The special forces of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), better known as simply North Korea for brevity, have been getting quite a bit of press as of late.
But as fierce and dangerous as that totalitarian dictatorship’s SF troops truly are, they must be kept in perspective.
The free-market and truly democratic Republic of Korea (ROK) AKA South Korea, has its own rough ‘n’ tough special forces troops as well. It’s time now to give them their proper recognition.
The DPRK’s SF Units
To be sure, the North’s special operators are not to be taken lightly. I first read about them back in the summer of 1999 – a few months before I shipped off to U.S. Air Force Basic Military Training (BMT) – in a book titled (appropriately and simply enough) “North Korean Special Forces,” authored by Joseph S. Bermudez and published in 1997 by Naval Institute Press. In that book, the author went into extensive detail about these troops, and made the argument that they were THE toughest special forces soldiers in the world.
Of course, that latter clause is a highly subjective opinion, but what was objectively stated by the author was that at the time of writing, the North’s special operators comprised 100,000 out of the nation’s then 1 million-strong military manpower; this meant that in terms of both aggregate numbers and as a proportion of total military strength (10%), the DPRK had the largest SF component in the world. Going by Eli’s numbers, they now constitute 15.3%.
“Black Berets,” etc. The ROK’s Own SF
There are seven different special forces-designated units in the ROK Armed Forces. Arguably the best-known of the bunch is their Army Special Warfare Command’s so-called “Black Berets;” comprising 20,000 soldiers out of the ROK’s 650,000-strong active-duty military might, “(t)he unit infiltrates deep into the enemy’s rear areas by parachuting from aircraft and takes on missions like reconnaissance, surveillance, destruction of major military facilities, assassination of key enemy leaders and rear sabotage.”
Not to be outdone, the South Korean Army’s sister services have their own “shooters-and-looters” (to use a “Demo Dick” Marcinko slang term) as well. There’s the Naval Special Warfare Flotilla — equivalent of the USN’s legendary UDT (Underwater Demolition Teams) and SEAL Teams – as well as the Sea Salvage & Rescue Unit (SSU); I suppose you could say that the SpecWar Flotilla is more geared toward taking lives whilst the SSU is more oriented toward saving lives, but both units are undoubtedly adept at both such tasks. Exact numbers for these super-sailors is undisclosed, but to provide the reader a sense of perspective, ROK Navy total manpower amounts to 70,000 active-personnel, including 29,000 Marines…
…which makes for a perfect segue to the Marine Corps Reconnaissance Unit. This is a comparatively new unit, as reported by Franz-Stefan Gady in a March 2016 issue of The Diplomat: “The Republic of Korea Marine Corps (ROKMC) has formed a new unit tasked with carrying out special operations inside North Korea in the event of a contingency…In wartime, the main mission of the new regiment, codenamed ‘Spartan 3000,’ will be to destroy ‘key military facilities in the North’s rear during contingencies,’ according to the military officials…The ROKMC’s Special Reconnaissance Division is specifically trained for infiltration operations in North Korea, including the elimination of the North’s nuclear, missile, and command and control facilities.”
The ROK Air Force has its bad dudes as well, namely the Special Air Rescue Team (SART) and Air Force Combat Control Team (CCT), the counterparts to the USAF’s pararescue jumpers (PJs) and CCTs respectively; ROK CCTs are said to be the smallest of all the South’s special forces units.
Last but not least – and coming back full circle to a South Korean Army component, is the 707th Special Mission Group, whose very existence as a unit wasn’t declassified until the last 1990s – mind you, they were founded in 1981 – and the identities of team’s individual members remain under wraps. It’s known that they’ve trained with U.S. Army Delta Force, who in turn is arguably the most secretive unit within U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). That should give you some sense of perspective on just how elite the 707th’s troops truly are.
Special Mention: ROK Marines in the Vietnam War
No discussion about the ROK Special Forces, or the South Korean military in general, would be complete without a mention of their performance during the Vietnam War. Long story short, as William Stroock pointed out in an February 2012 article for Warfare History Network titled “South Koreans in Vietnam: A Force to Be Reckoned With”: “Tough, battle-hardened South Korean troops were justly feared by Vietcong and North Vietnamese regulars alike during the Vietnam War.”
Don’t want to take Mr. Stroock’s word for it? Okay then, I’ll give the final word to the late Gustav Hasford, former USMC Combat Correspondent in Vietnam and author of the novel “The Short-Timers,” which served as the basis for the classic Stanley Kubrick war film “Full Metal Jacket” (Hasford co-wrote the screenplay with Kubrick and Michael Herr). Hasford, writing in the first-person narrative, Cpl. James T. “Joker” Davis (Sgt. “Joker” in the movie), does not dole out many compliments; he’s mostly full of biting sarcasm and criticism of the prosecution of the war effort. But he is genuinely respectful of the toughness and fighting prowess of the ROK Marines, whom he describes as having “muscles in their [er, poop].”
Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor for 19FortyFive. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch and The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS).
