South Korea's Armed Forces Day

Depicted above is the souvenir sheet commemorating Armed Forces Day in the Republic of Korea (ROK). As a veteran of the U.S. military I have a soft spot for military themed stamps and I especially like this one. I added two of these souvenir sheets to my collection last month, but have yet to pick up a copy of the stamp. The specific details surrounding the souvenir sheet are as follows:

• Date of Issue: 01 October 1961
• Scott Catalogue: 329
• Korea Postage stamp Catalogue (KPC): C152
• Quantity Produced: 200,000 s/s

Armed Forces Day in the ROK is celebrated on 01 October, which is the anniversary of when ROK forces broke through the 38th parallel in 1950 during the Korean War. Today this special day is not a national holiday, but is a flag raising day where the ROK military is recognized and saluted. My wife, who was born and raised in Seoul, tells stories of how as a kid there would be large scale military parades conducted on this day and she recalls with fondness seeing members of the ROK military driving through the streets. I had several opportunities to train with members of the ROK Marine Corps while I myself served in the U.S. Marines and each time I came away extremely impressed by their military discipline and professionalism. Some of my most memorable experiences serving in the U.S. Marine Corps was training alongside members of the ROK Marine Corps in Pohang, Korea.

I really like the design of this stamp and believe the profile shot of a member representing each branch of service of the ROK military was a nice touch. I've already added several military themed Korean stamps to my collection, but for today this one gets all of the attention.

For more information about the ROK military check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_South_Korea

Until next time....

-Beezer