Distinguished division’s historic roots

Modern insignia for the ROK 1st Division

In December 1947, the ROK 1st, 7th and 8th Regiments were merged to form the ROK 1st Brigade. Later, on May 12, 1949, the brigade was upgraded to a division.

The division is famous for an incident that involved 10 division commandos who acted as suicide bombers to storm a North Korean bunker at Mount Songak during the Korean War.

The division saw its first action during the war, delaying action at Kaesong and Munsan. It also succeeded in defending the Nakdong perimeter in August 1950 from a North Korean offensive.

Commanded by Gen. Paik Sun-yup for almost a year from the beginning of the war, the division was the first to receive an insignia to distinguish between enemy forces.

The division was also the first to enter Pyongyang and the first to capture Chinese soldiers during the Korean War.

It participated in a total of 112 operations during the Korean War, killing 82,000 enemy soldiers and capturing 6,900 soldiers, 294 artillery pieces and 52 tanks.

The division is currently in charge of the defending the Joint Security Area at Panmunjom Village and parts of Paju, Gyeonggi, on the western front.