''Taewŏnsu'' (; literally

grand marshal Grand marshal is a ceremonial, military rank, military, or political office of very high rank. The term has its origins with the word "marshal" with the first usage of the term "grand marshal" as a ceremonial title for certain religious orders. ...

, usually translated as

generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus me ...

) is the highest possible

military rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

and is intended to be an honorific title for

Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

and

Kim Jong-il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...

. The rank is senior to that of

Wonsu ''Wonsu'' is the highest military rank in the armed forces of North Korea and South Korea. Historical The title of ''Wonsu'' or its variations had been used as the title of high-ranking military commanders in Korean history since Goryeo Dynasty ...

. The title also exists in Chinese military history as '' dàyuánshuài'' (same Sino-Korean characters ), and was briefly taken by

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...

History

The rank of ''taewŏnsu'' was created by a joint decision of the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

and Central Military Commission of the

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of ...

, the

National Defence Commission The National Defence Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (NDC) () was the highest state institution for military and national defence leadership in North Korea, which also served as the highest governing institution of the cou ...

and the Central People's Committee in April 1992 to honor

on his 80th birthday (

Day of the Sun The Day of the Sun () is an annual public holiday in North Korea on 15 April, the birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung, founder and Eternal President of North Korea. It is the most important national holiday in the country, and is considered to b ...

). In February 2012, his son and successor

was awarded the title posthumously on the occasion of his official 70th birthday (

Day of the Shining Star The Day of the Shining Star () is a public holiday in North Korea falling on 16 February, the anniversary of the birth of the country's second leader, Kim Jong-il. Along with the Day of the Sun, the birthday of his father Kim Il-sung, it is the ...

). The insignia for ''taewŏnsu'' is similar to ''

wonsu ''Wonsu'' is the highest military rank in the armed forces of North Korea and South Korea. Historical The title of ''Wonsu'' or its variations had been used as the title of high-ranking military commanders in Korean history since Goryeo Dynasty ...

'' but with an added crest worn beneath the shoulder board's large marshal star (and an added crest added to the parade uniform's marshal star worn below the collar), below the

Emblem of North Korea The emblem of North Korea is a national symbol adopted in 1993 by the state. Its design is modified from the former version in use from the founding of North Korea in 1948. Prominent features on the emblem are a red star, a hydroelectric plan ...

. The rank insignia is based on the unofficial rank

Generalissimus of the Soviet Union Generalissimus of the Soviet Union (russian: Генералиссимус Советского Союза, Generalissimus Sovetskogo Soyuza) was a military rank proposed for Joseph Stalin following World War II. It was styled after a similar Impe ...

. If translated, the full rank is "Grand Marshal of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" literally and "''Generalissimo'' of the DPRK" in the usual translation.

Rank comparison

According to rank comparison charts of the

United States Forces Korea United States Forces Korea (USFK) is a Unified Combatant Command#Subordinate Unified Command, sub-unified command of United States Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). USFK is the joint headquarters for U.S. combat-re ...

(USFK), ''taewŏnsu'' is equivalent to a "seven-star general", with the junior ranks of ''wonsu'' and ''chasu'' listed as six and five stars respectively. The rank is frequently referred to in U.S. military publications as "grand marshal", comparable to the rank of

General of the Armies General of the Armies of the United States, more commonly referred to as General of the Armies, is the highest military rank in the United States Army. The rank has been conferred three times: to John J. Pershing in 1919, as a personal accola ...

although that is normally considered a

six-star rank In the United States Armed Forces, a six-star rank is a proposed rank immediately superior to a five-star rank, possibly to be worn by the General of the Armies or Admiral of the Navy; however, this correlation was never officially recognized b ...

. European military texts rate the rank equivalent to a ''

''. The South Korean armed forces have never made an attempt to declare an equivalent to the ''wonsu'' ranks of North Korea, and indeed often deride these ranks as having been created so as to "outrank" the military leaders of other nations, rather than for any necessary purpose of military administration. Even so, the holders of these ranks have commanded one of the largest military forces in the Pan-Asian theater therefore giving some credence to their existence.U.S. 7th Fleet Sharem Intelligence Brief, published 13 Dec 2007

Notes

References

External links

Image of Kim Il-sung in the ''taewŏnsu'' uniform

Image of Kim Il-sung in the ''taewŏnsu'' uniform

Image of Kim Jong-il ''wonsu'' and Kim Il-sung ''taewŏnsu'' shoulder/collar insignia and crests
{{Italic title Military ranks of North Korea 1992 establishments in North Korea

History

Rank comparison

See also

Notes

References

External links