President Harry S Truman created the Korean Service Medal with Executive Order No. 10179, of 8 November 1950 to commemorate the service of members of the Armed Forces of the United States during operations in the Korean area. a. Eligibility for the medal is based on the following:

(1) Duty must be performed in Korea, including the waters adjacent thereto.

(2) Such duty must have been performed between 27 June 1950 and 27 July 1954.

The medal was designed by Thomas Jones, a sculptor on the staff of the Army Institute of Heraldry. The front, or obverse, depicts a traditional Korean gateway while the back, or reverse, shows the Taegut or Yin-Yang symbol taken from the South Korean flag.

Korean Service Medal Stars

One bronze service star may be worn for each campaign;
one silver service star in lieu of five bronze:
· UN Defensive -- 27 Jun-15 Sep 1950
· UN Offensive -- 16 Sep-02 Nov 1950
· CCF Intervention -- 03 Nov 1950-24 Jan 1951
· First UN Counteroffensive -- 25 Jan-21 Apr 1951
· CCF Spring Offensive -- 22 Apr-08 Jul 1951
· UN Summer-Fall Offensive -- 09 Jul-27 Nov 1951
· Second Korean Winter -- 28 Nov 1951-30 Apr 1952
· Korea, Summer-Fall 1952 -- 01 May-30 Nov 1952
· Third Korean Winter -- 01 Dec 1952-30 Apr 1953
· Korea, Summer 1953 -- 01 May-27 Jul 1953