Army
Overview
The Army (Korean: 육군, Yukgun) is a military branch whose primary mission is the nation's ground forces, performing ground combat and defense, territorial defense, disaster and emergency relief, and civil support. It is generally organized by combining large-scale personnel with armor, artillery, and aviation forces, and together with the navy and air force forms one of the three main pillars of a nation's military power. Since modern times, it has existed as the largest military branch in most countries, but recently its form is changing rapidly with the introduction of advanced technology and restructuring of manpower.
Main Content
Definition and Concept
The Army's core mission is to repel enemy invasion in the ground domain and preserve territory. It is contrasted with the navy, which is responsible for the seas, and the air force, which is responsible for the air; due to the nature of ground warfare, it conducts operations closely intertwined with terrain, weather, and civilian populations. It is important that it does not simply mean infantry, but is a joint combat organization integrating multiple branches such as armor, artillery, engineering, communications, intelligence, logistics, and aviation.
Organization and Command Structure
The Army is usually organized in a hierarchical structure of squad → platoon → company → battalion → regiment/brigade → division → corps → field army. At the top is the Army Headquarters, and each country has a command system centered on the Chief of Staff according to its circumstances. A typical feature of modern militaries is that the command line and staff line are separated, with operations, personnel, logistics, and intelligence functions operating in parallel.
Branches and Functions
Infantry is the basic branch of ground warfare and is responsible for close combat; armor provides mobility and firepower with tanks and armored vehicles. Artillery dominates the battlefield with indirect firepower, while engineering is responsible for installing and removing obstacles, river crossings, and construction. In addition, various support branches such as communications, intelligence, air defense, aviation (Army aviation), logistics, medical, military police, and troop information/education are organically combined to form a single combat power.
Historical Evolution
Starting from ancient citizen armies and feudal armies, the Army developed into a mass conscript army through the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Then, through World Wars I and II, mechanized and tank forces emerged as core elements, and during the Cold War, a form combining nuclear forces and large standing armies took hold. Entering the 21st century, network-centric warfare, precision strikes, and unmanned systems are changing the paradigm of Army combat.
Republic of Korea Army
The Republic of Korea Army (대한민국 육군) formed a structure centered on large standing forces after the Korean War and maintains a manpower replenishment system based on conscription. The Army Headquarters, various operational commands, and corps- and division-level units are organized to reflect the geographical characteristics of the Korean Peninsula, and recently restructuring is underway to reduce the size of forces while strengthening advanced equipment and skilled personnel.
Roles and Missions
The Army's missions have expanded beyond conducting ground operations in wartime to maintaining readiness in peacetime, disaster relief, counterterrorism support, and international peacekeeping activities (PKO). In addition, as linkage with the cyber and electronic warfare domains becomes more important, ground forces are also trending toward integrated operation in line with the concept of Multi-Domain Operations.
Latest Trends
The biggest changes in the Army in 2024–2025 are unmanned and intelligent systems and manpower restructuring. Drones and reconnaissance/strike unmanned systems (UAVs and UGVs) are being deployed to units at battalion level and below, redefining the concept of small-unit combat power, and AI-based command decision support and surveillance and reconnaissance systems have entered the stage of practical application. Countries are investing in manned-unmanned teaming combat systems, precisionization of conventional forces, and strengthening cyber and electronic warfare capabilities in response to troop reductions. In Korea, the reorganization of the Army's force system is accelerating amid adjustments to standing forces in response to troop reductions, discussions of an all-volunteer recruitment system, and expanded exports of K-defense products such as the K2 tank and K9 self-propelled howitzer. In addition, the power of drones and electronic warfare confirmed in the Russia-Ukraine War and Middle East conflicts is again highlighting the importance of Army survivability, distributed operations, and fortified defense systems.
Related Topics
- [[Republic of Korea Armed Forces]]
- [[Navy]]
- [[Air Force]]
- [[Conscription]]
- [[K-Defense]]
- [[Unmanned Aerial Vehicle]]