72nd graduation ceremony of the Korea Military Academy. [Yonhap News] The traitors of modern Korean history are not those who attempt to usurp kings in a dynastic system, but those who seek to overthrow the system of liberal democracy, the foundation of economic growth and democratic development.

These are the individuals who aid the North Korean military regime, an existential enemy that continuously provokes and threatens our security in the armistice situation of the Korean War, adhering to a strategy of southward subversion.

The strength to defend against the enemy lies in military power, a well-prepared and trained security system, and our capabilities. The core of security capabilities is not military strategy or weapon systems, but mental strength. It is the loyal spirit of soldiers, especially the loyal spirit of officers who lead the military, the nation's bulwark.

Officers are trained primarily at military academies, and the symbol of South Korea's military academies is the Korea Military Academy (KMA). This is because it was reborn during the crisis when the nation faced annihilation due to North Korea's invasion, and its cadets participated and made noble sacrifices to protect present-day Korea.

The Taeneung area where the KMA is located is called Hwarangdae. The parade ground is the Hwarang Parade Ground, the reviewing stand is Hwarangdae, and the old Gyeongchun Line station next to the main gate is also Hwarangdae Station. Just as the Hwarang of the Silla Dynasty did, it is a place that cultivates talent proficient in both civil and martial arts, and moreover, it is a place that nurtures leaders of loyalty who defend the nation.

The KMA was established in Taeneung in May 1946, the year after liberation from Japanese rule and before the North Korean invasion, as the "Joseon Constabulary Academy." After the establishment of the Republic of Korea in 1948, it was renamed the Military Academy in September. It produced up to the 9th class with a short training course of less than a year, but starting with the 10th class, which enrolled on July 15, 1949, it became a regular two-year course, marking the first cadet class. The following year, on June 1, 1950, the second cadet class, immediately after enrollment, along with their senior first-year cadets, participated in the Korean War to defend against the North Korean invasion.

Due to the war, normal education could not be conducted, and the KMA was on the verge of closing. However, with General Paik Sun-yup's strong recommendation to President Syngman Rhee, stating that "the more precarious the nation, the more we must prepare our bulwark," the KMA reopened in Jinhae in October 1951, during the war.

The 263 cadets of the 10th class, the first cadet class, were mobilized while on leave less than a year after enrollment. The 334 cadets of the second class were mobilized just 24 days after enrollment and faced the invading North Korean army. They were deployed to the Pocheon Bupyeong-ri front on June 25th and 25 of them were martyred in the first battle. Retreating amidst the overwhelming North Korean advance and the loss of command structure, the cadets took up positions on Hill 92 behind the current KMA cadet barracks and fought fiercely. They refused retreat orders, advanced into Bulamsan, organized a guerrilla unit, gained renown as the 'Bulamsan Tigers,' and resisted through guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines.

By July 2nd, during the Suwon Geumgok-ri battle where they retreated across the Han River, 65 cadets from the first class were known to have been sacrificed. Throughout the war, over 120 cadets from the first class were declared missing in action, and 138 cadets from the second class were sacrificed. At the time when the newly born liberal democratic Republic of Korea was on the brink of annihilation, they blazed like flames to secure our present and our glory. The fiery spirit of those seniors is now imprinted on today's KMA cadets as an immortal spirit of national defense.

The daily lives of the cadets continue below Hill 92, where their predecessors fought fiercely to defend the nation. Bulamsan, the guardian mountain north of the school in Hwarangdae, was where their seniors fought guerrilla battles to repel the North Korean invasion, and now junior cadets use it as a training ground for mountain running and developing fortitude. The golf courses at the adjacent Taeneung Golf Course constantly face Bulamsan. Primarily used by KMA alumni, it serves to remind them of patriotism and loyalty even after retirement.

Taeneung Hwarangdae, thus, possesses a history and tradition of patriotic loyalty.

In any society, the deeper the roots of an organization's history and tradition, the more it remains unshaken by any adversity.

The KMA and its grounds, Hwarangdae, already possess this history and tradition of patriotic loyalty. The newly established United States, with its short history, strives by all means to create symbols and heroes of patriotism. North Korea, too, spares no effort in fabricating various idolizations filled with falsehoods, such as Mangyongdae and Paektu Secrecy Village, to build the Kim Il-sung dynasty out of nowhere. This is for the same reason.

To relocate and abolish such a Korea Military Academy, to obliterate the loyal spirits of its cadets and alumni officers, and to destroy the security capabilities to cope with national crises – this is the act of traitors. The movements of such traitors are occurring everywhere now.

The controversy over the relocation of the KMA has been brewing for a long time, along with the push to rezone the Taeneung Golf Course for housing. Recently, there is an effort to abolish the KMA itself.

According to a report on January 22nd, a body called the 'Civil-Military Joint Special Advisory Committee for Military Academy Education Reform Task Force' has recommended to the Ministry of National Defense a plan to establish a National Military Academy and integrate the existing Army, Navy, and Air Force Academies as colleges under it.

What kind of ideas are these? If military academies are converted into universities, does it mean that cadets no longer need to undergo rigorous training through communal living in dormitories and can commute from home?

Does it mean that the pledge, "We dedicate our lives to our country and people," which is specified in the KMA Cadet Creed and affirmed morning and night, will no longer be necessary?

What will become of the KMA cadets' cross-enrollment training at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, a crucial element in strengthening the indispensable ROK-U.S. alliance for South Korea's security? How will the close bonds between Korean and U.S. military leaders, forged over many years, be broken and what purpose would that serve? Such preposterous ideas will soon dissipate like foam.

The intellect of KMA alumni was instrumental in the construction of the Gyeongbu Expressway and are the unsung heroes behind the export of K-defense industry weapons, exemplified by air defense missiles today. They have served with a spirit of devotion to the nation for the national interest, even in times of peace.

Are we truly to believe that such patriotic achievements were solely accomplished through intellect alone? In the harsh security environment where a poor and small nation is surrounded by four major powers, it would have been difficult to expect such results without the spirit of national defense that yearned to protect the country.

Pro-North Korean and pro-North Korean sympathizers, who are traitors, constantly clamor for eternal peace. Although we are still in an armistice situation, the world is constantly engaged in wars everywhere. Countries dispatch their soldiers to wars in foreign lands, spanning tens of thousands of miles. North Korea also participates in those wars. The core leaders who command the participating soldiers are officers. Officers sacrifice their lives for their country but strive to protect their subordinates. This is because the country honors them as noble heroes. Such pride is imbued as a spirit of devotion to the nation.

Throughout human history, war and peace have eternally coexisted. The paradoxical but realistic lesson is that we prepare for war to ensure peace. In order to prepare for this necessary evil of war, we must not further confuse the spirit of the cadets who need to be refined.

Do not further shake the existence and grounds of the Korea Military Academy, which is the history and tradition of defending the Republic of Korea itself. Those who defy this are the traitors of Korea.

Kim Il-go, former head of North Korean Psychological Warfare Division, former Army Major (Ret.)