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]
^ a b cWeiser, Martin (8 January 2016). "Chests Full of Brass: A DPRK Political History in Orders, Medals, Prizes, and Titles". Sino-NK.
^North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 934.
^North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 131.
^"북한지역정보넷". www.cybernk.net. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
^"북한지역정보넷". www.cybernk.net. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
^"북한지역정보넷". www.cybernk.net. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
^"Kim Chol-man" (PDF). North Korean Leadership Watch. p. 2. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
^ a b"북한지역정보넷". www.cybernk.net. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
^"Choe Ryong Hae (Ch'oe Ryong-hae)". North Korea Leadership Watch. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
^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.
^North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 493.
^"북한지역정보넷". www.cybernk.net. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
^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.
^"북한지역정보넷". www.cybernk.net. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
^"Chairman Kim Jong Il: Biography". Naenara. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
^"북한지역정보넷". www.cybernk.net. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
^Bilo je časno živjeti s Titom (in Croatian). Zagreb: RO Mladost, RO Prosvjeta. February 1981. p. 102.
^"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.
^বাংলাদেশের রাজনৈতিক ঘটনাপঞ্জি ১৯৭১-২০১১-মুহাম্মদ হাবিবুর রহমান ||ROKOMARI.COM|| Archived 24 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
Kim Il-sung (1981) [1951]. "Talk with Heroes of the Republic and Model Soldiers: June 29, 1951" (PDF). Kim Il Sung: Works. Vol. 6. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House. pp. 331–338. OCLC 827642144.