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Korea Military Academy (KMA) is the leading South Korean institution for the education and training of officer cadets for the
Republic of Korea Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國 陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...
. Along with the Korea Army Academy (Yeongcheon), it produces the largest number of senior officers in the Korean army. Commonly referred to as ''Hwarangdae'' ( ko, 화랑대
Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...
: 花郞臺)) as a reference to the '' Hwarang'', an elite organization of youth leaders which existed in Korean history, it is located in
Nowon-gu Gyonggi do District (Nowon-gu) is a residential district of Seoul, South Korea, located in the most northeastern part of the metropolitan city. It has the highest population density in Seoul, with 619,509 people living in the area of 35.44  ...
, a northeast district of
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...
,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
.


History

The Academy was founded on May 1, 1946, as ''South Joseon Defense Academy'' by ''National Defense Command'', the predecessor of Ministry of National Defense of Republic of Korea, under the authority of then- U.S. military administration in South Korea. With the end of the
Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vas ...
and the subsequent disbandment of the
Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emper ...
, which had been occupying Korea since 1910, a void of indigenous security force was created, while the pool of human resource was composed of various backgrounds, including the Imperial Japanese Army, Manchurian Army, and
Korean Liberation Army The Korean Liberation Army, also known as the Korean Restoration Army established on September 17, 1940, in Chungking, China, was the armed force of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. Its commandant was General Ji Cheong-cheon, ...
. As a preparatory measure, the U.S. military administration opened the ''Military Language School'' in Seoul on December 5, 1945, in order to train military interpreters as well as the new generation of
commissioned officers An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...
with unified, predominantly American
military doctrine Military doctrine is the expression of how military forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, rather than being hard and fast rules. Doctrine provides a common frame of reference acros ...
. Following the establishment of the ''South Joseon National Defense Force'', the predecessor of the
Republic of Korea Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國 陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...
, in January 1946, the School closed down on April 30, and South Joseon Defense Academy was founded the next day, taking over 60 cadets from the school and augmented by 28 new officer candidates drafted from line units. Henceforth, May 1 has been recognized as the official foundation day of KMA. ''Cham-ryeong'' (current rank of
major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...
)
Lee Hyung-geun Lee Hyung-geun (Korean: 이형근; Hanja: 李亨 根; 11 December 1920 – 13 January 2002) was a South Korean military officer and diplomat. A four-star general in the Republic of Korea Army, he later served as an ROK foreign ambassador (1961 – ...
was appointed as the first superintendent of the Academy, and ''Bu-wi'' (current rank of
first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...
) Jang Chang-kuk was appointed as the commandant. Following the establishment of the South Korean government on August 15, 1948, the ''National Defense Force'' was renamed to '
Republic of Korea Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國 陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...
', and so was ''South Joseon Defense Academy'' to 'Korea Military Academy' accordingly.


Campus

The campus is located in Gongreung 2-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea.


Dress uniform

The Corps of Cadets KMA wear a dark blue full dress uniform with a shako on parades - a mix of the United States tradition infused in the early years combined with the Korean traditional uniform used by the army in the Imperial period. The hackle carried with the shako is gold.


See also

*
Republic of Korea military academies The Republic of Korea military academies are military institutions for undergraduate education and training of commissioned officers of the Republic of Korea armed forces. * Army - Korea Military Academy (육군사관학교) * Army - Korea Army Aca ...
*
Korea Air Force Academy ) , type = Service academy , head_label = Superintendent , head = Lieutenant General Lee, Sang Hak (June 2022 ~ present) , city = Cheongju , state = Chungbuk , country = South Korea , undergrad = , postgr ...
* Korea Naval Academy *
Korea Army Officer Candidate School Korea Army Officer Candidate School (KAOCS, Hangul: 육군 학사사관, Hanja: 陸軍 學士士官) provides training to become a commissioned officer in the Republic of Korea Army. Korea Army Officer Candidate School was first proposed on 28 June ...
*
List of national universities in South Korea A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
*
List of universities and colleges in South Korea This is a list of institutions of higher education in South Korea. Quick index __NOTOC__ A * Agricultural Cooperative College – Goyang, Gyeonggi * Ajou Motor College – Boryeong, South Chungcheong *Ajou University – Suwon, Gyeonggi * Andon ...
*
Education in Korea Historically, Korea was differently ruled and named. The official records on organised education start with Three Kingdoms period. * ???-108 BC Gojoseon * 57 BC-668 - epoch of Three Kingdoms: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla; in fact divided into 4 kingd ...


References

* History of KMA
https://web.archive.org/web/20041214232306/http://www.kma.ac.kr/open/kmaintroduction/sub2.html
(Korean) * KMA Motto

(English)


External links


Korea Military Academy
{{authority control Republic of Korea Army Military academies of South Korea Universities and colleges in Seoul Nowon District Educational institutions established in 1946 1946 establishments in Korea