The United States Forces Korea (USFK) is a sub-unified command of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). USFK was initially established in 1957, and encompasses U.S. combat-ready fighting forces and components under the ROK/US Combined Forces Command (CFC) – a supreme command for all of the South Korean and U.S. ground, air, sea and special operations component commands. Major USFK elements include U.S. Eighth Army (EUSA), U.S. Air Forces Korea (Seventh Air Force), U.S. Naval Forces Korea (CNFK), U.S. Marine Forces Korea (MARFORK) and U.S. Special Operations Command Korea (SOCKOR). The mission of USFK is to support the United Nations Command (UNC) and Combined Forces Command by coordinating and planning among U.S. component commands, and exercise operational control of U.S. forces as directed by United States Indo-Pacific Command. In addition, USFK is responsible for organizing, training and equipping U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula, as well as executing ancillary functions such as non-combatant evacuation operations. The U.S. military presence in South Korea is extensive, including at least 24,234 active-duty soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines as well as nine major bases.

Components

United Nations Command and Combined Forces Command

While USFK is a separate organization from United Nations Command (UNC) and ROK/US Combined Forces Command (CFC), its mission is to support both UNC and CFC by coordinating and planning among US component commands and providing US supporting forces to the CFC. As such, USFK continues to support the ROK-US Mutual Defense Treaty. In response to the North Korean attack against South Korea on 25 June 1950, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) established the UNC as a unified command under the US in UNSC Resolution 84 on 7 July 1950. The UNC mission was to assist South Korea to repel the attack and restore international peace and security in Korea. Throughout the war, 53 nations provided support to the UNC; 16 nations provided combat forces and five sent medical and hospital units. After three years of hostilities, the commanders of both sides signed the Armistice Agreement on 27 July 1953. Hostilities today are also deterred by this bi-national defense team that evolved from the multi-national UNC. Established on 7 November 1978, the ROK/US Combined Forces Command (CFC) is the warfighting headquarters. Its role is to deter, or defeat if necessary, outside aggression against the ROK.

Commanders, U.S. Forces Korea

History

The following is a partial list of border incidents involving North Korea since the Armistice Agreement of 27 July 1953, ended large scale military action of the Korean War. Most of these incidents took place near either the Korean Demilitarized Zone or the Northern Limit Line. This list includes engagements on land, air and sea but does not include alleged incursions and terrorist incidents that occurred away from the border. Many of the incidents occurring at sea are due to border disputes. The North claims jurisdiction over a large area south of the disputed western maritime border, the Northern Limit Line in the waters west of the Korean Peninsula. This is a prime fishing area, particularly for crabs, and clashes commonly occur. In addition, the North claims its territorial waters extend for 50 nmi from the coast, rather than the 12 nmi recognized by other countries. According to the 5 January 2011 Korea Herald, since July 1953 North Korea has violated the armistice 221 times, including 26 military attacks.

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

Number of U.S. soldiers stationed in South Korea by year

Exercises

Each year the ROK, the US and a selection of Sending States from the United Nations Command participate in multiple defense-oriented, combined and joint training events designed to defend the Republic of Korea, protect the region, and maintain and increase stability on the Korean peninsula. Ulchi-Freedom Guardian, Key Resolve, and Foal Eagle, in addition to multiple Rehearsal of Concept (ROC) Drills, are the three theater level exercises. In June 2018 the South Korea and the US claimed they are ready to stop the conducting of military drills in order to create significant opportunities for the negotiations with DPRK.

Shoulder sleeve insignia

Description

A shield-shaped embroidered device 3+1/8 in in height and 2+1/2 in in width overall blazoned: azure, in chief four mullets bendwise argent, all above a stylized American bald eagle, issuant from sinister base volant to dexter chief; the eagle's body gules surmounted by two bendlets, wider at base, of the second throughout; head of the second, eyed of the field, leg and talons of the second grasping a laurel branch and seven arrows or. The entire shield shape is edged with a 1/16 in white border. Attached above the device is a designation band in scarlet inscribed "USFK" in white letters. The entire device is edged with a 1/8 in blue border.

Symbolism

The shield shape reflects the United States Forces Korea's steadfast commitment to help defend the sovereignty of South Korea. The abbreviation "USFK" stands for United States Forces Korea which activated on 1 July 1957. The four stars symbolize the service and contributions of the United States Army, United States Navy, United States Air Force, and the United States Marine Corps. The stylized American bald eagle represents cohesion and unity among the services. The laurel sprigs and arrows depict the mission of the United States Forces Korea to defeat aggression if necessary. Red, white, and blue are the colors of the flag of the United States of America. Red symbolizes hard work and honor, white represents innocence and purity, and blue refers to justice and perseverance. Yellow signifies wisdom and intuition.

Background

The shoulder sleeve insignia was approved on 18 June 2012. (TIOH Dwg. No. A-1-1077).

Controversy

Gwangju Uprising

The 1980s marked a surge in anti-Americanism in Korea, widely traced to the events of May 1980. "Gwangju convinced a new generation of young [Koreans] that the democratic movement had developed not with the support of Washington, as an older generation of more conservative Koreans thought, but in the face of daily American support for any dictator who could quell the democratic aspirations of the Korean people. The result was an anti-American movement in the 1980s that threatened to bring down the whole structure of American support for the ROK. American cultural centers were burned to the ground (more than once in Gwangju); students immolated themselves in protest of Reagan's support for Chun [Doo-hwan]." Fundamental to this movement was a perception of U.S. complicity in Chun's rise to power, and, more particularly, in the Gwangju massacre itself. These matters remain controversial. It is clear, for example, that the U.S. authorized the Korean Army's 20th Division to re-take Gwangju – as acknowledged in a 1982 letter to the New York Times by then-Ambassador Gleysteen. "[General Wickham], with my concurrence, permitted transfer of well-trained troops of the twentieth R.O.K.A. Division from martial-law duty in Seoul to Gwangju because law and order had to be restored in a situation that had run amok following the outrageous behavior of the Korean Special Forces, which had never been under General Wickham's command." However, as Gwangju Uprising editors Scott-Stokes and Lee note, whether the expulsion of government troops left the situation lawless or "amok" is very much open to dispute.

21st century

In 2002, anti-American sentiment in South Korea spiked after two U.S. soldiers in an M60 armored vehicle-launched bridge (AVLB) accidentally hit and killed two South Korean teenage girls in the Yangju highway incident. An expansion of Camp Humphreys later in the decade served as a catalyst for the Daechuri Protests, drawing thousands of South Korean citizens, resulting in occasional violent clashes and arrests. Following a series of large protests against the U.S. and Republic of Korea governments' plan to expand Camp Humphreys and make it the main base for most U.S. troops in South Korea, residents of Daechuri and other small villages near Pyeongtaek agreed to a government settlement to leave their homes in 2006 and allow the base's expansion. Compensation for the land averaged 600 million won (about US$600,000) per resident. With the relocation of the new USFK and UNC headquarters to Camp Humphreys (in Pyeongtaek) on 29 June 2018, the USFK command and the majority of its subordinate units have officially moved out of the city of Seoul; headquarters are now 35 km further south. During the COVID-19 pandemic, members of USFK, and other foreign nationals were reported to have no-mask parties at Haeundae Beach in Busan for the Independence Day of 2020, and the Memorial Day of 2021, despite local social distancing restrictions. They engaged in unruly behavior, which included playing loud music, heavy drinking, and the shooting of firecrackers at locals.

Relationships between U.S. soldiers and South Korean women

Western princesses (prostitutes servicing U.S. soldiers) have resulted in a negative image for South Korean women who have relationships with American men.