Established in December of 1950, the Republic of Korea War Service Medal is an award issued by South Korea to honor members of foreign military groups that assisted South Korea in the Korean War between the dates of June 25, 1950 and July 27, 1953. To qualify, service must have lasted for 30 days consecutively or 60 days non-consecutively and been performed in Korea or in surrounding waters or airspace, typically involving combat.
The United States did not authorize the medal for wear until August 20, 1999.
The original medal was called the Incident Participation Medal and featured a five-pointed star; in 1954, the design was changed to feature a design with crossed bullets and the outline of South Korea, framed by laurel branches. The ribbon is yellow with thin vertical stripes of white, red, and white toward each edge and a thicker blue stripe on each edge. The service ribbon features the country’s red and blue yin yang in the center, though the suspension ribbon does not.