The country's first submarine, ROKS Jang Bogo, will retire at the end of the year after more than 30 years of service.

The one-thousand-200-class submarine, launched at a German shipyard in 1991 and acquired by the South Korean Navy the following year, is set to embark on its final two-hour voyage from Jinhae Naval Base on Wednesday afternoon.

The four people who oversaw the submarine's first sailing, including its inaugural captain, Reserve Rear Adm. An Byeong-gu, will also be part of its final cruise, 

Upon its return from the journey, all submarines anchored at Jinhae will blow their whistles to celebrate the accomplishment.

The ROKS Jang Bogo, named for a ninth-century maritime explorer and trader from the ancient kingdom of Silla, has traveled around 633-thousand kilometers since 1992, the equivalent of circling the globe more than 15 times.

In 2004, the vessel helped promote the country's outstanding submarine capability by remaining undetected during the mock attack portion of the 2004 Rim of the Pacific Exercise.