Obverse
Manchukuo Imperial Army 5-coloured star
Yellow - Manchu
Black - Koreans
Red - Japanese
Blue - Han Chinese
White - Mongols
reverse
1975.7.26 - July 26, 1975
同徳台七期生会 - Dōtokudai 7th Graduating Class
㐧五回総会 - 5th General Meeting
1975 Manchukuo Army Military Academy 7th Class 5th General Meeting Commemorative Watch Fob/1975.7.26同徳台七期生会㐧五回総会紀念章
Obverse
Manchukuo Imperial Army 5-coloured star
Yellow - Manchu
Black - Koreans
Red - Japanese
Blue - Han Chinese
White - Mongols
reverse
1975.7.26 - July 26, 1975
同徳台七期生会 - Dōtokudai 7th Graduating Class
㐧五回総会 - 5th General Meeting
Manchukuo Army Military Academy /満洲国陸軍軍官学校; a.k.a. 同徳台 - Dōtokudai/ was established on March 10, 1939, by the "Army Military Academy Ordinance'" (Edict No. 50 of the 6th year of Kangde). The academy, which was built on the land of Laratun Nangang on the Jilin Road, 7km away in the southern suburbs of the Hsinking /the site currently houses the Chinese Army's Armored Weapons Technology Academy/.
Four-year academy course was modeled after the Japanese military academy system. The first principal was Guo Enlin, a Chinese who graduated from the Japanese Military Academy and was a lieutenant general in the Manchurian Army, and the second principal was Shinichiro Nagumo, a Japanese, the third principal is Reserve Lieutenant General Tetsuro Yamada, who also was Japanese.
By the time of its defeat in August 1945, the 3rd class had graduated and the 4th to 7th classes were in training. Approximately 500 students were recruited per class, and a total of 3,297 students studied, of which 48 were Korean. It was announced that a total of 500 students, including 250 of Japanese descent and 250 of Manchurian descent, would be selected for the first class, and 172 students of Japanese descent entered the school. The Manchurian group included not only the Manchurian people but also other ethnic groups such as Mongolians and Chinese, and although the Koreans were formally Japanese by nationality, the early generations (1st to 4th classes) were classified as Manchurian. This is in contrast to the fact that Koreans were classified as Japanese at Konkuk University, the highest academic institution in Manchukuo, which had already established at the time. Starting from the 5th class, Korean cadets were also classified as Japanese, and all of them were eligible to study at the Japanese Military Academy after graduating from the Military Academy. However, in the case of the 5th class, they were defeated in the war right after arriving in Japan after completing the pre-medical school and completing their loan service, so they were practically unable to enter the Japanese Military Academy, and for the 6th and 7th classes, the Japanese Empire was defeated while they were in their first and second years of pre-medical school, respectively.
After completing preparatory school, Japanese students were required to do loan service for a total of 8 months, including 4 months in the Manchukuo Army and 4 months in the Imperial Japanese Army (however, the period of loan service was shortened from the initial period due to wartime conditions) and then receive the main course at the Military Academy or Army Accounting School of the Imperial Japanese Empire, not Manchukuo. (For this purpose, the Empire of Japan issued an Imperial Decree on May 27, 1941, Showa 16). The Military Academy Ordinance was revised with No. 607 to specify the education of foreign army officer candidates (international students). After completing loan service, student served as an apprentice officer in the Imperial Japanese Army for four months and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Manchukuo Army. On the other hand, Manchurian students who were in the top 30 to 50% of grades after completing pre-graduate courses were given the opportunity to go through loan service, like Japanese students, and be dispatched to the Japanese Military Academy's Foreign Student Corps to receive education as foreign officer candidates. Other students were supposed to go on to the main department after completing five months of loan service in the Manchukuo Army.
All courses were in Japanese, but since the Mongolians, Manchurians, and Chinese who make up the Manchurian community could not speak Japanese, Koreans who had received at least 11 years of formal Japanese education through elementary school and Kuje Middle School had an overwhelming advantage, and naturally, the Korean cadets stood out in their grades, surpassing the Chinese cadets. So, in a book about the Manchurian Army Military Academy, including Bongcheon Military Academy, it is stated that the secret to good grades for Koreans is because they are good at Japanese. Imhang Park of the 1st class, Jeonghee Park of the 2nd class, Eunsan Jang of the 4th class, and Moonbong Kang of the 5th class graduated at the top of the class.
Even when they were dispatched to the Japanese Military Academy and received consignment training, they were not mixed with those who graduated from the Japanese Military Academy but were managed separately as an "international student group" and were assigned separate classrooms and dormitories. In terms of educational content, according to Jaeheung Yoo's biography, a graduate of the Japanese Military Academy at the time, there were subjects that international students could not learn. As a result, grades were calculated only within the international student college, especially among a few Manchurian students. Therefore, Yoo Jae-heung got along very closely with all the Koreans (2-3 per cadet) among the 2,500 Japanese military academy cadets at the time, but he did not know anything about the Koreans in the student body.
After the fall of Japan, about 40 surviving officers from the Manchuria Military Academy formed a strong military network. Among these, the first and second groups were key connections who staged a coup together with Park Chung-hee.
Four-year academy course was modeled after the Japanese military academy system. The first principal was Guo Enlin, a Chinese who graduated from the Japanese Military Academy and was a lieutenant general in the Manchurian Army, and the second principal was Shinichiro Nagumo, a Japanese, the third principal is Reserve Lieutenant General Tetsuro Yamada, who also was Japanese.
By the time of its defeat in August 1945, the 3rd class had graduated and the 4th to 7th classes were in training. Approximately 500 students were recruited per class, and a total of 3,297 students studied, of which 48 were Korean. It was announced that a total of 500 students, including 250 of Japanese descent and 250 of Manchurian descent, would be selected for the first class, and 172 students of Japanese descent entered the school. The Manchurian group included not only the Manchurian people but also other ethnic groups such as Mongolians and Chinese, and although the Koreans were formally Japanese by nationality, the early generations (1st to 4th classes) were classified as Manchurian. This is in contrast to the fact that Koreans were classified as Japanese at Konkuk University, the highest academic institution in Manchukuo, which had already established at the time. Starting from the 5th class, Korean cadets were also classified as Japanese, and all of them were eligible to study at the Japanese Military Academy after graduating from the Military Academy. However, in the case of the 5th class, they were defeated in the war right after arriving in Japan after completing the pre-medical school and completing their loan service, so they were practically unable to enter the Japanese Military Academy, and for the 6th and 7th classes, the Japanese Empire was defeated while they were in their first and second years of pre-medical school, respectively.
After completing preparatory school, Japanese students were required to do loan service for a total of 8 months, including 4 months in the Manchukuo Army and 4 months in the Imperial Japanese Army (however, the period of loan service was shortened from the initial period due to wartime conditions) and then receive the main course at the Military Academy or Army Accounting School of the Imperial Japanese Empire, not Manchukuo. (For this purpose, the Empire of Japan issued an Imperial Decree on May 27, 1941, Showa 16). The Military Academy Ordinance was revised with No. 607 to specify the education of foreign army officer candidates (international students). After completing loan service, student served as an apprentice officer in the Imperial Japanese Army for four months and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Manchukuo Army. On the other hand, Manchurian students who were in the top 30 to 50% of grades after completing pre-graduate courses were given the opportunity to go through loan service, like Japanese students, and be dispatched to the Japanese Military Academy's Foreign Student Corps to receive education as foreign officer candidates. Other students were supposed to go on to the main department after completing five months of loan service in the Manchukuo Army.
All courses were in Japanese, but since the Mongolians, Manchurians, and Chinese who make up the Manchurian community could not speak Japanese, Koreans who had received at least 11 years of formal Japanese education through elementary school and Kuje Middle School had an overwhelming advantage, and naturally, the Korean cadets stood out in their grades, surpassing the Chinese cadets. So, in a book about the Manchurian Army Military Academy, including Bongcheon Military Academy, it is stated that the secret to good grades for Koreans is because they are good at Japanese. Imhang Park of the 1st class, Jeonghee Park of the 2nd class, Eunsan Jang of the 4th class, and Moonbong Kang of the 5th class graduated at the top of the class.
Even when they were dispatched to the Japanese Military Academy and received consignment training, they were not mixed with those who graduated from the Japanese Military Academy but were managed separately as an "international student group" and were assigned separate classrooms and dormitories. In terms of educational content, according to Jaeheung Yoo's biography, a graduate of the Japanese Military Academy at the time, there were subjects that international students could not learn. As a result, grades were calculated only within the international student college, especially among a few Manchurian students. Therefore, Yoo Jae-heung got along very closely with all the Koreans (2-3 per cadet) among the 2,500 Japanese military academy cadets at the time, but he did not know anything about the Koreans in the student body.
After the fall of Japan, about 40 surviving officers from the Manchuria Military Academy formed a strong military network. Among these, the first and second groups were key connections who staged a coup together with Park Chung-hee.
History of 7th class of Manchukuo Army Military Academy was published in 1990.
