ABSTRACT

A product of the division of the Korean Peninsula and the geo-strategic conundrum that followed, the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) has for the majority of its existence been an adjunct force to its larger service rival, the Republic of Korea Army. Defined by the limited threat posed by the naval forces of North Korea, the ROKN has been confined to a defensive littoral role, charged with ensuring that North Korea could not violate South Korean maritime territory or use the sea as an arena for preemptive attack. This chapter focuses on deterrence and territorial protection in combination with an overall narrowness of security perceptions on the part of the South Korean leadership left the ROKN, despite its relatively large size, as a small navy. At the end of the Korean War, South Korea was in a state of economic and social chaos and as a result became almost wholly reliant on the US for both its security and economic prosperity.