Labor Hero () is one of the
highest titles of honor
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
of North Korea and the highest
decoration of the country overall. The award was probably scheduled for establishment in the summer of 1950, but the
Korean War postponed these plans. When the war had entered a phase of stalemate along the
38th parallel, the government had time to officially launch the decoration, originally under the name Korea Hero of Labor. 16 people were decorated Labor Heroes during the war and more since then. The decoration is based on its Soviet equivalent,
Hero of Socialist Labour
The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...
Specifications
Hero of Labor is the highest
title of honor of
North Korea. It is also the highest
decoration of the country overall. Immediately below it are the
Order of Kim Il-sung and
Kim Il-sung Prize
The Kim Il Sung Prize (김일성상) is an award given by the Government of North Korea to persons in various fields who demonstrate exemplary service to the values of ''Juche'' idea. Past winners include the Korean composer Kim Won-gyun, judoka ...
s. Along with the title a gold medal is awarded. The medal features the
hammer and sickle
The hammer and sickle (Unicode: "☭") zh, s=锤子和镰刀, p=Chuízi hé liándāo or zh, s=镰刀锤子, p=Liándāo chuízi, labels=no is a symbol meant to represent proletarian solidarity, a union between agricultural and industri ...
on a
five-pointed star. It is awarded independently of the similar award of
Order of Labor
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...
.
[
]
History
Hero of Labor was probably scheduled to be established in the summer of 1950, but the breaking up of the Korean War halted the plans. Only when the war reached a stalemate along the 38th parallel did the government have time to concentrate on its awards system.[ Hero of Labor was promulgated on 17 July 1951 and it became the highest civilian award of the country.][ The title is based on its Soviet equivalent, ]Hero of Socialist Labour
The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...
.[
It was initially promulgated as Korea Hero of Labor, using the Korean word ''Choson'' (). This set it apart from the related Order of Labor whose full name was "Korean People's Republic Order of Labor". This is likely because North Koreans copied every detail of the decorations of the Soviet Union, some of which featured the longer name of the country, "Soviet Union", and others simply "Soviet".][
During the war, 16 people were decorated Labor Heroes.]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 ...
was never awarded one, leading observers to conclude that the prize did not have much political value at least at that time.[
In more recent times, it has been habitually awarded to mothers who have given birth to exceptionally many children.]
Recipients
See also
* Orders and medals of North Korea
* Hero of Socialist Labour
The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...
* Hero of Labor (Vietnam)
* Hero of Labour (GDR)
The title Hero of Labor (german: Held der Arbeit) was awarded by the German Democratic Republic for supporting the socialist economy, usually by increasing factory output or agricultural yields. It was instituted on 19 April 1950 and was limited t ...
References
Works cited
*{{cite book, author=Lim Jae-Cheon, title=Kim Jong-il's Leadership of North Korea, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ag16AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA81, year=2008, publisher=Routledge, location=New York, isbn=978-1-134-01712-6, ref={{SfnRef, Lim, 2008
Orders, decorations, and medals of North Korea
Hero (title)