Order of Military Merit (South Korea)

Korean name
Hangul	무공훈장
Hanja	武功勳章
Revised Romanization	Mugong Hunjang
McCune–Reischauer	Mugong Hunjang

Order of Military Merit
Order of Military Merit ;
Awarded by South Korea
Type	Order of merit
Awarded for	Outstanding military services by participating in an action in time of war or in quasi-state of war or by performing his/her duty equivalent to combat, such as responding to the attack of an enemy in a contact area.
Status	Active
Grades	Taegeuk; Eulji; Chungmu; Hwarang; Inheon; Gold and Silver stars
Former grades	First Class Order of Military Merit,; Second Class Order of Military Merit,; Third Class Order of Military Merit,; Fourth Class Order of Military Merit;
Precedence
Next (higher)	Grand Order of Mugunghwa
Related	Order of National Foundation; Order of Civil Merit; Order of Service Merit; Order of National Security Merit; Order of Diplomatic Service Merit; Order of Industrial Service Merit; Order of Saemaeul Service Merit; Order of Cultural Merit; Order of Sports Merit; Order of Science and Technology Merit;
	; ;

The Order of Military Merit (Hangul: 무공훈장) is the primary military decoration awarded by the South Korean government.

It is awarded to a person who rendered "outstanding military services by participating in an action in time of war or in quasi-state of war or by performing his/her duty equivalent to combat, such as responding to the attack of an enemy in a contact area."^[1]

History[edit]

On 18 October 1950, law about Order of Military Merit was enacted.

Original names are as follows:

First Class Order of Military Merit,
Second Class Order of Military Merit,
Third Class Order of Military Merit,
Fourth Class Order of Military Merit

On 19 August 1951, The names were changed as follows:

Taegeuk Order of Military Merit,
Eulji Order of Military Merit,
Chungmu Order of Military Merit,
Hwarang Order of Military Merit

On 14 December 1963, Inheon Order of Military Merit was added.

Classes and Grades[edit]

The Order of Military Merit is awarded in five classes and each of these has three grades. In descending order of rank, the classes are: Taegeuk (태극), Eulji (을지), Chungmu (충무), Hwarang (화랑) and Inheon (인헌).

Taegeuk (태극), Eulji (을지), Chungmu (충무), Hwarang (화랑) had a first, second or third grade, denoted respectively by a gold star (금성), silver star (은성), or an unadorned ribbon (무성).

For example, Gold Star Taegeuk (금성태극), Silver Star Taegeuk (은성태극), or Unadorned Taegeuk. (무성태극)^[2]^[3]

Since 1964, there are only five classes authorized as below.

Class	Name	Namesake
1st	Taegeuk^[a] (태극)	Taegeuk
2nd	Eulji^[b] (을지)	Eulji Mundeok
3rd	Chungmu (충무)	Yi Sun-sin
4th	Hwarang (화랑)	Hwarang
5th	Inheon (인헌)	Gang Gam-chan

Notable recipients[edit]

※ Date: Date is on the certificate document or on database is prior to date of conferment ceremony.
※ Rank: As of awarded date
※ † indicates that the recipient was killed in action.

Taegeuk[edit]

Name	Service / Unit	Rank	Date	Notes
Douglas MacArthur	United States Army	General of the Army	1950-09-29	^[4]
Paik Sun-yup	Republic of Korea Army	Major General	1951-07-26
Paik Sun-yup	Republic of Korea Army	General	1953-04-05
Kim Hong-il	Republic of Korea Army	Lieutenant General	1951-07-26
Sohn Won-yil	Republic of Korea Navy	Admiral	1951-10-30
Sohn Won-yil	Republic of Korea Navy	Admiral	1953-04-05
Horace Robertson	Australian Army	Lieutenant General	1951-11-07
James Van Fleet	United States Army	Lieutenant General	1951-11-27
Matthew Ridgway	United States Army	Lieutenant General	1952-05-09
Raoul Magrin-Vernerey	French Army	Lieutenant General (acting Lieutenant colonel)	1952-11-04
Kim Jong-oh	Republic of Korea Army	Major General	1952-12-26
Lee Hyung-geun	Republic of Korea Army	Lieutenant General	1952-12-30
Lee Hyung-geun	Republic of Korea Army	Lieutenant General	1953-05-18
Im Chung-sik	Republic of Korea Army	Brigadier General	1953-05-20
Song Yo-chan	Republic of Korea Army	Major General	1953-06-05
William F. Dean	United States Army	Major General	1953-09-04
Mark W. Clark	United States Army	General	1953-09-07
Kim Man-sool [ko]	Republic of Korea Army	Second Lieutenant	1954-07-06
Homer Litzenberg	United States Marine Corps	Major General	1957-10-23
Frank F. Everest	United States Air Force	General	?
Cornelius E. Ryan	United States Army	Major General	?
Kang Jae-gu	Republic of Korea Army	Captain	1966-05-12	^[5]
William Westmoreland	United States Army	General	1966-09-06	^[6]
Chae Myung-shin	Republic of Korea Army	Lieutenant General	1967-05-20
Charles Smith	United States Army	Brigadier General	1975-07-04
Young-Oak Kim	United States Army	Colonel	2006-02-03
Edward Rowny	United States Army	Lieutenant General	2014-07-27	^[7]
William Speakman	British Army	Sergeant	2015-07-27	^[8]
Thomas J. Hudner Jr.	United States Navy	Captain	2015-07-27
Hector A. Cafferata Jr.	United States Marine Corps	Private First Class	2015-07-27
Maximo Young	Philippine Army, PEFTOK	Major	2016-07-27
Conrado Yap †	Philippine Army, PEFTOK	Captain	2018-07-27
Emil Kapaun †	United States Army	Captain	2021-07-27	^[9]
Ralph Puckett Jr.	United States Army	Colonel	2023-04-25
Royce Williams	United States Navy	Captain	2023-04-25	^[10]
Baldomero López	United States Marine Corps	First lieutenant	2023-04-25

Eulji[edit]

Name	Service / Unit	Rank	Date	Notes
Walton Walker	United States Army	Lieutenant General	1950-12-19	^[11]
Walton Walker	United States Army	General	1953-01-03
Edward Almond	United States Army	Major General	1950-12-25
Edward Almond	United States Army	Lieutenant General	1953-01-03
Kim Suk-won	Republic of Korea Army	Brigadier General	1950-12-30
Oliver P. Smith	United States Marine Corps	Major General	1951-04-26
Oliver P. Smith	United States Marine Corps	Major General	1953-01-03
Dean Hess	United States Air Force	Lieutenant Colonel	1951-05-29
Chae Byong-duk †	Republic of Korea Army	Lieutenant General	1952-05-20
Alberto Ruiz Novoa	National Army of Colombia	Lieutenant Colonel	1953-06-24	^[12]
Edwin A. Doss	United States Air Force	Colonel	1954-01-29
Kim Shin	Republic of Korea Air Force	Brigadier General	1954-10-01
William Westmoreland	United States Army	Brigadier General	1954-11-05
Praphas Charusathien	Royal Thai Army	Major General	1955
William Hamilton Shaw †	United States Navy	Captain	1956-09-22^[c]
Homer Litzenberg	United States Marine Corps	Major General	1957-11-19
Thomas H. Hewlett	United States Army Medical Corps	Colonel	1961-07-31
Cornelius E. Ryan	United States Army	Major General	?
Chesty Puller	United States Marine Corps	Lieutenant General	?
William P. Yarborough	United States Army	Lieutenant General	1969-07-24	^[13]
Charles Hercules Green †	Australian Army	Lieutenant Colonel	2019-07-27

Chungmu[edit]

Name	Service / Unit	Rank	Date
Lee Dae-yong	Republic of Korea Army	Captain	1950-12-30
Lee Dae-yong	Republic of Korea Army	Military attaché	1972-04-10
Han Moo-hyup	Republic of Korea Army	?	1951-10-04
		?	1953-09-21
		Major General	1969-02-18
A. G. Rangaraj	Indian Army, 60th Parachute Field Ambulance	Lieutenant Colonel	1951-08-21
A. G. Rangaraj	Indian Army, 60th Parachute Field Ambulance	Lieutenant Colonel	1951-11-30
James McDivitt	United States Air Force	Brigadier General	?
Clayton O. Totman	United States Marine Corps	Brigadier General	?
Denis Earp SSA SD SM SOE	South African Air Force	Lieutenant General	1961-06-30
Elmo Zumwalt	United States Navy	Admiral	1969-04-25

Hwarang[edit]

Name	Service / Unit	Rank	Date	Notes
Walter C. Monegan Jr. †	United States Marine Corps	Private First Class	1954-04-12	^[14]
Hugh M. Elwood	United States Marine Corps	Lieutenant general	?
Jack T. Bishoff	United States Navy	Captain	?
William Geftman	United States Marine Corps	Lieutenant Colonel	?
Wilbur F. Simlik	United States Marine Corps	Major General	1970-04-10
Phan Hòa Hiệp [vi]	Army of the Republic of Vietnam	Colonel	1971-01-29

Inheon[edit]

Name	Service / Unit	Rank	Date	Notes
Ji Man-won	Republic of Korea Army	Captain	1970-11-13
Yoon Jang-ho	Republic of Korea Army	Staff Sergeant	2007-03-01

Notes[edit]

^ Sometimes spelt 'Taeguk'
^ Sometimes spelt 'Ulchi'
^ 1956-09-22 on certificate document, 1956-09-21 on database

References[edit]

^ Awards and Decorations Act (11690). March 23, 2013.(in English and Korean) Korea Legislation Research Institute. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
^ "Orders of Military Merit of the Republic of Korea 1948-196" (PDF). Retrieved 5 April 2023.
^ "훈장과 포장" [Orders and Medals]. Decorations of the Republic of Korea (in Korean). Ministry of Interior and Safety. 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
^ National Archives of Korea. "이승만 대통령 유엔군최고사령관 맥아더 장군에게 태극무공훈장 수여" [President Syngman Rhee awarded the Taegeuk Order of Military Merit to General MacArthur, Supreme Commander of the UN Forces] (in Korean).
^ 姜在求少領(강재구소령)에 太極武功(태극무공)훈장추서
^ 太極武功勲章(태극무공훈장)수여
^ "Republic of South Korea Awards Four U.S. Veterans Its Nation's Highest Military Award: The Order of Military Merit, Taeguk - Post Eagle Newspaper".
^ "Republic of South Korea Awards Four U.S. Veterans Its Nation's Highest Military Award: The Order of Military Merit, Taeguk - Post Eagle Newspaper".
^ "Moon awards medals to two UN Forces veterans for war service". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
^ "Retired Navy Capt Royce Williams shares declassified heroic story". Retrieved 29 April 2023.
^ "워커 中將表彰(중장표창)" [Lieutenant General Walker Commendation] (in Korean). 20 December 1950.
^ "2023년 3월의 6‧25전쟁영웅 - 알베르토 루이즈 노보아 콜롬비아 육군 중령 2023년 3월의 6‧25전쟁영웅 - 알베르토 루이즈 노보아 콜롬비아 육군 중령" [Heroes of the Korean War in March 2023 - Lieutenant Colonel Alberto Luiz Novoa, Army of Colombia Korean War Heroes of March 2023 - Lieutenant Colonel Alberto Ruiz Novoa, Army of Colombia] (in Korean).
^ "야보로 중장에 훈장" [Medal for Lieutenant General Yarborough] (in Korean).
^ 動亂(동란)의 숨은 證言(증언) 異域(이역)서散華(산화)한 碧眼(벽안)의英雄(영웅)「모니간」1兵(병)

External links[edit]

Korea's Order of Military Merit
Images of the Order of Military Merit (in Korean with some English)

[4] Sometimes spelt 'Taeguk'

[5] Sometimes spelt 'Ulchi'

[15] 1956-09-22 on certificate document, 1956-09-21 on database

[1] Awards and Decorations Act (11690). March 23, 2013.(in English and Korean) Korea Legislation Research Institute. Retrieved 2018-02-15.

[2] "Orders of Military Merit of the Republic of Korea 1948-196" (PDF). Retrieved 5 April 2023.

[3] "훈장과 포장" [Orders and Medals]. Decorations of the Republic of Korea (in Korean). Ministry of Interior and Safety. 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2018.

[6] National Archives of Korea. "이승만 대통령 유엔군최고사령관 맥아더 장군에게 태극무공훈장 수여" [President Syngman Rhee awarded the Taegeuk Order of Military Merit to General MacArthur, Supreme Commander of the UN Forces] (in Korean).

[7] 姜在求少領(강재구소령)에 太極武功(태극무공)훈장추서

[8] 太極武功勲章(태극무공훈장)수여

[9] "Republic of South Korea Awards Four U.S. Veterans Its Nation's Highest Military Award: The Order of Military Merit, Taeguk - Post Eagle Newspaper".

[10] "Republic of South Korea Awards Four U.S. Veterans Its Nation's Highest Military Award: The Order of Military Merit, Taeguk - Post Eagle Newspaper".

[11] "Moon awards medals to two UN Forces veterans for war service". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2022-03-08.

[12] "Retired Navy Capt Royce Williams shares declassified heroic story". Retrieved 29 April 2023.

[13] "워커 中將表彰(중장표창)" [Lieutenant General Walker Commendation] (in Korean). 20 December 1950.

[Novoa-14] "2023년 3월의 6‧25전쟁영웅 - 알베르토 루이즈 노보아 콜롬비아 육군 중령 2023년 3월의 6‧25전쟁영웅 - 알베르토 루이즈 노보아 콜롬비아 육군 중령" [Heroes of the Korean War in March 2023 - Lieutenant Colonel Alberto Luiz Novoa, Army of Colombia Korean War Heroes of March 2023 - Lieutenant Colonel Alberto Ruiz Novoa, Army of Colombia] (in Korean).

[16] "야보로 중장에 훈장" [Medal for Lieutenant General Yarborough] (in Korean).

[17] 動亂(동란)의 숨은 證言(증언) 異域(이역)서散華(산화)한 碧眼(벽안)의英雄(영웅)「모니간」1兵(병)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[a]

[b]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[c]

[13]

[14]

v t e Orders, decorations, and medals of South Korea
Orders (훈장)	Grand Order of Mugunghwa Order of National Foundation Order of Civil Merit Order of Military Merit Order of Service Merit Order of National Security Merit Order of Diplomatic Service Merit Order of Industrial Service Merit Order of Saemaeul Service Merit Order of Cultural Merit Order of Sports Merit Order of Science and Technology Merit
Medals of Honours (포장)	National Foundation Medal Civil Merit Medal Military Merit Medal Service Merit Medal National Security Medal Reserve Forces Medal Diplomatic Service Medal Industrial Service Medal Sarmaeul Service Medal Cultural Merit Medal Sports Merit Medal Science and Technology Medal Exemplary Public Official Medal
Commendations (표창)	Presidential Citation (awarded to Individuals and Organizations)- (e.g: Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation) Prime Minister's Citation (awarded to Individuals and Organizations Presidential Award (awarded to Individuals and Organizations) Prime Minister's Award (awarded to Individuals and Organizations)
Titles (칭호)	New Knowledge Worker New Knowledge Farmer Korean Master Hand