The 'Jige Unit' That Replaced 100,000 US Troops, Dabudong Memorial Built After 73 Years

2800 Soldiers Killed While Transporting Supplies in Chilgok

Forgotten Heroes Whose Participation Could Not Be Proven

General Baek Seon-yeop's Eldest Daughter Donates 12 Million Won

“Jige carriers were the unsung heroes who took it upon themselves to be the guardian angels of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.”

Have you heard of the ‘Jige Unit,’ who carried their weapon not as guns but as jige (traditional Korean carrying frames)?

In honor of the Month of Patriots and Veterans, a memorial monument commemorating the sacrifices of the jige unit members who supported the Korean military by transporting supplies with jige during the Korean War will be erected for the first time in 73 years.

Chilgok-gun held a reenactment event of the Jige unit at Mangjeong-ri hill on the 30th. From the left in the photo are Village Chief Yoon Byung-gyu, Mrs. Baek Nam-hee, and Chilgok-gun Governor Kim Jae-wook. Photo by XXX

On the 31st, Chilgok County announced that Namhee Baek (75), the eldest daughter of General Baek Seon-yeop, has spent 12 million won to prepare a 160cm-tall ‘Dabudong Battle Jige Unit Memorial’ and plans to hold an unveiling ceremony on June 19.

The memorial is to honor the wishes of her father, who highly valued the dedication of the jige unit members during the Dabudong Battle. Starting in July, it will be placed alongside the statue of General Baek Seon-yeop at the Dabudong Battle Memorial Hall.

The jige unit members carried 40kg of supplies such as ammunition, fuel, and food on their backs, climbing steep mountainous terrain to deliver them to the 1st Division of the Republic of Korea Army led by General Baek Seon-yeop and the U.S. military.

Without military IDs or guns, they braved the fire to carry out all logistics tasks, including supplying war materials and transporting the wounded and fallen soldiers.

Although 2,800 jige unit members died in the Dabudong Battle, their participation has not been officially recognized, and they have not received compensation. On the 30th, Chilgok County held a jige unit reenactment event at Mangjeong-ri 328 Hill’s Jige Road and announced plans to erect the memorial.

On that day, Kim Jae-wook, the governor of Chilgok County, dressed in hanbok and carried an ammunition box on a jige, reenacting the appearance of a jige unit member. Namhee Baek transformed into a woman who tirelessly made rice balls day and night to deliver to the jige unit members. Yoon Byung-gyu (67), the head of Mangjeong 1-ri, whose father served as a jige unit member, took on the role of a student soldier who bravely fought the enemy at Dabudong.

The United Nations forces called them the ‘A-frame Army’ during the Korean War because the sight of residents carrying jige up the mountains resembled the letter A.

General Van Fleet, commander of the U.S. Eighth Army, praised their role in his memoirs, stating, “Without the jige unit, at least 100,000 additional U.S. troops would have had to be sent.”

Namhee Baek said, “On the third anniversary of General Baek Seon-yeop’s passing, I have fulfilled my father’s wishes by erecting the jige unit memorial,” adding, “I hope this brings some comfort to the nameless heroes.”

Kim Jae-wook, governor of Chilgok County, emphasized, “It was because of hidden heroes like the jige unit members and student soldiers that the Republic of Korea was able to be protected,” and said, “It is time for society to pay attention and make efforts to remember and reexamine them.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.