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
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]

Grades[]

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: Taeguk (태극), Eulji (을지), Chungmu (충무), Hwarang (화랑) en Inheon (인헌). Each class has a first, second or third grade, denoted respectively by a gold star (금색 별), silver star (실버 스타), or an unadorned ribbon.^[2]^[3]

Class	Name	Namesake
1st	Taegeuk (태극)	taegeuk
2nd	Eulji (을지) also sometimes spelt Ulchi	Eulji Mundeok
3rd	Chungmu (충무)	Yi Sun-sin
4th	Hwarang (화랑)	Hwarang
5th	Inheon (인헌)	Gang Gam-chan

Notable recipients[]

Taegeuk[]

Document of award of the Taegeuk Cordon to the Unknown Dead of Greece for the Greek participation in the Korean War

Douglas MacArthur – General of the Army, United States Army
Chappy Hakim – Air Chief Marshal, Indonesian Air Force
Conrado Yap – Captain, Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK), Philippine Army
Maximo Young – Major, Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK), Philippine Army
Young-Oak Kim – Colonel, United States Army
Homer Litzenberg – General, United States Marine Corps
William Westmoreland – General, United States Army
Frank Fort Everest – General, United States Air Force
Horace Robertson – Lieutenant General, Australian Army
Raoul Magrin-Vernerey – Lieutenant General,(acting Lieutenant colonel) French Army
Bill Speakman VC – Sergeant, British Army
Lee Han-Lim – Lieutenant General, Republic of Korea Army
Chung-Shik YIM - Republic of Korea Army
Edward L Rowny – Lieutenant General of the Army, United States Army^[4]

Eulji[]

Col. Edwin A. Doss' Eulji Medal with Silver Star (1952–63 design)

Pham Van Dong – General, Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam
Chesty Puller – Lieutenant General, United States Marine Corps
William P. Yarborough – Lieutenant General, United States Army

Chungmu[]

Han Moo-hyup – Major General, Republic of Korea Army
Charles Billingslea – Major General, United States Army
Alfredo M. Santos – General, Armed Forces of the Philippines
James A. McDivitt – Brigadier General, United States Air Force
Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. – Admiral, United States Navy
Phan Hoa Hiep – General, Armed Forces Republic of Vietnam
Denis Earp - Lieutenant General, South African Air Force
- Lieutenant Colonel,
- Major,
- Captain,
- Captain,

Hwarang[]

Hugh M. Elwood – Lieutenant General, United States Marine Corps
Wilbur F. Simlik – Major General, United States Marine Corps
- Captain,

Inheon[]

Yoon Jang-ho – (Ha-sa) Staff Sergeant, Republic of Korea Armed Forces

References[]

^ "Awards and Decorations Act". Act No. 11690 of March 23, 2013.(in English and Korean) Korea Legislation Research Institute. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
^ Orders of Military Merit of the Republic of Korea 1948-1961
^ "훈장과 포장" [Orders and Medals]. Decorations of the Republic of Korea (in Korean). Ministry of Interior and Safety. 2015. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
^ "Republic of South Korea Awards Four U.S. Veterans Its Nation's Highest Military Award: The Order of Military Merit, Taeguk - Post Eagle Newspaper".

External links[]

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

[1] "Awards and Decorations Act". Act No. 11690 of 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 1948-1961

[3] "훈장과 포장" [Orders and Medals]. Decorations of the Republic of Korea (in Korean). Ministry of Interior and Safety. 2015. Retrieved 2018-02-15.

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

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v t Orders, decorations, and medals of South Korea
Orders of merit	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	National Foundation Medal Civil Merit Medal Military Merit Medal Service Merit Medal National Security Medal Diplomatic Service Medal Industrial Service Medal Sarmaeul Service Medal Cultural Merit Medal Sports Merit Medal Science and Technology Medal Exemplary Public Official Medal Talent Medal of Korea (No longer awarded)
National honorary titles	New Knowledge Worker New Knowledge Farmer
Commendations	Ministrial Commendations