Norway's Contribution during the Korean War NORMASH



With North Korean armed forces invading South Korea on June 25th 1950 on a massive scale, the (undeclared) Korean War began. The United Nations Security Council responded quickly, calling onm it's members to come to South Korea's assistance. As TRYGVE HALVDAN LIE, a Norwegian, was UN secretary general at that time, Norway did not want to stay behind; Norway's parliament on Feb. 2nd 1951 decided to dispatch a mobile army surgical hospital (M.A.S.H.); it was officially opened on July 19th 1951 a few km north of the capital Seoul. The task of NORMASH was to give first chirurgical treatment to injured soldiers. They were located ca. 15-30 km behind the battle lines and, depending on changes of the front, had at times to be relocated. NORMASH was at first stationed at Uijongbu, then at Tongduchon, finally at Habongam-ri.
NORMASH stayed in Korea until Nov. 10th 1954. It's hospital staff had 59 men, it's administrational staff 47. The crew was exchanged every 2 months; 7 crews of alltogether 623 Norwegians have served at NORMASH. A total of about 90.000 patients have been treated, 9.600 operations performed.

At NORMASH's last location, Habongam-ri, on March 30th 1972, a monument has been erected. Trying to find it might be an adventure; when I visited it a couple of years ago, two maps (by two different publishers) gave a wrong location. Driving further on into the direction I was told, I stopped where I saw a small Norwegian flag at a garage. The man working in that garage had no idea of any such monument. It was about 500 m from that garage.

P.S. According to information provided by the Norwegian Embassy, the monument has been removed to a newly opened Peace Museum in Tongduchon. Sept. 10th 2002







EXTERNAL
FILES
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE E.H. Thomassen, The Norwegian Field Hospital in Korea Mail, in : Woopyo Sehgeh Vol.14, 1994, pp.26-36



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2001, last revised November 8th 2004

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