The Developers of Korea's First Domestic Rifle... Do You Know Them?

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The engineers who first went to the United States in 1971 to make domestically produced rifles gathered in one place after 50 years. Their memorabilia, which laid the foundation for self-reliant national defense, will be collected to establish a ‘Hall of Honor’.

On the 29th, SNT Motiv held an event inviting the engineers who went to the US and announced plans to create a ‘Hall of Honor’ by receiving donations of their photos, notebooks, memos, books, and other items from that time for permanent preservation.

In the late 1960s, under President Park Chung-hee’s banner of self-reliant national defense, “Let’s make our own weapons with our own hands,” efforts began to develop rifles. However, lacking the technology to manufacture rifles, the government announced in 1971 a recruitment notice for ‘Engineers to Train in the US for M16 Rifle Manufacturing Plants.’

The qualifications were strict. Graduates of mechanical engineering departments, military service completed, 5 years of experience in mechanical-related fields, and the ability to converse in English for more than 30 minutes with American technicians. Despite these requirements, about 1,800 engineering students from across the country competed fiercely, and 27 were selected as ‘Engineers sent to the US.’ They went to the US and received technical training at Colt, a firearms manufacturer, and after returning home, made significant contributions to producing the M16 rifle at the Jopyeong Factory (predecessor of SNT Motiv) in 1973, as well as developing the domestically produced K-series firearms.

At the event, 10 engineers who went to the US and 6 family members visited the SNT Motiv defense factory, participated in handprinting, and toured the factory while sharing stories about the early days of rifle production, including the factory establishment process and equipment introduction.

Kang Heung-rim (83), the representative of the engineers sent to the US, added, “The firearms manufacturing technology we honed played a foundational role in Korea’s precision machinery industry, so all the engineers sent to the US take great pride in this.”