Draft The Vietnam War and Dispatched Troops

Title	Korean Troops Dispatched to the Vietnam War (1955-1975)

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South Korean Troops Dispatched to the Vietnam War

South Korea sent the largest number of troops second to United States to the Vietnam War. From September 1964 to March 1973, around 320 thousand South Korean soldiers were deployed to Vietnam upon the approvals of the Korean National Assembly.

Like Korea, Vietnam was divided into North and South due to the Cold War East-West rivalry. South Koreans, who had fought their own civil war triggered by the Communist North and drove their enemies in alliance with foreign troops from 16 countries, felt a sense of solidarity for Vietnamese when the Vietnam War broke out. The then President Park Chung-hee who perceived the Vietnamese front as an extension of the Korean front, believed that supporting South Vietnam would be a strategic way to strengthen the ROK-US Mutual Defense Agreement and to prevent reduction of the US troops in Korea.

Upon the first official request of the United States and South Vietnam for reinforcement, the South Korean government dispatched 130 mobile army surgical hospital doctors and 10 Taekwondo instructors. Soon, additional request followed. This time, the Korean government dispatched around 2,000 non-combat soldiers for rear support and construction works.

Deployment of Combat Troops For National Security

In 1965, the war in Vietnam was intensified. As a result, the United States and South Vietnam requested South Korea to deploy a division of combat troops. By then, the US had mobilized its reserve army at home and also relocated some of its overseas troops to Vietnam. The two divisions stationed in Korea could also be dispatched to Vietnam at any time. However, the idea of sending combat troops to the war met with a strong backlash from the oppositional parties and intellectuals. Having prioritized national security, President Park decided to send the 2nd Marine Brigade and Capital Division upon the National Assembly’s approval.

Once arrived in Vietnam, the Korean troops fought effectively in the battles against Communist North. The US government facing with a shortage of soldiers, decided that the Korean were the most suited to the operations in Vietnam and requested for additional men. In response, the Korean government deployed the 26th Regiment of the Capital Division and the 9th Division to Vietnam.

The Nixon Doctrine and Withdrawal

After Richard Nixon took his office as the new president of the United States in 1969, he announced a gradual withdrawal plan of the US troops from Vietnam under the so-called ‘Vietnamization of the War.’ It was in line with the Nixon Doctrine that called the Asian nations to be ‘responsible for their own national defense.’ At the time, 47,860 Korean soldiers were stationed in Vietnam. Around ten-thousand Korean soldiers left Vietnam at the first stage of withdrawal in 1972. However, some 37,000 combat soldiers from two infantry divisions remained there until the armistice in early 1973. Since late 1972, the Korean troops had outnumbered the US ground forces. For 9 years since entering the war, around 5,099 Korean soldiers were killed and 11,232 were injured. A large number of Korean veterans who survived the war are still suffering from the severe aftereffects of defoliant used as a chemical weapon during the war.

Indebted Hearts after the Vietnam War

Even though the Korean government initially sent its troops to Vietnam in order to ‘demonstrate loyalty towards the Free World allies,’ it was also motivated by its own national security interests. At that time, North Korea had military advantage over South Korea. Incidents such the Blue House raid, guerilla infiltrations at the parallel, and the seizure of USS Pueblo were threatening South Korea’s national security since 1968. Therefore, the presence of the US troops was critical for deterring North Korea’s provocations and ensuring South Korea’s national security.

The Vietnam War also brought unforeseen positive economic effects. Foreign currency sent home by the troops increased South Korea’s foreign currency reserve which was suffering from a deficit. Furthermore, the survival tactics acquired at the war made Koreans stronger to overcome hardships working overseas in places like the Middle East. When the Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong visited Korea in August, 2001, the then President Kim Dae-jung formally “express[ed] condolence to the people of Vietnam for inflicting pain unintentionally by participating in the unhappy war.”