Hero of the Republic

Hero of the Republic (Korean: 공화국영웅; MR: Konghwaguk Yŏng'ung) is a North Korean honorific title. It was created on 30 June 1950 as Hero of the Korean People's Republic (조선인민공화국영웅). It was the first title created in the country. Despite having been created just five days after the Korean War broke out, the connection seems incidental.[1] 533 people were awarded Hero of the Republic during the war,[2] and many more since then.

Hero of the Republic 공화국영웅
Type	Honorific title
Country	North Korea
Presented by	Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Campaign(s)	Korean War(initial)
Status	Active
Established	30 June 1950
Total	At least 543
Total awarded posthumously	Kim Jong-suk Mao Anying soldiers of KPA and CVF killed in action
Precedence
Next (higher)	none or Order of Kim Il-sung
Next (lower)	Hero of Labour
Related	Order of National Flag (1st class)

Hero of the Republic
Chosŏn'gŭl	공화국영웅
Hancha	共和國英雄
Revised Romanization	Gonghwagugy Yeongung
McCune–Reischauer	Konghwaguk Yŏng'ung

Since there is no agreed upon order of precedence of North Korean titles, orders, and medals, it is not possible to definitively establish the rank of Hero of the Republic. According to Yonhap's North Korea Handbook, Hero of the Republic ranks below the Order of Kim Il-sung but above the Hero of Labor.[3] Martin Weiser, however, ranks Hero of Labor the highest.[1]

Recipients

Relief depicting the award at Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery

• Kim Chol-man (September 1968), Deputy Chief of Staff of the Korean People's Army; later key member of the Central Military Commission, the Politburo, and the National Defence Commission[4]
• Choe Ryong-hae (1993), first secretary of the Kimilsungist-Kimjongilist Youth League and Central Committee member; later President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly and First Vice Chairman of the State Affairs Commission[5]
• Lee Soo-bok[6]
• Ri Kyong-sim (May 2013)[7]
• Submarine captain, co-captain, chief engineer, and boatswain responsible for the ROKS Cheonan sinking (October 2010)[8]
• Choe Hyon, commander of the North Korean II Corps and Minister of People's Armed Forces[9]
• Kim Jong-suk (posthumous), wife of Kim Il-sung and Communist anti-Japanese guerrilla
• Jong Song-ok, gold medalist in the 1999 World Championships in Athletics Women's Marathon in Seville[10]
• Lee Kwon-mu, Korean People's Army lieutenant general and commander of the North Korean 3rd Division during the Battle of Taejon[11]
• Kim Il-sung, 1st Supreme Leader of North Korea, (thrice: 28 July 1953,[12] 1972, 1982)[1]
• Kim Jong-il, 2nd Supreme Leader of North Korea, (four times: 1975, 1982, 1992, and 2011)[13]
• Peng Dehuai, Yuan Shuai of the People's Liberation Army and commander of the People's Volunteer Army during the Korean War[1]
• Mao Anying (posthumous)
• Wu Xianhua (posthumous)
• Xu Jiayou (posthumous)
• Li Jiafa (posthumous)
• Josip Broz Tito, Prime Minister and President of Yugoslavia (25 August 1977)[14]
• Fidel Castro, Prime Minister and President of Cuba, (March 1986)[15]
• Ziaur Rahman, President of Bangladesh[16]
• Vladimir Podolkhov
• Jong Kwang-son (10 December 1996)[17]

See also

• Orders and medals of North Korea

References

1. Weiser, Martin (8 January 2016). "Chests Full of Brass: A DPRK Political History in Orders, Medals, Prizes, and Titles". Sino-NK.
2. North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 934.
3. North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 131.
4. "Kim Chol-man" (PDF). North Korean Leadership Watch. p. 2. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
5. "Choe Ryong Hae (Ch'oe Ryong-hae)". North Korea Leadership Watch. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
6. Baik 1970, p. 363.
7. Abad-Santos, Alexander (9 May 2013). "Did a Female North Korean Traffic Cop Save Kim Jong-un from Assassination?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
8. Kim Han-ju (7 December 2012). "N. Korean sailors awarded hero's title for attack on S. Korean warship: defector". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
9. Intelligence Report: Kim Il-Sung's New Military Adventurism (PDF). Washington: Directorate of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency. 26 November 1968. p. 26. Reference title: ESAU XLI. Document number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 5077054e993247d4d82b6a8b. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
10. North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 493.
11. Appleman, Roy E. (1998). South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu: United States Army in the Korean War. Washington: Department of the Army. p. 293. ISBN 978-0-16-001918-0.
12. Baik 1970, p. 405.
13. "Chairman Kim Jong Il: Biography". Naenara. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
14. Bilo je časno živjeti s Titom (in Croatian). Zagreb: RO Mladost, RO Prosvjeta. February 1981. p. 102.
15. "Confiere la República Popular Democrática de Corea a Fidel, Orden Héroe del Trabajo". Juventud Rebelde. 12 December 2006. Archived from the original on 27 November 2016.
16. বাংলাদেশের রাজনৈতিক ঘটনাপঞ্জি ১৯৭১-২০১১-মুহাম্মদ হাবিবুর রহমান ||ROKOMARI.COM|| Archived 24 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
17. "Jong Kwang Son awarded title of hero". KCNA. 12 December 1996. Archived from the original on 4 May 1997.

Works cited

• Baik Bong (1970). Kim Il Sung Biography: From Building Democratic Korea to Chullima Flight. 2. Tokyo: Miraisha. OCLC 630184658.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• North Korea Handbook. Seoul: Yonhap News Agency. 2002. ISBN 978-0-7656-3523-5.

Further reading

• Kim Il-sung (1981) [1951]. "Talk with Heroes of the Republic and Model Soldiers: June 29, 1951" (PDF). Kim Il Sung: Works. 6. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House. pp. 331–338. OCLC 827642144.