February's 6.25 War Hero is the 'Yeoseong Uiyonggun' (Women's Volunteer Army)

[The Asia Business Daily, Military Correspondent Yang Nakgyu] The "Korean War Hero of February" has been selected as the Women's Volunteer Corps, who served during the Korean War.

According to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs on January 28, the Women's Volunteer Corps were not subject to conscription during the Korean War, yet they volunteered to enlist without expecting compensation or reward. They played active roles not only in combat, but also in nursing, psychological warfare, administrative support, and various other fields.

In the case of the Army, the "Women's Volunteer Corps Training Center" was established in September 1950 to train female volunteers. These women were assigned to various units, including the Ministry of National Defense, Army Headquarters, training camps, front-line corps and divisions, psychological warfare battalions, intelligence and reconnaissance units, arts units, and finance, communications, ordnance, and supply units, where they carried out both combat and support duties.

For the Marine Corps, the women's unit was formed mainly by unmarried teachers and students who volunteered in Jeju Island immediately after the outbreak of the war. They were deployed to the Naval Command in Jinhae and the Naval Headquarters in Busan, where they performed combat support duties in administration, supply, maintenance, nursing assistance, military police, psychological operations, communications, and switchboard operations.

Women in the Air Force were assigned to staff departments at Air Force Headquarters after the recapture of Seoul on September 28, where they performed administrative support work. Except for some who were discharged after the war, most continued to serve in meteorological and communications units.

In addition, Army and Navy nursing officers who were commissioned before the Korean War continued to perform their nursing duties on the battlefield after the war broke out. Women who did not enlist at the outbreak of the war served as student volunteers, nursing personnel, and guerrilla members, taking on roles in nursing, guerrilla warfare, intelligence gathering, and arts units.

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs stated, "The noble sacrifice and dedication of the Women's Volunteer Corps laid the foundation for the remarkable growth of our female soldiers. Now, 72 years after their establishment, women serve not only in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, but also in overseas units as part of United Nations peacekeeping forces."