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Order of Military Merit
Awarded by  South Korea
TypeOrder of merit
Awarded forOutstanding 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.
StatusActive
Grades
  • Order of Military Merit (무공훈장) ' Taegeuk
  • Order of Military Merit (무공훈장) ' Eulji
  • Order of Military Merit (무공훈장) ' Chungmu
  • Order of Military Merit (무공훈장) ' Hwarang
  • Order of Military Merit (무공훈장) ' 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


Korean name
Hangul
무공훈장
Hanja
武功勳章
Revised RomanizationMugong Hunjang
McCune–ReischauerMugong Hunjang

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 Ribbon
1st Taegeuk[a] (태극) Taegeuk Order of Military Merit (무공훈장) '
2nd Eulji[b] (을지) Eulji Mundeok Order of Military Merit (무공훈장) '
3rd Chungmu (충무) Yi Sun-sin Order of Military Merit (무공훈장) '
4th Hwarang (화랑) Hwarang Order of Military Merit (무공훈장) '
5th Inheon (인헌) Gang Gam-chan Order of Military Merit (무공훈장) '

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]

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

Col. Edwin A. Doss' Eulji Medal with Silver Star (은성 을지무공혼장), 1952–63 design
Name Service / Unit Rank Date Notes
Walton Walker United States Army Lieutenant General 1950-12-19 [11]
General 1953-01-03
Edward Almond United States Army Major General 1950-12-25
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
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 Notes
Lee Dae-yong Republic of Korea Army Captain 1950-12-30
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
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

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Sometimes spelt 'Taeguk'
  2. ^ Sometimes spelt 'Ulchi'
  3. ^ 1956-09-22 on certificate document, 1956-09-21 on database

References[edit]

  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.
  4. ^ 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).
  5. ^ 姜在求少領(강재구소령)에 太極武功(태극무공)훈장추서
  6. ^ 太極武功勲章(태극무공훈장)수여
  7. ^ "Republic of South Korea Awards Four U.S. Veterans Its Nation's Highest Military Award: The Order of Military Merit, Taeguk - Post Eagle Newspaper".
  8. ^ "Republic of South Korea Awards Four U.S. Veterans Its Nation's Highest Military Award: The Order of Military Merit, Taeguk - Post Eagle Newspaper".
  9. ^ "Moon awards medals to two UN Forces veterans for war service". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  10. ^ "Retired Navy Capt Royce Williams shares declassified heroic story". Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  11. ^ "워커 中將表彰(중장표창)" [Lieutenant General Walker Commendation] (in Korean). 20 December 1950.
  12. ^ "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).
  13. ^ "야보로 중장에 훈장" [Medal for Lieutenant General Yarborough] (in Korean).
  14. ^ 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]

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Military_Merit_(Korea)

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