No Kum-Sok 노금석 (No Kum So, Kenneth H. Rowe)
North Korean MiG-15 pilot

In memory: No Kum-Sok passed away December 26, 2022.

Background
No Kum-Sok 노금석 (No Kum So) pronounced "Rowe Kum-Sok" was born January 10, 1932 as the only child of father No Zae-Hiub and mother Veronica Ko in Sinhung located in South Hamgyŏng Province in North Korea. At the time, Korea was a colony of Japan. His father was employed by Japanese owned Noguchi Corporation in Korea and the family movear d to various locations for his work on railroad operations transporting construction materials for hydroelectric projects. Growing up in Japanese colonial Korea, the family were middle class and lived in housing provided by the company. In 1937 under the Sōshi-kaimei policy, all Koreans were ordered to adopt Japanese names. No Kum-Sok used the Japanese name "Okamura Kyoshi".

Korean War
At the start of the Korean War, No Kum-sok was a cadet at the Korean Naval Academy then was selected for flight training for the Korean People's Air Force (KPAF) and learned to fly then was trained the MiG-15 jet and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. He flew combat missions until the end of the Korean War.

Mission History
On September 21, 1953 took off piloting MiG-15bis 2015357 and defected by flying across the demilitarized zone (DMZ border between North Korean and South Korea then landed at Kimpo Air Base (K-14). No Kum-Sok was interviewed by U.S. personnel did a press conference in Seoul then was flown to Kadena AFB on Okinawa.

Meanwhile, his plane was partially disassembled and flown to Kadena AFB and reassembled for flight testing then airlifted to Wright-Patterson AFB. In November 1957, transferred to the United States Air Force Museum (USAF Museum) and put on public display.


United States
No Kum-Sok was granded political asylum in the United States. On April 27, 1954 Sok was given a check for $100,000 USD as a reward for defecting with his intact aircraft and changed his name to "Kenneth Hill Rowe". In May 1954 he met U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon on a visit arranged by U.S. Representative Joseph F. Holt. In 1957 he enrolled in the University of Delaware (UD) as an engineering student and lived in Brown Hall. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, another in electrical engineering and became an aeronautical engineer.

After graduation, Rowe was hired by DuPont Co. Experimental Station near Wilmington, Delaware. Afterwards, he worked as an aeronautical engineer and contractor for Boeing, Pan Am, General Dynamics, Westinghouse, General Electric, Lockheed and other companies. A University of Delaware history professor John A. Munroe convinced Senator J. Allen Frear Jr. (D-DE) to introduce a special bill to declare Rowe a U.S. citizen. When the bill passed Congress, it was signed into law by U.S. President Eisenhower. In 1962 he became a naturalized U.S. citizen in Seattle. He was joined by his mother, Veronica Ko. Later, he married Clara (Kim) Rowe and the couple had two children Raymond and Bonnie. Rowe worked as an engineer for defense and aerospace companies. His last job was as a professor of engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona, Florida where he retired.

Over the years, Rowe made several visits to the United States Air Force Museum (USAF Museum) and saw his MiG-15bis 2015357. After his first visit, he offered suggestions to the signage and display that were incorporated into updates. The exhibit includes the U.S. Treasury $100,000 check dated April 27, 1954 with his signature on the back. During 2018, he lectured at the United States Air Force Museum (USAF Museum) with his former MiG-15bis 2015357. This would be his last visit to see his jet and the museum.


Memorials
Rowe passed away at home on December 26, 2022.

References
The Washington Post "Red Mig Brought to Seoul: Intelligence Officers of AF Question Pilot of Jet" Sept 21, 1953 page 1
San Francisco Chronicle "Mystery Red Mig Lands Near Seoul: Security Lid Clamped - Pilot Roars Into U. S. Jet Base" Sept 21, 1953 p 1
Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA) "6002nd Air Intelligence Servie (6002nd AIS) "Report on Handling of North Korean Defector, No Kum Sok" 1953 (IRISNUM: 00441269 Reel: K0998 Frames: 228–403)
A MiG-15 to Freedom: Memoir of the Wartime North Korean Defector Who First Delivered the Secret Fighter Jet to the Americans in 1953 (1996, reprinted 2007) by No Kum-Sok
Red Wings Over The Yalu (2002) pages 44, 202, 236 (footnote 47, 50), 267 (footnote 99), 268 (footnote 4 FEAF Intelligence Roundup No. 145, Dec 1953, USAFHRA), 292 (index No Kum-Sok)
(Page 202) "During interrogation, No Kum-Sok, who defected to the USAF with a MiG-15bis in September 1953, confessed that during a year in combat his regiment lost a total of nine MiGs. Only three were destroyed in air engagements, however the others were lost in flying accidents or destroyed on the ground by UN bombers (footnote 4)."
University of Delaware Messenger Volume 19 Number 1 "Kenneth Rowe: Flying to freedom" April 2011
The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot: The True Story of the Tyrant Who Created North Korea and the Young Lieutenant Who Stole His Way to Freedom (2015) by Blaine Harden
New York Times "Kenneth Rowe, Who Defected From North Korea With His Jet, Dies at 90" January 7, 2022
FindAGrave - Kenneth Hill Rowe
Thanks to No Kum-Sok (Kenneth H. Rowe) for additional information

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