Order of the National Flag

Second highest order of North Korea

Order of the National Flag

Order of the National Flag stars

Country| North Korea
Presented by| the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Eligibility| Individuals and organizations, for political, cultural or economic work, recipients of the Hero of the Republic, Hero of Labour, Order of Freedom and Independence and Order of Soldier's Honor in the appropriate class and various "People's" honorary titles
Status| Active
Established| 12 October 1948 (1948-10-12)
Total| 1st Class 100,000+
2nd Class 200,000+
3rd Class 1,100,000+
Precedence
Next (higher)| Order of Kim Il Sung, Order of Kim Jong Il
Next (lower)| Order of Freedom and Independence[1]
Related| Hero of the Republic, Hero of Labour
Order of the National Flag

Chosŏn'gŭl|

국기훈장[1]

Hancha|

國旗勳章

Revised Romanization| Gukgi hunjang
McCune–Reischauer| Kukki Hunjang[2]

The Order of the National Flag (Korean: 국기훈장; MR: Kukki Hunjang) is the second highest order of North Korea, after the Order of Kim Il Sung and the Order of Kim Jong Il.

It is the oldest order in the country, having been established in 1948, just six weeks after the North Korean state was founded.

The order is awarded to both individuals and organizations, for political, cultural or economic work. The order, which comes in three classes, is automatically conferred upon recipients of the titles of Hero of the Republic and Hero of Labour and various "People's" honorary titles [zh]. The Order of the National Flag is also awarded to recipients of the Order of Freedom and Independence and Order of Soldier's Honor in the appropriate class. Recipients are entitled to benefits such as a salary or free public transport.

Domestic recipients include both leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il and other notables. Foreign recipients include politicians such as Fidel Castro, Hosni Mubarak and Siad Barre.

## History

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When the order was instituted on 12 October 1948,[2] six weeks after the foundation of the North Korean state, it was the first and highest order of the country.[1] It is named after the flag of North Korea.[3]

## Eligibility

[edit]

It can be awarded to individuals and to organizations or workplaces for achievements in military service[4] or political, cultural, or economic work. It is also awarded to officers of the Workers' Party of Korea for longstanding service (25 years for the first class, 20 years for the second class and 15 years for the third class).[5]

Those who are awarded the title of Hero of the Republic or Hero of Labour are always awarded with the Order of the National Flag as well, as are laureates of "People's" honorary titles [zh].[6] Recipients of the Order of Freedom and Independence receive the Order of the National Flag of the same class, but Order of Soldier's Honor recipients receive the Order of the National Flag in a lower class.[1] Recipients have the right to use public transport free of charge.[7] Disabled and retired recipients receive an annual salary along with the order.[1]

## Precedence

[edit]

The Order of the National Flag is the second highest order of North Korea, after the Order of Kim Il Sung and the Order of Kim Jong Il, which share the first place. The order has three classes.[1]

1st class

2nd class

3rd class

## Recipients

[edit]

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (October 2015)

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### North Korean recipients

[edit]

* Kim Il Sung (6 February 1951, first class;[1] 28 July 1953, first class[8][9])
* Han Sorya (26 April 1951, second class)[10]
* Im Hwa (26 April 1951, second class)[10]
* Cho Ki-chon (26 April 1951, second class)[10]
* Ri Ki-yong (26 April 1951, second class)[10]
* Yi T'aejun (26 April 1951, second class)[10]
* Kim Chogyu (26 April 1951, third class)[10]
* Pak Unggŏl (26 April 1951, third class)[10]
* Shin Kosong (26 April 1951, third class)[10]
* Pak Chong-ae (July 1953, second class; first class)[11]
* Thae Byong-ryol[citation needed]
* Jang Chol (August 1961, first class)[12]
* Ri Tu-il (June 1968, first class)[13]
* Kim Ryong-yong (January 1976, first class)[14]
* Choe Sam-suk (1982, first class)[15]
* Kim Jong Il (1982, first class)[16]
* Jong Chang-ryol (June 1986, first class)[17]
* Kim Su-jo (October 1989, first class)[18]
* Paek Hak-rim (April 1997, first class)[19]
* Ri Ul-sol (April 1997, first class)[20]
* O Ik-je (September 1997, first class)[21]
* Jon Pyong-ho (February 1998, first class)[22]
* Ryu Mi-yong (January 1991, first class)[23]
* Han Duk-su (first class ten times)[24]
* Hyon Yong-chol (eight times first class, five times second class, and twice third class)[25]
* Kim Ryong Rin (nine times first class)
* Jo Myong-rok (first class)[26]
* Kim Jung-rin (first class)[27]
* Kim Rak-hui (first class)[28]
* Lee Kwon-mu (first class)[29]
* Ri Jong-ok (first class)[30]
* Kang Ki-sop (two times first class, three times second class, and three times third class)[31]
* At the beginning of 2010, North Korean media announced that the Order of the National Flag, first class, was posthumously awarded to the captain and first mechanics of the freighter that sunk in November 2009 by the Chinese city of Dalian. The crew attempted to salvage the ship's portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.[32]
* Pyongyang University of Music and Dance (first class)[33]
* Kigwancha Sports Club (first class)[34]
* Chongnyon Jonwi (first class)[35]
* 5th generator turbine of Sup'ung Dam (first class)[36]

### Foreign recipients

[edit]

* Peng Dehuai (China, 1951 and 1953, first class)[37]
* Antonín Zápotocký (Czechoslovakia, 1955, first class)[38]
* Alois Barvínek (Czechoslovakia, 1955, third class), Czechoslovak composer[39]
* Nureddin al-Atassi (Syria, September 1969, first class)[40]
* Siad Barre (Democratic Republic of Somalia, 1972, first class)[41]
* Gustáv Husák (Czechoslovakia, first class, awarded twice 1973 and 1988)[38]
* Gnassingbé Eyadéma (Togo, September 1974, first class)[42]
* Didier Ratsiraka (Madagascar, 1978, first class)[43]
* Samora Machel (Mozambique, March 1975, first class)[44]
* Ferdinand Kozovski (Bulgarian Lieutenant general of Bulgarian army, deputy komander of Bulgarian army 1944-1945 in Second World War, Chairman of National assembly of Bulgaria 1958-1965)[citation needed]
* Leonid Brezhnev (Soviet Union, 18 December 1976, first class)[45]
* Juvénal Habyarimana (Rwanda, 1978, first class)[46]
* Jean-Bédel Bokassa (Central African Empire, 1978, first class)[47]
* Choi Eun-hee (South Korea, 1983, first class)[48]
* Hosni Mubarak (Egypt, 1983, first class)[49]
* Agatha Barbara (Malta, August 1985, first class)[50]
* Sam Nujoma (Namibia, 1992)[51]
* Norodom Sihanouk (Cambodia, 1965, first class)[52]
* Fidel Castro (Cuba, 2006, first class)[53]
* Józef Borowiec, former director of the National Center of Education in Płakowice [pl], Poland[54]
* Yakov Novichenko (Soviet Union)[55]
* Alejandro Cao de Benós (Spain)[56]
* Ra Hun, Korean minority activist in Japan (first class, second class, and twice third class)[57]
* Megawati Sukarnoputri (Indonesia, 2002, first class)[58]
* Wojciech Jaruzelski (Poland, 1977, first class)[citation needed]
* Heinz Kessler (East Germany, July 1988, first class)[59]
* Josip Broz Tito (Yugoslavia, 25 August 1977, first class)[60]
* Olavi Linnus [fi] (Finland, 1978, second class)[61]
* Saleh Harsi Awad Al-Ban (South Yemen, 1969, third class)[62]
* Forbes Burnham (Guyana, 1972, first class[63])
* Vajiralongkorn (Thailand, 1992, first class[64])

## See also

[edit]

* North Korea portal
* Numismatics portal

* Flag of North Korea
* Orders and medals of North Korea

## References

[edit]

### Citations

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g Weiser, Martin (8 January 2016). "Chests Full of Brass: A DPRK Political History in Orders, Medals, Prizes, and Titles". Sino-NK. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
2. ^ a b Minnich, James M. (2005). The North Korean People's Army: Origins and Current Tactics. Naval Institute Press. p. 52\. ISBN 978-1-59114-525-7.
3. ^ Thomas 2014, p. 106.
4. ^ Орден "Национального Флага 3 ст". Znakordena.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
5. ^ "Order of the National Flag". Northkoreanmedals.com. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
6. ^ North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 132.
7. ^ "Korea (North)". Jeanpaulleblanc.com. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
8. ^ Dziak, Waldemar J. (2001). Kim Ir Sen (in Polish). Warszawa: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Wiedza Powszechna. p. 139\. ISBN 83-214-1260-2.
9. ^ Baik Bong (1970). Kim Il Sung Biography: From Building Democratic Korea to Chullima Flight. Vol. 2\. Tokyo: Miraisha. p. 405\. OCLC 630184658.
10. ^ a b c d e f g h Wit, Jerôme de (2015). Writing Under Wartime Conditions: North and South Korean Writers During the Korean War (1950–1953) (PDF) (Thesis). Leiden University. p. 44\. OCLC 900144488. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
11. ^ 박정애(朴正愛) [Pak Chong-ae]. North Korean Human Geography (in Korean). Seoul: Institute for Peace Affairs. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
12. ^ North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 793.
13. ^ North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 887.
14. ^ North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 850.
15. ^ North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 768.
16. ^ Buzo, Adrian (1999). The Guerilla Dynasty: Politics and Leadership in North Korea. London/New York: I.B.Tauris. p. 117\. ISBN 978-1-86064-414-6.
17. ^ North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 802.
18. ^ North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 855.
19. ^ North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 756.
20. ^ North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 886.
21. ^ North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 868.
22. ^ "Jon Pyong Ho" (PDF). Nkleadershipwatch.files.wordpress.com. p. 1. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
23. ^ North Korea Handbook 2002, p. 913.
24. ^ "Chairman Han Duk Su of CHONGRYUN Passes Away". Co.jp. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
25. ^ "Rozstrzelany z broni przeciwlotniczej za... drzemkę. Bo nie okazał szacunku dla Kim Dzong Una". gazeta.pl. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
26. ^ "Senior DPRK official Jo Myong Rok passes away". Chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
27. ^ "Kim Jung Rin Dies". Nkleadershipwatch.files.wordpress.com. 28 April 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
28. ^ "Kim Rak Hui, Initiator of Plowwoman Movement". KCNA. 20 February 2013. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017.
29. ^ Fehrenbach, T. R. (1 April 2014). This Kind of War: The Classic Military History of the Korean War. Open Road Media. p. 139\. ISBN 978-1-4976-0375-2.
30. ^ "Ri Jong Ok passes away". Wayback Machine. Korean Central News Agency. 11 October 2012. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
31. ^ 빛나는 삶의 품 30 충정의 한길에 삶은 빛난다, 25 July 2021, retrieved 29 December 2022
32. ^ "Szczyt bohaterstwa: narażać życie dla portretów Kim Ir Sena". Newsweek.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
33. ^ "Pyongyang University of Music and Dance". Naenara. Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
34. ^ "Anniversary of Kigwancha Sports Team Marked in DPRK". Rodong Sinmun. 11 January 2016. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
35. ^ "Youth Paper Observes Publication of Its 20 000th Issue". KCNA. 6 February 2017. Archived from the original on 24 November 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
36. ^ Korean Central Television (11 September 2021). 9월11일 20시보도 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
37. ^ Sandler, Stanley, ed. (January 1995). The Korean War: An Encyclopedia. New York/London: Taylor & Francis. p. 264\. ISBN 978-0-8240-4445-9.
38. ^ a b "Řády a vyznamenání prezidentů republiky".
39. ^ https://dspace.cuni.cz/bitstream/handle/20.500.11956/3265/RPTX_2005_2_11210_ASZK00844_131672_0_26473.pdf?sequence=1 [bare URL]
40. ^ Gills 2005, p. 152.
41. ^ Korea-dpr.com. `{{cite web}}`: Missing or empty `|title=` (help); Missing or empty `|url=` (help)
42. ^ British Broadcasting Corporation. Monitoring Service (September 1974). "Togolese President's visit to N Korea: co-operation agreement (FE/4701/A5/12)". Summary of World Broadcasts: Far East. Monitoring Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation.
43. ^ Summary of World Broadcasts: Far East, Part 3. 1978. Retrieved 19 April 2024. `{{cite book}}`: `|newspaper=` ignored (help)
44. ^ Gills 2005, p. 164.
45. ^ Se-Jin Kim (1979). Korean unification: source materials with an introduction. Research Center for Peace and Unification. p. 95.
46. ^ "Asia". Dtic.mil. Archived from the original on 8 April 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
47. ^ "Summary of World Broadcasts: Far East, Part 3". Monitoring Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. 1978. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
48. ^ Fischer, Paul (2016). A Kim Jong-Il Production: Kidnap, Torture, Murder... Making Movies North Korean-Style. London: Penguin Books. p. 198\. ISBN 978-0-241-97000-3.
49. ^ "Le Président de la République". Sis.gov.eg (in French). Retrieved 10 October 2010.
50. ^ Joseph Bonnici; Michael Cassar (2004). A Chronicle of Twentieth Century Malta. Book distributors limited. p. 430\. ISBN 978-99909-72-27-6.
51. ^ Tonchi, Victor L.; Lindeke, William A.; Grotpeter, John J. (31 August 2012). Historical Dictionary of Namibia (Second ed.). Plymouth: Scarecrow Press. p. 306\. ISBN 978-0-8108-7990-4.
52. ^ "News from Hsinhua News Agency: daily bulletin". Xin hua tong xun she. 1965. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
53. ^ "Kim Jong-il gives Castro a going away present". Rjkoehler.com. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
54. ^ "Śniły o polskim chlebie i smalcu". Gazetawroclawska.pl (in Polish). 4 June 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
55. ^ P'yŏnghwa T'ongil Yŏn'guso (Korea) (1986). Korea & World Affairs. Research Center for Peace and Unification. p. 874.
56. ^ "About this webpage". Korea-dpr.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
57. ^ "Obituary". Co.jp. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
58. ^ "Indonesian President Megawati Visits DPRK; Meets Kim Jong Il for 1st Time in 37 Years". Co.jp. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
59. ^ "Report on Visit of East German Military Delegation to North Korea". History and Public Policy Program Digital Archive. Translated by Leonard, Grace. 19 July 1988. SAPMO-BA, DY 30, 2508. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
60. ^ Bilo je časno živjeti s Titom. RO Mladost, RO Prosvjeta, Zagreb, February 1981. (pg. 102)
61. ^ "Kunniamerkit". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 23 October 1978. p. 12\. ISSN 0355-2047.
62. ^ "رجال في ذاكرة التاريخ". www.alayyam.info (in Arabic). Retrieved 22 July 2022.
63. ^ "Forbes Burnham". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
64. ^ "Немеркнущие заслуги в развитии отношений между КНДР и Таиландом". Сайта МИД КНДР. 10 March 2022.

### Works cited

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Order of the National Flag.

* Gills, Barry (21 June 2005). Korea versus Korea: A Case of Contested Legitimacy. London/New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-76625-3.
* Thomas, Dean (2014). "Flags and Emblems of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea". Raven: A Journal of Vexillology. 21: 95–115. doi:10.5840/raven2014215. ISSN 1071-0043.
* Yonhap News Agency (27 December 2002). North Korea Handbook. Seoul: M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-0-7656-3523-5.