Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

 

 

 

Equipped with a cruise missile … can deliver a pinpoint strike to the enemy's main facility
Two-week operation under the sea with an air-independent propulsion system

 

A patriotic martyr, Yu Gwan-sun, 1902-1920, who died in her youth while struggling against Japanese coercion, is revived as a most capable submarine.

 

Daewoo Shipbuilding Engineering in Geoje-gun, Gyeongnam, had launching ceremony of the type 214, 6th submarine “Yu Gwan Sun Ham” on the afternoon of May 7th. The launching ceremony is a ritual of sending a warship, which is mounted with equipment and a weapons system, into the sea for the first time.

 

The Navy offered congratulations at the ceremony for the very first female-named submarine and invited female fighters for independence and relevant officials of Korean women’s independence movement organizations to meditate on martyr Yu’s spirit of independence.

 

The first female-named warship

 

 

The ceremony was attended by Yu’s niece-in-law, Mrs. Kim Jung-ae and her family, Mrs. Oh Hee-ok, 89, whose entire family devoted their lives to the independence movement, Lee Hye-hun, the president of the Yu Gwan-sun memorial society, Lee Hwa-ok, the president of the 3·1 female comrade society, Kim Suk-hee, the chief director of the Yu Gwan-sun education association, and many other people. Mrs. Oh Hee-ok’s father, Sir Oh Gwang-sun was selected as the “patriotic face of May” by the War Memorial of Korea.

 

Defense Minister Han Min-koo was at the ceremony as the guest of honor. His grandfather was the commander of loyal troops, Cheongam Han Bong-soo.

 

According to the traditional process of the Navy, the launching ceremony was preceded by the Pledge of Allegiance, shipbuilding progress report, the announcement of the name of submarine, ribbon-cutting and champaign breaking.

 

Navy Chief of Staff Jung Ho-seob named the submarine “Yu Gwan Sun” and assigned “78” as the number of body through a letter of naming No. 462. As Mrs. Kwak Jung-im, Minister Han’s wife, cut the launching ribbon with an axe, colorful confetti and balloons flew through the sky and the first historical whistle blew.

 

“With its unique invisibility and survivability, Yu Gwan Sun Ham is a national core strategic weapon as well as a symbol of a strong Navy for obtaining maritime control. The Navy should develop the fighting power of the submarine to protect the national interest and the ocean sovereignty as a rock, and have an elevated readiness posture,” Minister Han said in a congratulatory speech.

 

He also made a request for the sailors to be an example of an elite advanced Navy, fighting with self-esteem and pride to protect our territorial waters and seaway, saying that history has proved that strong security is the base of our national existence as well as the foundation for peace of the Korean Peninsula.

 

“I’m very excited to be here at the launching ceremony for Yu Gwan Sun Ham, the first female-named submarine. I hope the Navy befits the name of patriotic martyr Yu to be the strongest Navy in the world,” said Mrs. Oh Hee-ok.

  

  Round trip to Hawaii without refueling

 

 

The Navy named the type 214, the 6th submarine, the Yu Gwan Sun for the meaningful year of the 70th anniversary of independence, 70th anniversary of the foundation of the Korean Navy, and 95th anniversary of the death of Yu Gwan-sun.

 

It is the first female-named warship in Navy history. There are some other cases of Aegis destroyer and helicopter carrier in the U.S., the UK and France.

 

The Navy has named the type 214 submarines for great men who contributed to the independence movement against Japan or overcoming a national crisis.

 

The first warship was named for Admiral Son Won-il who founded the Navy and served as the first Navy Chief of Staff, and the second warship for Admiral Jung Ji who made a significant contribution to establishing the naval forces and driving the Japanese enemy back on the south coast during the Goryeo Dynasty. The Navy named others after fighters for independence such as Ahn Jung Geun Ham, Kim Jwa Jin Ham, Yun Bong Gil Ham, etc.

 

Martyr Yu Gwan-sun participated in the Independence Movement in front of the South Gate of Seoul on March 5, 1919, while in Ihwa School. And she was arrested for leading the movement at Aunae marketplace in Galjeon-myeon, Chungnam, on April 1.

 

She died at Seodaemun prison in 1920 due to brutal torture. The government posthumously honored on her with the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Independent Medal, in 1962, admiring her merits.

 

Yu Gwan Sun Ham, a submarine in the 1,800-ton class with submerged displacement, is 65.3m in length, 6.3m in width and has a top speed of 20 knots (37 km/h). It can make a round trip to Hawaii in the U.S. with around 40 sailors on board without refueling.

 

With Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) that is able to charge a storage battery without air, it is available for operations for two weeks without floating to the surface of the water.

 

And thanks to “Haeseong”, a domestic submarine-to-ground cruise missile, it can precisely strike the enemy’s main facilities and deal with 300 targets at the same time from under the water. It is capable of not only antiship, antiaircraft and antisubmarine warfare, but it can carry out a mission for offensive mining.

 

It is evaluated as a world-class diesel submarine equipped with detection sensors, such as sailing radar, periscope, sonar, etc., and a decoy system that avoids enemy torpedoes.

 

It will be delivered to the Navy in November 2016 and protect the Korean territorial waters after its commission and force integration process.

 

By Byeong-No, Yun < trylover@dema.mil.kr >

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