May 6, 1951, when the groans and gunfire of war continued throughout the Korean Peninsula. Young men with bronze skin and unfamiliar appearances stepped into Busan Port wearing military uniforms. These are the soldiers of the ‘Kangnew Unit’ from a country called Ethiopia, located on the other side of the world, on the African continent.
Hearing an appeal from the international community to support South Korea, which was in desperate danger due to North Korea's surprise invasion of the South, he came to Korea on a transport ship from his home country, which is about 10,000 km away, over a period of 21 days.
After arriving at Busan Port, they immediately boarded a truck and headed to the UN military camp in Dongrae, Busan. Here for six weeks, they adapted to the climate and terrain of the Korean Peninsula and learned how to operate modern weapons.
The Ethiopian fighters were later assigned to the 32nd Regiment of the US 7th Division and headed to the front. Starting with the first battle on August 12, 1951, in the area of Jeokgeun Mountain in Hwacheon-gun, Gangwon-do, on the Middle East front, they fought a life-threatening battle on the Korean Peninsula for about two years until the armistice agreement was signed on July 27, 1953.
The Kangnyu Unit, comprised of about 1,200 elite troops from the Imperial Guard, was particularly brave and strong among the UN forces.
Kang New's unit, which played an active part in the Battle of Hwacheon, the Battle of Yanggu, the Battle of Samgak Hill, and the Battle of York and Uncle Hill, defended Korea by writing an immortal record of '253 wins in 253 battles' during its participation in the Korean War, and the blood-sharing relationship continues to this day.
According to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs on the 24th, Ethiopia dispatched a total of 3,518 men to Korea as Gangnu units during the Korean War. The Gangnyu unit was the size of an infantry battalion, and had about 1,200 troops at the time.
Ethiopia is the only country in Africa to send ground troops at the request of the United Nations after the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. The decision was made to dispatch troops in August 1950, and after organizing the unit and undergoing internal training, the dispatch ceremony was held in April of the following year.
At the time, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia gave the dispatched unit the name 'Kagnew Unit'.
'Gangnyu' means 'establishing order in chaos' or 'smashing the first battle' in Ethiopian language. It is said that the emperor gave a special command to the soldiers at the departure ceremony: "Fight until you win. Otherwise, fight until you die."
The reason Ethiopia decided to risk its life and send troops to an unfamiliar land on the other side of the world was because of its own experience of losing its country in an invasion war.
Ethiopia was invaded by Italy in 1935 and appealed to the League of Nations for support, but suffered the pain of colonial rule for about five years from 1936 due to the international community's cold response. Because of its history of land invasion, Ethiopia had a special interest in the situation on the Korean Peninsula on the other side of the world.
The soldiers of the Gangnyu unit, who are from the highlands of Africa, showed off their fighting skills even in the rugged mountains of the Korean Peninsula. Within a week of being sent to the front lines, four people were awarded military honors, and in numerous hill battles, he never gave up the hill to the enemy, and was especially strong in close combat due to his unique bravery.
In September 1951, he made a remarkable performance in the Battle of Jeokgeunsan Mountain in Hwacheon, Gangwon-do, and also played an active part in the Battle of the ‘Iron Triangle’.
Until the end of the war in July 1953, 3,518 members of the Kangnyu unit participated in the war, of which 122 were killed in action and 536 were injured. In particular, veterans testified that they suffered hardships, including suffering frostbite, from the bitter cold of winter on the Korean Peninsula, which they experienced for the first time in their lives.
The Kangnyu Unit also holds the great record of being the only unit among the UN participating countries that did not take a single prisoner. This is because they fought bravely according to the emperor's strict orders, and with their unique and strong solidarity, they were sure to find the wounded, dead, and missing and return them to their homes.
All of the bodies of our comrades have been recovered and returned, and there is no grave of an Ethiopian soldier at the UN Cemetery in Busan.
Kangnyu's unit remained in Korea even after the gunfire stopped due to the armistice agreement. They were stationed in Korea until 1956 and helped with post-war recovery, including patrolling the demilitarized zone.
In particular, it is a famous anecdote that unit members saved up their salaries to build an orphanage (nursery home) named 'Bohwawon' in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi-do in 1953 and took care of war orphans. ‘Bowha’ means ‘God’s grace’ in Ethiopian language.
The historical bond of dispatching the Gangnyu unit became a milestone in the relationship between Korea and Ethiopia. The two countries officially established diplomatic relations in 1963, 10 years after the signing of the Armistice Agreement, and after Korea achieved economic growth, it designated Ethiopia as a priority cooperation country for official development assistance (ODA) and continued to provide aid.
Now, 75 years have passed since the first deployment of the Kangnyu Unit, and many of the veterans who came to the Korean Peninsula as members of the Kangnyu Unit at the time have passed away.
According to the Korean Embassy in Ethiopia, there are currently only 46 surviving veterans, most of whom are elderly.
However, the spirit of the Gangnyu unit that came to this country 75 years ago has been passed down to the descendants of veterans and continues to this day.
On the 22nd, Mr. Tesfaye, a veteran of the Kangyu Unit, and 34 descendants of veterans visited Korea at the invitation of a domestic non-profit organization. They will stay in Korea for about a month until the end of next month and participate in veterans affairs and cultural exchange events.
In particular, the 'Kang New Choir', composed of descendants of war veterans, will carry out a variety of schedules in Korea, starting with the 'International Veterans and Peace Project Concert' held at the National Assembly on this day and ending with a performance commemorating 'United Nations Forces Participation Day' (July 27).
Warm Day, an association that hosts and supervises the event, has been carrying out support projects for veterans of the Ethiopian Gangnyu Unit since 2016, and founded the Gangnyu Choir in 2018 to carry out music education and international cultural exchange activities.
