Revival of the Military Day March After 10 Years

The military parade, which was showcased at the Armed Forces Day event, is making a comeback. It is the first time in 10 years since 2013 that the Armed Forces Day parade will be held.

On the 1st, to commemorate Armed Forces Day, the honor guards of each military branch are conducting a parade at the '71st Armed Forces Day Ceremony' held at Daegu Air Force Base (11th Fighter Wing). / Daegu = Photo by Joint Press Corps

On the 1st, the Ministry of National Defense announced that it will hold the Armed Forces Day event on September 26 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the armed forces and the 70th anniversary of the Korea-US alliance.

Considering that Armed Forces Day on October 1 falls during the Chuseok holiday period, the ceremony will be held earlier. In the morning, a commemorative event will take place at Seongnam Seoul Airport, and in the afternoon, a military parade involving cadets from each branch of the armed forces will be held from Sungnyemun to the Gwanghwamun area in Seoul. Since 1998, the Ministry of National Defense has organized military parades mobilizing troops and equipment every five years during the Armed Forces Day ceremonies. However, in 2018, taking into account the improving inter-Korean relations, the 70th anniversary ceremony was held as a festival without a parade or military demonstration.

The Armed Forces Day event planning team stated, "This year's parade will showcase the military's fundamental role in defending freedom and peace, while also serving as a festival where the public can participate."

In particular, it is known that this year's parade will include participation from soldiers' families and acquaintances. The plan is to create a festive atmosphere by showing our military personnel marching together with the public.

On the 3rd of last month, the Ministry of National Defense appointed Lieutenant General Park An-su of the Army as the head of the event planning team, and completed the formation of the planning team on the 26th of the same month. Lieutenant General Park An-su, who leads the planning team, is an expert in combined and joint operations and training. He was also appointed as the head of the 74th Armed Forces Day event planning team last May, but after being promoted to lieutenant general in the June personnel reshuffle and moving to command the 8th Corps, he was unable to complete the preparations for the event.