Foreword to ROK Equipment and Gear
The Republic of Korea Armed Forces and Police were forged in the crucible of the Korean war, where almost all equipment were hand-down USGI surplus or copies of US items. Decades later, due to changing political climates and a need for self-reliance, the ROK began to produce their own locally designed and manufactured military equipment.
A large problem for collectors of Korean military gear is an almost complete lack of coherent nomenclature, both in Korean and English. In this article we have decided to introduce some standard English nomenclature in addition to the common Korean names.
The aim of this article is to shed light on the basics of modern Korean military equipment and give prospective new collectors the information they need to decide what kind of collection they would like to start. We will cover the major equipment from the mid 1990s until present. Currently, a brand new wave of modern equipment is being introduced in phases, called the "Warrior Platform". As items begin being issued widely, they will be added here.
ROK CAMOUFLAGE
ROK Woodland:
Tonghab Woodland: While the ROK military used several copies and variations of the US ERDL and M81 woodland patterns, in 1996 the Tonghab (=unification, one pattern for the entire Armed Forces) pattern was officially adopted as standard camouflage. While it is undoubtedly heavily influenced by the American M81 woodland camouflage, it actually has a different proprietary pattern design. Early Tonghab uniforms were rather similar to the M81 color-wise, but later they changed to become more akin to the British DPM Jungle's bright color scheme. While the new digital patterns were introduced as standard in 2013, Tonghab uniform items were actively issued until at least 2014 and equipment items (such as vests, gas mask bags, sleeping bag covers, etc.) remain in active use today. As the ROK military has a reserve duty system for all adult males who completed national service, many reservists who served during the Tonghab-era still show up to rehearsals and exercises in their old uniforms.
WAVEPAT:
Also introduced in the early 2010s, the ROKMC decided to adopt this unique 4-colour pattern to blend in with rocky beaches and an ocean backdrop, and like US Marine MARPAT, genuine prints feature the ROK Marine logo watermarks in the pattern.
ROKPAT:
Issued to Army Special Warfare Command (SWC) units (airborne, rangers) and Air Force special forces, it is similar in appearance to USMC MARPAT woodland, though it differs in color shades and ratios, with a few small pattern differences, however its performance suffers from a very small repeating tile, especially noticeable on ponchos and other gear with large fabric areas.
ROKPAT Desert:
The desert pattern (as popularized by the 2016 TV Drama, Descendants of the Sun) is issued to Korean units deploying to arid environments overseas, as of now only the “Akh” Special Forces unit in the UAE is issued this pattern, though boots featuring this pattern are used by other deployed troops as well.
Granite-B:
Granite-B was introduced in the early 2010s as the general camouflage pattern for the Army, Navy and Air Force after a series of similar digital patterns were trialed. This 5-colour pattern was intended to optimally blend in with the environment of the Korean peninsula all year long, including urban areas. It works notably well in dry forests during colder seasons and rocky environments.
ROK Helmets
KHB2000 “New Type Bulletproof Helmet” (신형 방탄 헬멧)
Produced by Samyang Comtech, the KHB2000 is the standard issue combat helmet to ROK military frontline troops. It is a PASGT style helmet but just like its Japanese counterpart, it does feature significant shape differences to suit the Asian head shape.
Issuing began in the early to mid-2000s and early models featured a webbing liner and 2 point chinstrap whilst later models (2014 onwards) feature a pad suspension and 4 point chinstrap. It weighs in somewhere around 1.5KG depending upon size.
M80 “Old Type Bulletproof Helmet” (구형 방탄 헬멧)
The M80 is essentially a USGI shape M1 helmet made of ballistic nylon, its suspension and chinstrap come directly from the late model US M1 liner. This helmet is sometimes preferred by some older troops because of its lighter weight, and for retaining the M1 helmet’s iconic appearance.
The M80 has mostly fallen out of use amongst frontline units but is still commonly seen being worn by rear echelon and reserve units. Just like the newer helmet, this helmet is always worn with a camouflage cover with all the same features.
ROK Combat Gear
Multipurpose Bulletproof Vest
"Old Type” Bulletproof Vest
KFLC - "New Type Combat Vest"
ROK Personal Kit
ROKA Type Boots
ROKA Type Helmet
“Combat” Trucker Cap
ROKA K5 Gasmask
ROK Infantry Reference Gallery
Citation:
-Yeongguk Mildeog
-DK0010