Hanwha Ocean sponsors 2025 Imjin Hockey Classic
Event commemorates historic hockey game played by Canadian soldiers during the Korean Way and celebrates the decades long bond between Canada and South Korea
Hanwha Ocean was pleased to once again support the Imjin Hockey Classic. The 2025 event was held on Saturday, October 4 at the Bell Sensplex in Kanata. The event included two games: one between the Royal Canadian Regiment “Royals” and the Ottawa Service Attaché Association “Lame Ducks,” and another featuring the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) and the Royal 22e Régiment (R22eR).
The Imjin Hockey Classic is an annual event held in Ottawa to commemorate a historic hockey game played by Canadian soldiers during the Korean War. On March 11, 1952, members of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and the Royal 22e Régiment faced off on the frozen Imjin River near the front lines. This game symbolized a moment of camaraderie and resilience amid the hardships of war.
In recent years, the tradition has been revived to honour Canadian Korean War veterans and celebrate the enduring friendship between Canada and South Korea. The event not only pays tribute to the bravery and sacrifices of Canadian soldiers during the Korean War but also serves to strengthen the bonds between Canada and South Korea through the shared love of hockey.
Hanwha is committed to establishing a robust and long-term presence in Canada and partnership with the Government of Canada and Canadian industry in a variety the areas that will create jobs and economic growth, accelerate Canada’s defence capabilities, and enhance cooperation, partnership and supply chains between Canada and South Korea – a relationship that is becoming more and more important, and one that supports the objectives of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.
About Hanwha Ocean (www.HanwhaOcean.com)
Hanwha Ocean’s shipyard in Geoje, South Korea, spanning 5 square kilometres, is one of the largest and most advanced shipbuilding facilities in the world and is where we build the KSS-III submarine. With more than 31,000 employees, Hanwha Ocean specializes in the design and construction of various naval and commercial vessels, including submarines, destroyers, frigates, auxiliary vessels, container ships, and tankers as well as offshore platforms, drilling rigs, Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units and Floating Production Units (FPUs).
For more than 40 years, Hanwha Ocean has been building and servicing submarines for the Republic of Korea Navy and other navies.
Since 1973, the company has built more than 1,400 vessels, including 114 naval vessels. The company designed and delivered the first KSS-III to the Republic of Korea Navy in 2021, and the second in 2023.
In 2023 alone, Hanwha Ocean constructed 41 naval and commercial vessels.
About KSS-III Canadian Patrol Submarine (www.kss-iii.ca)
Hanwha’s KSS-III Canadian Patrol Submarine (KSS-III CPS) is proven, in-service, in active production, and meets all the operational and urgent delivery requirements for CPSP, including superior underwater surveillance capability and deployability in the Arctic with extended range
and endurance that will provide stealth, persistence and lethality to ensure that Canada can detect, track, deter and, if necessary, defeat adversaries in all 3 of its oceans.
The KSS-III Canadian Patrol Submarine (KSS-III CPS) is South Korea’s latest evolution in conventional submarine technology—indigenously designed and constructed through decades of spiral development of a modern, conventional, ocean-going submarine. Over the last four decades, Hanwha Ocean has continued to evolve a proven MOTS submarine design culminating with the latest batch of the KSS submarine fleet.
Equipped with Lithium-ion batteries and an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system, the KSS-III CPS offers the longest submerged endurance among conventional submarines in service. The platform is fully optimized for Anti-Submarine Warfare, Anti-Surface Warfare, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), Minelaying, and Special Operations Forces (SOF) support.
KSS-III is not an export-only model—it is the same class of submarine actively operated by the Republic of Korea Navy in real-world conditions. This ensures Canada will benefit from a proven platform, backed by an established supply chain and validated operational and maintenance data throughout the 30+ years of in-service support (ISS).
The KSS-III is the backbone of the ROK Navy submarine force. Acquisition of the KSS-III would allow Canada to be a member of the international KSS-III User Group which consists of a growing number of nations.
Noah Note: I need the KSS-III Hockey Puck. I know some of you were there. One of you better have picked me up one. You know who you are.