Kang Kon (; June 23, 1918 – September 8, 1950) was a Korean military leader active in

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

and the

Korean peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

as well as a politician during the years leading up to the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and during the first stages of the Korean War in 1950.

Biography

Kang (born Kang Shin-tae) was born in

Sangju Sangju () is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, central South Korea. Although Sangju is rather rural, it is very old and was once a key city. Along with Gyeongju, it gives rise to half of the name of the Gyeongsang provinces. Sangju is nickna ...

Gyeongsangbuk-do North Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상북도, translit=Gyeongsangbuk-do, ) is a province in eastern South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remained a province of Korea until the ...

, on June 23, 1918, and at the young age of 16 began his involvement in liberation and military ventures. He moved to

Jilin Province Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...

as a child and grew up there. As a teenager, he was actively involved in recruiting anti-Japanese

guerrillas Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tacti ...

for his long-time friend,

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 is remembered as being unusually tall and often towering over others. Before his leadership roles in the Korean War, Kang joined the anti-Japanese struggle in Manchuria in 1932, and later fled into Soviet territory in the early 1940s, where, by the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

was an officer in the 88th Independent Brigade in the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

, consisting of both Korean and Chinese soldiers. Lieutenant General Kang led the North Korean Army offensive during the opening stages of the Korean War until he was killed by a land mine on September 8, 1950.

Pre-Korean War

200px, Choe Yong-gon, Kim_Il,_and_Kang_Kon_receiving_the_first_PPSh-41.html" ;"title="Kim_Il_(politician).html" ;"title="Kim Chaek, Kim Il (politician)">Kim Il, and Kang Kon receiving the first PPSh-41">Kim_Il_(politician).html" ;"title="Kim Chaek, Kim Il (politician)">Kim Il, and Kang Kon receiving the first PPSh-41 submachine guns made in the DPRK from President Kim Il-sung. Like many of the others who served in high ranking positions under Kim Il Sung, Kang had served with Kim in Manchuria fighting against the Japanese. While in Manchuria he organized and commanded the Kiring peace Preservation Army. Even though Kang (and other Koreans fighting in Manchuria) had better military credentials than Kim, Kim was encouraged to take the reins of the new communist country because of ability to cultivate the Russians. In the summer of 1946, Kang returned from

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

to North Korea to help establish the

Korean People's Army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the ''Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General Sec ...

and by 1948 he was appointed the Chief of the General Staff Department, and was an important figure in the planning of the South Korean invasion with the help of Russian war strategists and was selected to lead the invasion. He was a member 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 ...

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 ...

and a member of the

Supreme People's Assembly The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA; ) is the unicameral legislature of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. It consists of one deputy from each of the DPRK's 687 constituencies, elected to five-year ...

. Kang was known as a ruthless soldier, as was reflected in the armies he commanded; they were aggressive, insensitive to risk, and eager for a victory by August 15, as Kim Il Sung demanded.

Korean War

General Kang Kon spearheaded the North Korean People's Army operations south towards

Pusan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

. His military endeavors were successful and had pushed the South Korean and UN forces down to the

Pusan Perimeter The Battle of the Pusan Perimeter ( ko, 부산 교두보 전투) was a large-scale battle between United Nations Command (UN) and North Korean forces lasting from August 4 to September 18, 1950. It was one of the first major engagements of the ...

, and on the morning of August 4, 1950, the North Korean's were ready to strike their final blow, and capture the last UN controlled area on the Peninsula. On August 4, the morning that began the

Battle of Pusan Perimeter The Battle of the Pusan Perimeter ( ko, 부산 교두보 전투) was a large-scale battle between United Nations Command (UN) and North Korean forces lasting from August 4 to September 18, 1950. It was one of the first major engagements of the ...

, General Kang was injured when his makeshift command post (an abandoned meat-packaging plant, selected for its thick concrete walls, originally constructed for refrigeration) was struck by a 500-pound bomb. The blast killed three people and wounded eight, one of whom was Kang. He had been in the radio room checking messages at the time of the explosion and suffered a head injury and a broken forearm.

Death

On September 8, 1950, General Kang and several others were killed by a

land mine A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

in Andong, Gyeongbuk, not far from his hometown. He was awarded “

Hero of the Republic Hero of the Republic () is a North Korean honorific title. It was created on 30 June 1950 as Hero of the Korean People's Republic (). It was the first title created in the country. Despite having been created just five days after the Korean War ...

” and two days after his death, Kim Il Sung held a funeral for his fallen, long-time comrade in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

Legacy

In 1968 Kim Il Sung built a statue for Kang, and there is a North Korean military school named after him,

Kang Kon Military Academy Kang Kon Military Academy ( ko, 강건종합군관학교) is a military educational institution located in the city of Pyongyang, in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The location is near Pyongyang International Airport. It was named after ...

.Suh, Dae-sook, ''Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader''. Chinchester, New York. 1988, Columbia University Press. p. 356.

References

External links

* , - {{Commanders of the Korean People's Army 1918 births 1950 deaths North Korean military personnel of the Korean War Military personnel killed in the Korean War North Korean generals Korean expatriates in the Soviet Union Landmine victims Members of the 2nd Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 1st Supreme People's Assembly People of 88th Separate Rifle Brigade