northern Neighbors on the home front from its early Inception to the modern day tremendous emphasis has been placed on the military as the nation's very survival depends on the capabilities of its Armed Forces in the aftermath of the second world war the Korean Peninsula was divided between the Communists backed North and the Republic of South Korea supported primarily by the United States South Korea instituted a defensive constabulary force in 1946 the first military force of the newly created Nation in 1950 the north launched an invasion of the South leading to the three-year long Korean War which saw intervention from a U.S led U.N task force on one side and the Chinese military on the other after an Armistice was signed in 1953 in uneasy peace settled over the peninsula though both sides of the 38th parallel maintained strong military forces arrayed against each other a condition that exists even to the present day [Music] in the wake of the conflict the South Korean military was dependent on subsidies from the United States as the defense industries were all but non-existent because of this South Korean soldiers would be armed and equipped with American-made gear usually Surplus kit from World War II the Infantry would be equipped with the M1 Garand and M1 carbine Browning automatic rifles and other small arms as well as American-made mortars M4 Sherman tanks jeeps and virtually every other piece of equipment needed for maintaining a Fighting Force uniforms and body armor in the form of the famous M1 steel helmet were also provided even today an arsenal of M1 carbines are still in use by reservist forces in the 1960s ROK forces were deployed to the conflict in Vietnam representing the largest foreign Force to participate in the conflict other than the United States the nation had been eager to join the conflict earlier with President Xing manri offering support to the French authorities as early as 1954 but this had been rejected this changed in 1964 when the small force of liaison officers arrived in the country and in 1965 the division was deployed to the rapidly escalating conflict and were soon joined by others by 1967 almost 48 000 Korean troops were in Vietnam these soldiers were once again supplied and equipped by the United States wearing American-made uniforms protected by flak jackets and the M1 steel pot helmet they would also be equipped with American small arms including m14s and M16s and the M60 light machine gun while deployed in Vietnam Korean soldiers gained a reputation for Effectiveness and skill in combat perhaps due to their own nation's experience of fighting communist forces the ROK soldiers fought fiercely against their BC and NVA opponents hey guys I've got some good news for you we're launching an official simple history Discord server you can chat with like-minded folks from all corners of the world share cool stories you've stumbled upon and have friendly debates over historical conundrums and hey there might even be some special features and other cool stuff in there for you check out the link in the description below to join the rest of the friends you didn't know you had in captured documents it was found that the Vietcong leadership warned their men not to engage with Koreans stating quote contact with the Koreans is to be avoided at all costs unless a victory is 100 certain unquote ROK troops would stay in the country until their withdrawal in March of 1973. by the 1970s some of the American forces that were stationed in Korea were withdrawn prompting the ROK government to invest heavily in their own indigenous defense industry while still maintaining close ties with the United States and basing their military Doctrine on their American Allies the South Korean government has sought to become less dependent on outside support within a decade the Korean arms industry grew by Leaps and Bounds and by the early 1980s was one of the world's largest arms exporters factories produce rifles machine guns mortars artillery pieces fighting Vehicles tanks and other pieces of equipment a portion of which is sold abroad by 1990 around 70 percent of the equipment used by South Korea was produced domestically today the Republic maintains a standing military of 550 000 Personnel on active service spread across an Army Air Force and navy with attached Marine Corps there's also a large Reserve element where all able-bodied men aged 20 to 30 must participate in compulsory military service the Bedrock of a reserves force of 2.7 million terms of enlistment lasts between 21 and 24 months depending on the branch of service women are not subject to National conscription but are allowed to volunteer for service if they want to though the ROK Army still makes use of many Foreign imports mostly from the U.S but also from the United Kingdom Israel and Germany the bulk of the Arsenal is from homegrown Industries even the American made and designed M16 assault rifles are produced in small amounts domestically under limited licensing agreements the primary service weapons of the ROK Army are the indigenously produced K1 submachine gun and the K2 assault rifle the K-1 and updated k1a were designed by Daewoo Precision Industries and designed as a replacement for the World War II era M3 grease gun submachine gun currently manufactured by s t Motif this firearm is lightweight weighing in at 6.3 pounds with a length of just under 26 inches with the stock collapsed though it is classified by the Korean military as a submachine gun it fires a Remington 233 cartridge designating it as an assault rifle or carbine outside of Korea the main service weapon of the ROK however is the K2 also designed by Daewoo Precision Industries first introduced for standard issue in 1984 it was a replacement for the American-made m16a1 like the M16 it replaced the k2's action is a gas operated rotating bolt with a cyclic rate of fire of 750 rounds per minute with an effective range of around 600 yards though South Korea is not a member of NATO the K2 and its sub-variants fire NATO's standard 5.56 by 45 cartridges from snag magazines usually holding 30 rounds the rifle weighs 7.2 pounds at a length of 39 inches with a fully extended folding stock Korean soldiers have used the K2 and combat environments including operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for heavier Firepower the ROK Army makes use of the K3 light machine gun designed as a replacement for the M60 this weapon is modeled heavily on the FN Mini-Me and the M249 saw like the K2 it fires 5.56 by 45 cartridges from either a standard 30 round box magazine or a 200 round linked belt for sustained Firepower it has a cyclic rate of fire of 900 rounds per minute at the range of 800 meters the K3 is also much lighter than the M60 it replaced weighing 15 pounds at a length of 41 inches in addition to these and other Small Arms the ROK Army makes extensive use of vehicles including the domestically produced K1 and K2 main battle tanks and their sub-variants k200 and k-21 infantry fighting Vehicles as well as various artillery transport and air defense platforms currently the ROK Army has around 2 400 tanks 5400 artillery pieces both towed and self-propelled and 2 800 other armed vehicles [Music] as the primary use of the South Korean military is to defend the nation from a possible attack by their Northern Rivals the Army is divided into three commands the first and third of which are designated as a defense against North Korean forces crossing the military demarcation line and the capital city of Seoul the second command is responsible for protecting the rest of the peninsula and supporting the others this task also includes guarding the coastline against possible Seaboard Invasion as well as infiltration by saboteurs it is also responsible for preserving manufacturing capabilities and Logistics against possible attack keeping the supply lines open to the front lines currently the ROK still maintains close ties with the United States the priority being given to defending against North Korean aggression both Nations continually run joint training exercises with the aim of increasing cooperation intelligence and integration between the two Nations considering that the North Korean military is over twice the size of their southern counterparts it is vital that South Korea maintain close relationships though their main task is to defend against incursion from North Korea ROK soldiers have been deployed to battlefields around the world apart from their involvement in the conflict in Vietnam they have also participated in operation Iraqi Freedom sending field medics in 2003 and a force of 3 000 Marines engineers and Special Operations soldiers to the country in 2004 the largest deployment of its forces outside of Korea since Vietnam the South Korean army has also been deployed to the conflict in Afghanistan sending Medics and Engineers to support Coalition efforts in the region followed by other forces almost 4 000 Korean soldiers have served in the Afghanistan campaign during almost the entirety of South Korea's brief history the nation has placed a strong emphasis on its military whether at home or abroad Korean soldiers have and continue to serve with courage and distinction

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Keywords: simple history, animated history, educational, education, r.o.k special forces, korean special forces, south korean special operations, special operations, elite special forces, south korean special forces, special forces, 707th special mission group, korean udt seal, rok navy, navy seals, republic of korea army, seal team six, army, udt seal training, korea, rok-swc, udt seal, delta force, south korean, udt seal korea, rok, devgru, military, 707th smb, 특수 작전

Id: 6qbYtLC6sSM

Length: 9min 48sec (588 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 05 2023