The Republic of Korea Marine Corps (ROKMC; ), also known as the ROK Marine Corps, ROK Marines or South Korean marines, is the naval infantry of South Korea. The ROKMC is a branch of the Republic of Korea Navy responsible for amphibious operations, and also functions as a rapid reaction force and a strategic reserve.
The ROKMC was initially founded in 1949 under Imperial Japanese Army military doctrine as a suppression operations force against communist partisans. The ROKMC fought extensively throughout the Korean War and in combat operations during the Vietnam War. In modern times, the ROKMC has been involved in coalition military operations in the Persian Gulf War, the Iraq War, and the War in Afghanistan.
The ROK Marine Corps, with 29,000 personnel, is organized into two divisions and two separate brigades under the Headquarters ROK Marine Corps. The ROK Marine Corps has about 300 tracked vehicles including assault amphibious vehicles, main battle tanks, and self-propelled artillery.
History Founding years
On April 15, 1949, the Republic of Korea Marine Corps (ROKMC) was founded at Deoksan airfield in Chinhae with an initial strength of 380 men. Lieutenant Colonel Shin Hyun-joon was appointed to lead as the first Commandant of the newly formed Marine Corps and he was promoted to colonel on July 1, 1949. The ROKMC consisted of 2 rifle companies and a headquarters company equipped with many secondhand weapons from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) used during World War II, including the Type 99 Light Machine Gun. It was soon reorganized into an infantry battalion with three rifle companies. Initially no United States Marine Corps (USMC) or United States Army advisers were attached to the unit and its doctrine and training was based on that of the IJA.
In September 1949 two rifle companies were sent to Jinju on anti-guerilla operations and in December the entire battalion was sent to Jeju-do for anti-guerilla operations following the Cheju rebellion. A 37 mm anti-tank platoon was added to the battalion in this period.
Korean War During the Korean War, ROK Marine Corps earned the nickname of the '귀신 잡는 해병대' which means 'Marine Corps the Ghost Killers'.
Following the start of the Korean War on 25 June 1950, the Unit (Marine Rifle Battalion) landed Gunsan on 16 July and Unit (Marine Rifle Battalion) landed Tongyong peninsula on 17 August where they delayed the advance of the Korean People's Army (KPA) forces, The Marines were rapidly expanded to three battalions and took part in fighting at Mokpo, Changhang, Chindongri, Jinju, Namwon and Masan.
On 23 August the Marines landed on Kueje Island and fought a KPA force there until 15 September.
Before the Inchon Landing, ROKMC regiment size unit was formed and attached to USMC 1st Marine Division. At that time, 1st Marine Division called this unit as the ROKMC 1st Marine Regiment for convenience' sake. (Officially, ROKMC ROKMC 1st Marine Regiment was founded on 20 December 1950.)
On 5 September operational control of the Regiment was passed to the USMC 5th Marine Regiment and after undergoing further training by Korean Military Advisory Group (KMAG) advisers at Pusan the regiment was embarked on on 12 September and sailed for Inchon.
On the afternoon of 15 September the regiment landed at Red Beach, Inchon and was assigned the task of mopping up KPA forces in Inchon. The next day the USMC 5th Marine Regiment and 1st Marine Regiment were ordered to move along the Inchon-Seoul highway and capture Kimpo Air Base. The ROKMC 3rd Battalion was assigned to protect the 5th Marines left flank and capture high ground near Ascom City west of Kimpo. On the morning of 17 September the ROKMC 3rd Battalion began clearing Ascom City, a two square mile maze of huts in which many KPA had taken shelter. The Ascom City area was eventually secured on 18 September On 19 September after advancing to the Han River near Seoul the 5th Marines were ordered to cross the Han River near , seize Hill 125 and then move southeast along the railway lines. The ROKMC 2nd Battalion crossed the Han on Amphibious Tractors and occupied Hill 95 overlooking the crossing site. Meanwhile, the ROKMC 3rd Battalion at Kimpo called in airstrikes against a KPA unit forming up to try to retake the airfield. On 22 September the ROKMC 1st Battalion with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines and 1st Battalion, 5th Marines began advancing into Seoul, meeting heavy KPA resistance the ROKMC 1st was forced to retreat to its starting point. On 23 September the ROKMC 1st Regiment renewed their attack but were met by heavy fire losing 32 killed and 68 wounded. The Regiment 1st Regiment was withdrawn into reserve and replaced by the ROKMC 2nd Battalion, while the 5th Marines eventually overran the KPA strongpoint on Hill 105S. On 25 September the USMC began their final assault on Seoul with the ROKMC 2nd Regiment assigned to the 1st Marines to move through the central city to the northeast while the ROKMC 1st Regiment assigned to the 5th Marines would seize the Capital Building and the northwest of the city. Meeting a stubborn defense from entrenched KPA forces the 7th Marine Regiment joined the battle on 26 September. By the afternoon of 28 September the center of the city had been cleared of KPA troops and on 29 September despite ongoing fighting in the suburbs the Government of Korea was formally reinstated in Seoul. The Regiment less the 1st and 3rd Battalions was deployed east of Seoul to block the KPA retreat but encountered only scattered resistance.
On 18 October the ROKMC three battalions were embarked on ships for the landing at Wonsan, eventually going ashore there on 25 October. On 2 November the Regiment was given responsibility for the zone south of the 39th Parallel. In late November the Regiment was attached to the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division. Following the attacks by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir the Regiment withdrew to Wonsan to cover the evacuation of United Nations Command (UN) Forces. Between 7 and 9 December the 1st and ROKMC 3rd Battalions were evacuated from Wonsan by ship, while on 15 December the 2nd and ROKMC 5th Battalions were evacuated by air from Hungnam. The Regiment reformed at Jinhae in mid-December.
After a period of rest and refitting, including training by USMC advisers, the Regiment was assigned to the 1st Marine Division in mid-January 1951. On 24 January the Regiment joined the 1st Marine Division which was conducting anti-guerilla operations against the KPA 10th Division. On 12 February the Regiment, less the 5th Battalion, was attached to the Republic of Korea Army (ROK) Capital Division at Samcheok. The 5th Battalion meanwhile was sent to Inchon and then occupied the Kimpo peninsula, it would operate independently from the Regiment until March 1952.
On 17 March 1951 as they participated in Operation Ripper the Regiment was permanently attached to the 1st Marine Division and the 3rd Battalion, 11th Marines was assigned to provide artillery support to the Regiment. Ripper was followed immediately by Operation Rugged and then Operation Dauntless in which the Regiment crossed the Bukhan River and captured the Hwacheon Dam. The Chinese Spring Offensive which started on 22 April was met with a strong defence by the 1st and ROKMC 2nd Battalions and the 5th Marines and by 23 April they had successfully repelled the PVA attacks. However, with neighbouring units withdrawing the Marines were ordered back to the high ground between the Soyang and Hongcheon Rivers. With the PVA offensive blunted by 20 May the UN launched its May–June 1951 counteroffensive and on 22 May the Regiment made its initial advance to take objectives north of the front. The advance made rapid progress and by the end of May the Regiment was on the south bank of the Hwacheon Reservoir where it was relieved on 2 June by the ROK 3rd Regiment.
On 4 June 1951 the Regiment was brought out of reserve to join the 1st Marine Division in an assault on the PVA/KPA main line of resistance along a mountain range extending from Yanggu to Hill 1316 (Daeamsan). The area was defended by a regiment of the KPA 12th Division with orders to hold the position until death. from 4 to 9 June the Regiment fought the KPA making limited progress. Finally on 10 June the Regiment commander Colonel Kim Tae Shik decided to make a night attack on the KPA positions. Launched at 02:00 on 11 June the attack caught the KPA unprepared and the Marines quickly overran Hill 1122 and the rest of the ridgeline. Following the capture of Daeamsan the Marines continued to push against the PVA/KPA to obtain better positions. On 15 June the ROKMC 2nd Battalion attacked north to Hill 1304 which it captured the next day. The ROKMC 3rd Battalion moved northwest and captured Dusol-san () following which they dug in. On 7 July the Regiment was ordered to take Daeusan (), beginning their attack on 8 July. After suffering over 220 casualties the attack was called off on 12 July.
The Regiment and the 1st Marine Division went into reserve and the Regiment received intensive training from USMC advisers. At the end of this period it was organized like a USMC regiment with three infantry battalions, a regimental headquarters, a 4.2-inch mortar company and a 75 mm recoilless rifle platoon. Lieutenant Colonel Kim Dong Ha, who replaced the wounded Colonel Kim Tae Shik as Regiment commander.
On 27 August the 1st Marine Division and the Regiment returned to the frontline to lead the Battle of the Punchbowl ultimately gaining control of the line of hills north of the Punchbowl by 21 September.
Following the Battle of the Punchbowl the fighting stabilized into static warfare with numerous foot patrols far into PVA/KPA territory and company-strength tank-infantry raids. Throughout the remainder of 1951, the 1st Marine Division continued to occupy the eastern portion of the X Corps defense sector in east-central Korea. From left to right the ROKMC 1st Regiment, 7th Marines and 1st Marines held the main line of resistance with two battalions each. The 5th Marines remained in reserve until 11 November when it relieved the 1st Marines, which went into reserve. As Marines continued patrols and efforts to improve their defenses, the ROKMC added its own artillery support, the 1st Korean Artillery Battalion consisting of two medium (155 mm) and two light (105 mm) howitzer batteries.
In early 1952 the ROKMC 2nd Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Kim Doo Chan, was organized as were engineer and medical companies. In the spring of 1952, the 1st Marine Division, along with the ROKMC 1st Regiment, received orders to move across the peninsula to western Korea. The regiment was the first unit to move to its new positions along the extreme left flank of the Eighth Army, where it was given the mission of guarding the approaches to Seoul along the Jamestown Line. By 24 March, the 1st Marine Division and ROKMC 1st Regiment had relieved elements of the ROK 1st Division along the left sector of the main line of resistance, adjacent to the 1st Commonwealth Division, and were in position to continue sector outpost security and ground defense in what had become a war of attrition.