Оңтүстік Кореядағы АҚШ әскерлері

American military forces stationed in South Korea

The United States Forces Korea (USFK) is a sub unified command of U. S. Indo Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). USFK is the joint headquarters for U. S. combat ready fighting forces and components under the ROK/US Combined Forces Command (CFC) – a supreme command for all of the South Korean and U. S. ground, air, sea and special operations component commands. Major USFK elements include U. S. Eighth Army (EUSA), U. S. Air Forces Korea (Seventh Air Force), U. S. Naval Forces Korea (CNFK), U. S. Marine Forces Korea (MARFORK) and U. S. Special Operations Command Korea (SOCKOR). It was established on
Its mission is to support the United Nations Command (UNC) and Combined Forces Command by coordinating and planning among U. S. component commands, and exercise operational control of U. S. forces as directed by United States Indo Pacific Command. USFK has Title 10 authority, which means that USFK is responsible for organizing, training and equipping U. S. forces on the Korean Peninsula so that forces are agile, adaptable and ready. With 28,500 U. S. soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines in South Korea,

While USFK is a separate organization from United Nations Command (UNC) and ROK/US Combined Forces Command (CFC), its mission is to support both UNC and CFC by coordinating and planning among US component commands and providing US supporting forces to the CFC. As such, USFK continues to support the ROK US Mutual Defense Treaty. In response to the North Korean attack against South Korea on 25 June 1950, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) established the UNC as a unified command under the US in UNSC Resolution 84 on 7 July 1950. The UNC mission was to assist South Korea to repel the attack and restore international peace and security in Korea. Throughout the war, 53 nations provided support to the UNC; 16 nations provided combat forces and five sent medical and hospital units. After three years of hostilities, the commanders of both sides signed the Armistice Agreement on 27 July 1953. Hostilities today are also deterred by this bi national defense team that evolved from the multi national UNC. Established on 7 November 1978, the ROK/US Combined Forces Command (CFC) is the warfighting headquarters. Its role is to deter, or defeat if necessary, outside aggression against the ROK.

No. (Number) Commander Term Service branch Portrait Name Took office Left office Term length

The following is a partial list of border incidents involving North Korea since the Armistice Agreement of 27 July 1953, ended large scale military action of the Korean War. Most of these incidents took place near either the Korean Demilitarized Zone or the Northern Limit Line. This list includes engagements on land, air and sea but does not include alleged incursions and terrorist incidents that occurred away from the border. Many of the incidents occurring at sea are due to border disputes. The North claims jurisdiction over a large area south of the disputed western maritime border, the Northern Limit Line in the waters west of the Korean Peninsula. This is a prime fishing area, particularly for crabs, and clashes commonly occur. In addition, the North claims its territorial waters extend for from the coast, rather than the recognized by other countries. According to the 5 January 2011 Korea Herald, since July 1953 North Korea has violated the armistice 221 times, including 26 military attacks.

16 February 1958: North Korean agents hijack a South Korean airliner to Pyongyang en route from Pusan to Seoul; one American pilot, one American passenger, two West German passengers and 24 other passengers were released in early March, but eight other passengers remained in the North.

May 1962: Pvt. Larry Allen Abshier abandoned his post in South Korea in May 1962 when he crept away from his base and crossed the DMZ into North Korea. Abshier was the first to defect. Also in May 1962, Cpl. Jerry Parrish crossed the DMZ into North Korea. His reasons for defecting, according to Jenkins' autobiography The Reluctant Communist, were "personal, and [Parrish] didn't elaborate about them much except to say that if he ever went home, his father in law would kill him." Aug 1962: James Joseph Dresnok was a Pfc. with a U. S. Army unit along the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Soon after his arrival he found himself facing a court martial for forging signatures on paperwork that gave him permission to leave base and which, ultimately, led to his being AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave). Unwilling to face punishment, on 15 August 1962, while his fellow soldiers were eating lunch, he ran across a minefield in broad daylight into North Korean territory, where he was quickly apprehended by North Korean soldiers. Dresnok was taken by train to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, and interrogated. 1964: North Korea creates an underground group: Revolution Party for Reunification. This group is ground down and eliminated by South Korean authorities by 1969
Jan 1965: Charles Jenkins, the most notable case, defected to North Korea. In South Korea he was assigned to night patrols. As a result of fears that he would be transferred to combat duty in Vietnam, he grew depressed and anxious, and started drinking alcohol. On the night of 4 January 1965, after reportedly drinking ten beers, he set off on his nightly patrol of the Demilitarized Zone. In the early morning he told his patrol that he was going to investigate a noise. He subsequently crossed into North Korea and surrendered to forces there, in hopes of being sent to Russia and then, through prisoner exchange, eventually returned to America. Shortly thereafter North Korean propaganda declared that a U. S. sergeant had defected, and broadcast statements allegedly made by the defector, reportedly in stilted English. The U. S. Army claimed Jenkins wrote four letters stating his intention to defect (an allegation Jenkins denies); however, the original letters are reportedly lost. His relatives maintained throughout his absence that he was abducted. 17 January 1968: In an incident known as the Blue House Raid, a 31 man detachment from the Korean People's Army secretly crossed the DMZ on a mission to kill South Korean President Park Chung Hee on 21 January, nearly succeeding. The incursion was discovered after South Korean civilians confronted the North Koreans and informed South Korean authorities. After entering Seoul disguised as South Korean soldiers, the North Koreans attempt to enter the Blue House (the official residence of the President of South Korea). They are confronted by South Korean police and a firefight ensued. The North Koreans fled Seoul and individually attempted to cross the DMZ back to North Korea. Of the original group of 31 North Koreans, 28 were killed, one was captured and two are unaccounted for. Additionally, 68 South Koreans were killed and 66 were wounded, the majority of whom were soldiers and police officers. Three American soldiers were also killed and three were wounded. 23 January 1968: The United States Naval ship the USS Pueblo is boarded and captured, along with its crew, by North Korean forces in the waters east of the Korean Peninsula. The entire crew of 83 is captured, with the exception of one sailor killed in the initial attack on the vessel, and the vessel was taken to a North Korean port. All the captives were released on 23 December of the same year via the Bridge of No Return at the DMZ. The USS Pueblo is still in North Korean possession and is docked in Pyongyang and is on display as a museum ship. 30 October 1968: From 30 October 2 November 120–130 North Korean commandos land on the northeast shore of South Korea, allegedly to establish a base in order to wage a guerrilla war against the South Korean government. A total of 110–113 were killed, seven were captured and 13 escaped. Around 20 South Korean civilians, law enforcement officers and soldiers were killed. March 1969: Six North Korean commandos kill a South Korean police officer near Jumunjin, Gangwon do. Seven American soldiers are killed in a North Korean attack along the DMZ. April 1969: An EC 121, U. S. reconnaissance plane is shot down 90 mile (145 km) east of the North Korean coast, leaving 31 dead. November 1969: Four U. S. soldiers are killed by North Koreans in the Demilitarized Zone.

26 March 2010: A South Korean naval vessel, the ROKS Cheonan, was allegedly sunk by a North Korean torpedo near Baengnyeong Island in the waters west of the Korean Peninsula. A rescue operation recovered 58 survivors but 46 sailors died. On 20 May 2010 a South Korean led international investigation group concluded that the sinking of the warship was in fact the result of a North Korean torpedo attack. North Korea denied involvement. The United Nations Security Council made a Presidential Statement condemning the attack but without identifying the attacker. 23 November 2010: North Korea fired artillery at South Korea's Greater Yeonpyeong island in the waters west of the Korean Peninsula and South Korea returned fire. Two South Korean marines and two South Korean civilians were killed, six were seriously wounded and ten were treated for minor injuries. Approximately 70 South Korean houses were destroyed. North Korean casualties were unknown, but Lee Hong gi, the Director of Operations of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), claimed that as a result of the South Korean retaliation "there may be a considerable number of North Korean casualties". 2014: Some of the American forces that had withdrawn from South Korea to take part in the Iraq invasion have been replaced by the nine month long deployment of a battalion from the 1st Cavalry Division. 2019: President Trump sought an increased South Korean contribution toward USFK costs from $830 million to about $5 billion annually. This was not agreed, and resulted in the furlough without pay of about 4,500 South Korean civilian staff in April 2020.

Each year the ROK, the US and a selection of Sending States from the United Nations Command participate in multiple defense oriented, combined and joint training events designed to defend the Republic of Korea, protect the region, and maintain and increase stability on the Korean peninsula. Ulchi Freedom Guardian, Key Resolve, and Foal Eagle, in addition to multiple Rehearsal of Concept (ROC) Drills, are the three theater level exercises. Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) is an annual simulation driven, command transformation oriented Command Post Exercise (CPX). Elements of the ROK and US governments participate, as well as ROK and US forces from on and off the Korean peninsula. UFG integrates the annual ROK government exercise "Ulchi", which focuses on procedures for transitioning to war, government support. Ulchi also emphasizes ROK procedures for coordination between government and military organizations from the national to local level. UFG typically incorporates the following components: a Crisis Management Exercise focused on strategic and operational decisions needed to defuse a crisis, or posture the command for successful execution of the appropriate OPLAN if the enemy actions dictate; a Senior Leader Seminar (SLS) designed to foster senior level discussion on a variety of topics related to crisis management and war fighting; and a two week Computer Assisted Exercise that exercises the transition to war, defense, and counteroffensive phases of the war fight. The exercise culminates in detailed senior leader level After Action Reviews (AARs). Key Resolve (KR) is over the course of a two week long CFC and ROK crisis management and war fighting exercise. It provides invaluable opportunities to evaluate, train, and improves combined and joint coordination, procedures, plans and systems necessary for the conduct of contingency operations by ROK and US forces. It is a simulation driven Command Post exercise that exercises the defense of the ROK and the ability of the US to bring forces into the Theater of Operations to participate in that defense. The exercise culminates in detailed senior leader level AARs. Foal Eagle (FE) is a series of component sponsored joint and combined Field Training Exercises (FTX) that support training of OPLAN related tasks via participation of selected off peninsula units. FE demonstrates US power projection and rapid deployment capabilities and is conducted concurrently, but not linked to, the KR CPX. Tactical units are the primary FE FTX training audience exercising all aspects of CFC's mission; rear area security, support operations, RSOI, special operations, ground maneuver, expeditionary operations, air combat operations, and maritime operations. In June 2018 the South Korea and the US claimed they are ready to stop the conducting of military drills in order to create significant opportunities for the negotiations with DPRK.

A shield shaped embroidered device in height and in width overall blazoned: azure, in chief four mullets bendwise argent, all above a stylized American bald eagle, issuant from sinister base volant to dexter chief; the eagle's body gules surmounted by two bendlets, wider at base, of the second throughout; head of the second, eyed of the field, leg and talons of the second grasping a laurel branch and seven arrows or. The entire shield shape is edged with a white border. Attached above the device is a designation band in scarlet inscribed "USFK" in white letters. The entire device is edged with a blue border.

The shield shape reflects the United States Forces Korea's steadfast commitment to defend the sovereignty of South Korea. The abbreviation "USFK" stands for United States Forces Korea which activated on 1 July 1957. The four stars symbolize the service and contributions of the United States Army, United States Navy, United States Air Force, and the United States Marine Corps. The stylized American bald eagle represents cohesion and unity among the services. The laurel sprigs and arrows depict the mission of the United States Forces Korea to defeat aggression if necessary. Red, white, and blue are the colors of the flag of the United States of America. Red symbolizes hard work and honor, white represents innocence and purity, and blue refers to justice and perseverance. Yellow signifies wisdom and intuition.

The shoulder sleeve insignia was approved on 18 June 2012. (TIOH Dwg. No. A 1 1077).

The 1980s marked a surge in anti Americanism in Korea, widely traced to the events of May 1980. Gwangju convinced a new generation of young [Koreans] that the democratic movement had developed not with the support of Washington, as an older generation of more conservative Koreans thought, but in the face of daily American support for any dictator who could quell the democratic aspirations of the Korean people. The result was an anti American movement in the 1980s that threatened to bring down the whole structure of American support for the ROK. American cultural centers were burned to the ground (more than once in Gwangju); students immolated themselves in protest of Reagan's support for Chun [Doo hwan]. Fundamental to this movement was a perception of U. S. complicity in Chun's rise to power, and, more particularly, in the Gwangju massacre itself. These matters remain controversial. It is clear, for example, that the U. S. authorized the Korean Army's 20th Division to re take Gwangju – as acknowledged in a 1982 letter to the New York Times by then Ambassador Gleysteen. [General Wickham], with my concurrence, permitted transfer of well trained troops of the twentieth R. O. K. A. Division from martial law duty in Seoul to Gwangju because law and order had to be restored in a situation that had run amok following the outrageous behavior of the Korean Special Forces, which had never been under General Wickham's command. However, as Gwangju Uprising editors Scott Stokes and Lee note, whether the expulsion of government troops left the situation lawless or "amok" is very much open to dispute.

In 2002, anti American sentiment in South Korea spiked after two U. S. soldiers in an M60 armored vehicle launched bridge (AVLB) accidentally hit and killed two South Korean teenage girls in the Yangju highway incident. An expansion of Camp Humphreys later in the decade served as a catalyst for the Daechuri Protests, drawing thousands of South Korean citizens, resulting in occasional violent clashes and arrests. Following a series of large protests against the U. S. and Republic of Korea governments' plan to expand Camp Humphreys and make it the main base for most U. S. troops in South Korea, residents of Daechuri and other small villages near Pyeongtaek agreed to a government settlement to leave their homes in 2006 and allow the base's expansion. Compensation for the land averaged 600 million won (about US$600,000) per resident. During the COVID 19 pandemic, members of USFK, and other foreign nationals were reported to have no mask parties at Haeundae Beach in Busan for the Independence Day of 2020, and the Memorial Day of 2021, despite local social distancing restrictions. They engaged in unruly behavior, which included playing loud music, heavy drinking, and the shooting of firecrackers at locals.

Western princesses (prostitutes servicing U. S. soldiers) have resulted in a negative image for South Korean women who have relationships with American men.