When North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950, triggering the Korean War, the United Nations decided to send a multinational force to repel the aggression. While most of the combat troops came from Western nations like the United States, the African nation of Ethiopia also sent forces to aid South Korea. These Ethiopian troops achieved a remarkable record of 253 victories without a single soldier captured.
Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, upon receiving the UN's request for assistance, formed a battalion primarily composed of his imperial guard, naming it the Kagnew Battalion. "Kagnew" is an Amharic word meaning "to establish order from chaos" or "to defeat." At the battalion's departure ceremony, Selassie declared, "Fight until you win. If not, fight until you die."
Ethiopia's decision to send troops to Korea was deeply rooted in its own history of foreign invasion. In 1935, Italy had invaded and occupied Ethiopia. After years of struggle and sacrifice, Ethiopian exiles, with the support of British forces, had managed to liberate their country in 1941. Selassie came to believe in the importance of collective security in the international community, as evidenced by Ethiopia's own experiences.
Arriving in Busan, South Korea, in May 1951, the Kagnew Battalion was assigned to the US 7th Infantry Division and participated in the Battle of Cheokjinsan in September of the same year. In October 1952, they played a crucial role in the Iron Triangle battles, never yielding an inch of ground. By the time the armistice was signed in July 1953, a total of 3,518 Ethiopian soldiers had served in Korea, with 124 killed and 536 wounded but none captured. Ethiopian soldiers were known for their unwavering loyalty to their comrades, refusing to abandon wounded soldiers or leave the bodies of their fallen comrades behind. This is why there are no Ethiopian graves in the UN Cemetery in Busan.
One of the most famous Kagnew Battalion members is Gurmu Dambova. In 2017, South Korea's Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs named him "Soldier of the Month." Dambova, who had served in the Korean War since 1951, was known for his exceptional skill with recoilless rifles. Despite being wounded twice and returning to Ethiopia, he volunteered to return to Korea for a second tour of duty.
Even after the armistice, the Kagnew Battalion remained in Korea until 1956, contributing to postwar reconstruction efforts. However, the lives of these war veterans took a turn for the worse following a communist coup in Ethiopia in 1974. Emperor Selassie was overthrown, and the veterans, once hailed as heroes, were stigmatized as traitors for having fought against communist forces. Many were forced to sell their war medals to make ends meet.
Since the restoration of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Ethiopia in the 1990s, various organizations, including KOICA and NGOs, have been providing humanitarian aid to Ethiopia, particularly to the Kagnew veterans and their families.
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