Inje-gun in Gangwon Province once again set itself apart with its Ulchi CPX, a joint civilian-government-military exercise that drew attention for its intensity and precision.
Residents moved swiftly and in an organized manner as if war had broken out, while civil servants and soldiers responded with speed that made the drills look indistinguishable from the real thing.
Inje's long history of demanding military service has produced a large number of resilient citizens.
Of late, the county has embraced a lighter image under the city brand "Inje Sinnam," playing on the name of its Sinnam-myeon township — but when conditions resembled a wartime scenario, it showed itself to be one of the toughest communities in South Korea.
On Tuesday, Inje-gun conducted a CBRN defense and counterterrorism response drill at the Inje Hanulnaerin Center, with about 47 officials from related agencies — including the III Corps, the 12th Division, the Inje Police Station, the Inje Fire Station and the Wonju Regional Environment Office — taking part.
On Wednesday, the county held a resident evacuation drill for areas near the front line — a mission specifically assigned to Inje-gun by Gangwon Province. The exercise reviewed evacuation and relocation procedures to ensure residents could move quickly and safely in an emergency, and confirmed coordination mechanisms among relevant agencies to strengthen the county's capacity to protect its population.
On Thursday, the county will simulate an enemy attack scenario, conducting live wartime grain distribution drills alongside civil defense exercises to prepare for air raids. The drills will focus on hands-on practice — checking the grain supply and distribution system directly tied to residents' daily needs in wartime, and running civilian evacuation exercises for air-raid scenarios to sharpen crisis response capabilities.
Through this year's Ulchi CPX, Inje-gun aims to review each agency's mission-execution framework for rapid response to national emergencies, and to strengthen inter-agency cooperation and on-scene response capabilities through hands-on training.
Meanwhile, Inje-gun had earlier established an integrated civil defense support headquarters and, on Aug. 12, convened and operated the Integrated Civil Defense Council headquarters to complete a localized provocation and crisis-response drill. Officials also discussed the Ulchi CPX implementation plan and inter-agency coordination details, reviewing overall readiness ahead of the exercise.
abc@heraldcorp.com
