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.
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]
^Intelligence Report: Kim Il-Sung's New Military Adventurism. Washington: Directorate of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency. 26 November 1968. p. 26. Reference title: ESAU XLI. Document number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 5077054e993247d4d82b6a8b. Archived from
the original(PDF) on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
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.
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]
^Intelligence Report: Kim Il-Sung's New Military Adventurism. Washington: Directorate of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency. 26 November 1968. p. 26. Reference title: ESAU XLI. Document number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 5077054e993247d4d82b6a8b. Archived from
the original(PDF) on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2018.