Type Military academy Administrative staff 160 faculty Phone +82 2-2197-0114 | Established May 1, 1946 Founded 1 May 1946 | |
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Superintendent Lieutenant GeneralChoi Byung Ro (KMA 38th) Notable alumni Park Chung‑hee, Chun Doo‑hwan, Roh Tae‑woo, Seo Kyung‑seok, Kim Kwan‑jin Similar Korea Army Academy, Korea Air Force Academy, Korean National Police Un, Korea National Defense, Republic of Korea Army Arm | ||
Korea Military Academy (KMA) is the foremost South Korean institution for the education and training of officer cadets for the Republic of Korea Army. Commonly referred to as Hwarangdae (Korean: 화랑대 Hanja: 花郞臺)) as a reference to the Hwarang, an elite organization of youth leaders in Korean history, it is located in Nowon-gu, a northeast district of Seoul, South Korea.
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Korea military academy music hall
History
Korea Military Academy (KMA) was founded on May 1, 1946 as South Joseon Defense Academy by National Defense Command, the predecessor of Ministry of National Defense of Republic of Korea, under the authority of then-U.S. military administration in South Korea. With the end of Pacific War and the subsequent disbandment of Imperial Japanese Army which had been occupying Korea since 1910, a void of indigenous security force has been created, while the pool of human resource was composed of various backgrounds, including the Imperial Japanese Army, Manchurian Army, and Korean Liberation Army. As a preparatory measure, the U.S. military administration opened Military Language School in Seoul on December 5, 1945 in order to train military interpreters as well as the new generation of commissioned officers with unified, predominantly American military doctrine.
Following the establishment of South Joseon National Defense Force, the predecessor of Republic of Korea Army, in January 1946, the School closed down on April 30, and South Joseon Defense Academy was founded the next day, taking over 60 cadets from the School and augmented by 28 new officer candidates drafted from line units. Henceforth, May 1 has been recognized as the official foundation day of KMA. Cham-ryeong (current rank of Major) Lee Hyeong-geun was appointed as the first Superintendent of the Academy, and Bu-wi (current rank of First Lieutenant) Jang Chang-kuk was appointed as the Commandant. Following the establishment of South Korean government on August 15, 1948, the National Defense Force was renamed to Republic of Korea Army, and so was South Joseon Defense Academy to Korea Military Academy accordingly.
Campus
The campus is located in Gongreung 2-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea.