Battles of White Horse Hill

By Lee Sun-ho

White Horse Hill (Baengma Goji in Korean) is a very familiar name not only for me, but for most of the Korean War generation.

Until recently, the closest I had been to the 395-meter hill was in the early 1990s, looking down at it from the summit of Mt. Godae, which is 853 meters high and located in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province. The hill's ridge is covered with trees and extends three kilometers, running northwest-southeast in Gangwon Province. Recently I saw the hill from near the southern limit line of the DMZ, and it made me think about important events that happened there.

This was the site of a number of bloody battles during the Korean War. It was a strategic crest in the "Iron Triangle" in Gangwon Province (formed by Pyeonggang at its peak and Geumhwa and Cherwon at its base), and served as an important transportation route in the central region of the DMZ.

I served in the ROKA 9th Infantry (the so-called "White Horse") Division for a few months during the summer of 1961 when I was a corporal in the Korean army. There I learned the division song, which told the story of "Cheorwon field, Baengma Goji, fighting against 100,000 invading Chinese barbarians and flying the division flag with our guns and bayonets for a glorious victory." This was yelled repeatedly and even to this day I memorize the main parts of this song.

Thanks to the opening of the second Peace DMZ train track (Gyeongwon line) 4885 by KORAIL on Aug. 1, I was given an opportunity to reach the bottom of the White Horse Hill on Sep. 25 along with 34 of my fellow college friends.

I was informed by a guide that the 9th Division was hastily created in late 1950s during the war, and operated in the mountainous terrain of Mt. Sorak and Mt. Odae in the northeast, not far from the 38th parallel. The North Korea II Corps cut it off during the war, and the division suffered heavy casualties. Down, but not out. Part of the area was controlled by the U.S. IX Corps. Loss of the hill would deny the IX Corps use of the Cheorwon road, and would open up the entire Cherwon area to enemy attack and penetration.

On Oct. 3, 1952, a defecting Chinese 38th Army lieutenant from the 340th Regiment of 114th Division, under interrogation, revealed that an attack on White Horse Hill was imminent. After this was corroborated by other intelligence, the IX Corps reinforced the 9th division with tanks, artillery, rocket launchers, and antiaircraft weapons. From the U.S. Fifth Air Force came extra B-29 strikes against enemy artillery positions.

The 9th Division and the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division were stationed across the Yeokkok-cheon (stream) Valley together with a French battalion. In a tiresome war of attrition, the U.S. 8th Army with their massive firepower would wreak havoc day and night.

Over a ten day period (October 6-15, 1952), all three 9th Division regiments (12,000 fighters) held the hill ― the most northwestern location of Chorwon. The division prepared for a Chinese assault. The 9th Division was pitted squarely against the three Chinese 38th Army divisions (45,000 human waves). The hill changed hands 24 times throughout 12 repeated attacks and counterattacks. Afterwards, the hill resembled a threadbare "White Horse," where its name came from. The Chinese 38th Army sustained a total of 14,332 casualties, while the 9th Division suffered a total of 3,422 casualties, securing victory for the U.N. forces.

In front of the memorial monument set up by the ROKA 5th Infantry (the so-called Unification Key) Division in 1990, I, together with my party colleagues, saluted and paid tribute to those 9th Division combatants whose sacrifice created the cornerstone for Korea's democratization and remarkable economic growth after their demise.

Although these memories of combat 62 years ago are still vivid, they make me remember that the security of a country is of the utmost importance, and what many people gave to make Korea what it is today. We should not forget this as times passes by and memories fade. The hallowed site of this battlefield should not be forgotten as we deal with today's security questions.

The writer is an outside director of Samyang Tongsang Co., Ltd. in Seoul. He can be reached at kexim2@unitel.co.kr.

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