Special Skills Force (Gyoryeonbyeongdae)

The ''Pyŏlgigun'', ''Byeolgigun'', ''Gyoryeonbyeongdae'', or ''Waepyeolgi'' (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

: 별기군, "Special Skills Force" or "Special Army") was the first modernised military force of

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. First conceived in 1876, it was formed in 1881 and trained by Japanese officers led by Horimoto Reijo, military attaché at the Japanese legation. It received better treatment than the old Korean Army, whose soldiers' salaries were in arrears on account of the costs of the ''Byeolgigun''. This led in 1882 to the Imo mutiny, in which soldiers rioted and Horimoto Reijo was killed. In May 1881, as part of its plan to modernise the country, the Korean government invited the Japanese

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

, Lieutenant Horimoto Reizō, to serve as an adviser in creating a modern army. From 80 to 100 young men of the aristocracy were to be given Japanese military training and make up the newly formed Special Skills Force. However, there was resentment towards the formation on the part of the soldiers of the regular army who viewed it with envy as the formation was much better equipped and treated than themselves. Also, more than 1,000 soldiers had been discharged in the process of overhauling the army; most were either old or disabled and the rest had not been given their pay in rice for thirteen months.

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* * * *{{cite book, last=Nussbaum, first=Louis Frédéric, title=Japan Encyclopedia (translated by Käthe Roth), year=2002, location=Cambridge MA., publisher=

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

, isbn=0-674-01753-6

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