[Military Story] "Stop the Enemy Landing" 24 Hours at Hwa-jin Training Ground, Yeongdeok, Gyeongbuk

Army 50th Infantry Division Amphibious Landing Defense Training
Shelling Targeting Enemy Infiltration Boats at Sea

There is a place that cannot be left out in the history of the Korean War. It is Jangsari, Namjeong-myeon, Yeongdeok-gun, Gyeongbuk Province. One day before the Incheon Landing Operation, Captain Lee Myung-heum led 772 student soldiers toward Jangsari. The student soldiers were deployed in the Jangsari Landing Operation to cut off the supply routes of the North Korean army. At that time, the average age of the student soldiers was 17. They had only undergone two weeks of military training. The student soldiers did not even know the details of the operation. At a young age, they had to endure a downpour of bullets in severe weather. After the operation ended, the boys left behind in Jangsari were captured and taken north as prisoners of war. The North Korean army sometimes stabbed prisoners to death with spears when they collapsed from exhaustion while walking. The story of the student soldiers, whose remains were never recovered, became known to the world in 1997 when the Munsanho ship used in the landing operation and remains were discovered on the Jangsari beach. In 2019, it also became the subject of the film "Jangsari, Forgotten Heroes."

Six K105A1 wheeled self-propelled howitzers (Pungik) deployed at Hwajin Training Ground.

Troops from the 50th Infantry Division and the 950th Artillery Battalion under the Army's 2nd Operations Command training to defend against enemy amphibious landings on the sandy beach.

The tactical control device in the command and control room calculates the firing coordinates by computing the enemy's speed and other data received from the radar.

The operation to cut off the North Korean army's supply routes is still ongoing. Now, instead of student soldiers, the latest weapons and troops are deployed in the operation. On November 23 last year, I visited Hwajin Training Ground located within Hwajin Beach, 4 km away from Jangsari. Since 1982, the 50th Division has been using Hwajin Training Ground as a firing range. It is the only place south of the Han River where joint land, sea, and air training is possible. This place was once disliked by local residents. The training ground occupies 680 meters, which is 42% of the entire 1,600-meter coastline of the beach. Residents demanded the return of the training ground for tourism use and fishing activities. The conflict was resolved in April 2021 when the 50th Division, local residents, and government offices began discussions.

Wheeled Self-Propelled Howitzer ‘Pungik’... Automatically Calculates Enemy Movement for Accurate Hits

Warm sunlight shone over the seaside. On the sandy beach, troops from the 50th Infantry Division and the 950th Artillery Battalion under the Army's 2nd Operations Command took their positions. Six K105A1 wheeled self-propelled howitzers (Pungik) lined up facing forward. The training that day was to defend against enemy landing operations. From 30 minutes before firing, loud sirens sounded along the coast to evacuate fishermen working at sea. The Coast Guard also took action. About ten fishing boats changed direction toward Pohang Port and left.

The commander received target information from radar located at the nearby Jangsari Beach. The tactical control system in the command and control room calculated the firing coordinates by computing the enemy's speed and other data received from the radar. It was instantaneous. This information was directly transmitted to the Pungik. The six Pungik howitzers simultaneously fired high-explosive shells at sea targets 7 km away. The sky thundered. Although standing just 30 meters away, my body flinched momentarily. The high-explosive shells fired by the Pungik exploded above the target about 20 seconds later. The target area observed through monitoring equipment in the command and control room was filled with smoke generated after the shells exploded. It is very difficult to accurately hit fast-moving enemy semi-submersibles and the like. For this reason, delayed fuzes were used. The delayed fuze detonates fragments in the air above the target before impact, increasing the damage area.

Baek Il-young, commander of the 950th Artillery Battalion, said, “This was the first firing in six years since 2017. We plan to repeatedly conduct defense training in preparation for the possibility of North Korea attempting a landing operation.”

Soldiers are firing flares to illuminate the enemy's infiltration route as darkness falls heavily.

Soldiers Fire 120 Flares in the Darkness... Vivid Waves on the Horizon

In the late afternoon, 30 mortars of 81mm and 60mm caliber were mobilized. As usual, sirens sounded and warning broadcasts continued. As the sunset fell on the coast, the soldiers' movements quickened. The mortars positioned along the coast created a spectacular scene. When darkness deepened, the firing of flares to illuminate the infiltration routes of the enemy began. About 120 flares were fired that day. The flares, fired in rapid succession with “bang, bang, bang,” slowly descended from the sky, brightly illuminating the coastline. The waves on the horizon could be seen vividly.

That day was the day North Korea declared the termination of the September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement. Colonel Jung Yoo-soo, commander of the 50th Division who led the firing, said, “The firing was accurate and swift,” and emphasized, “Through this training, we will be able to fully achieve complete operational capability and full operational capability (FOC) after the unit reorganization as well as in mission execution.”