The Order of the National Flag () is the second highest order of North Korea, after the

Order of Kim Il-sung The Order of Kim Il-sung () is the highest order of North Korea, along with the Order of Kim Jong-il, and only second to one honorary title, the Hero of Labour. The order, named after the country's first leader Kim Il-sung, was instituted in 1 ...

and the

Order of Kim Jong-il The Order of Kim Jong-il () is a North Korean order named after Kim Jong-il, the former leader of North Korea. It is the highest order of North Korea, along with the Order of Kim Il-Sung, and only second to one honorary title, the Hero of Labo ...

. 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 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

Hero of 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 ...

and various . The Order of the National Flag is also awarded to recipients of the

Order of Freedom and Independence The Order of Freedom and Independence () is one of the highest Orders and medals of North Korea, North Korean orders. It is divided into two classes: the first class is awarded to commanders and partisan units of brigades, divisions, and higher ...

and

Order of Soldier's Honor The Soldier's Medal of Honour ( ko, 전사의 영예 훈장) was instituted on July 1, 1950. The order is a military award of North Korea given to soldiers and guerrillas for combat bravery or leadership of troops in battle. Designed along the ...

in the appropriate class. Recipients are entitled to benefits such as a salary or free public transport. Domestic recipients include both

leaders Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...

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 ...

and other notables. Foreign recipients include politicians such as

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in t ...

and

Siad Barre Mohamed Siad Barre ( so, Maxamed Siyaad Barre, Osmanya script: ; ar, محمد سياد بري; c. 1910 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali head of state and general who served as the 3rd president of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 199 ...

History

When the order was instituted on 12 October 1948, six weeks after the foundation of the

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 ...

n state, it was the first and highest order of the country. It is named after the

flag of North Korea The flag of North Korea, also known as the Ramhongsaek Konghwagukgi ( ko, 람홍색공화국기; literally "blue and red-coloured flag of the republic"), sometimes known as the flag of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, consists of a c ...

Eligibility

It can be awarded to individuals and to organizations or workplaces for achievements in military service or political, cultural, or economic work. It is also awarded to officers 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 ...

for longstanding service (25 years for the first class, 20 years for the second class and 15 years for the third class). Those who are awarded the title of

are always awarded with the Order of the National Flag as well, as are laureates of . Recipients of the

receive the Order of the National Flag of the same class, but

recipients receive the Order of the National Flag in a lower class. Recipients have the right to use public transport free of charge. Disabled and retired recipients receive an annual salary along with the order.

Precedence

The Order of the National Flag is the second highest order of North Korea, after the

and the

, which share the first place. The order has three classes.

Recipients

North Korean recipients

(6 February 1951, first class; 28 July 1953, first class) *

Han Sorya Han Sorya ( ko, 한설야, born Han Pyŏngdo; 3 August 1900 – 6 April 1976) was a Korean writer, literary administrator and politician who spent much of his career in North Korea. Regarded as one of the most important fiction writers in North ...

(26 April 1951, second class) * Im Hwa (26 April 1951, second class) *

Cho Ki-chon Cho Ki-chon ( ko, 조기천; 6 November 1913 – 31 July 1951) was a Russian-born North Korean poet. He is regarded as a national poet and "founding father of North Korean poetry" whose distinct Soviet-influenced style of lyrical epic po ...

(26 April 1951, second class) *

Ri Ki-yong Ri Ki-yong (also Lee Gi-yeong; May 6, 1896 – August 9, 1984) was a Korean novelist. Life Ri Ki-yong was born in Asan, Chunchongnam-do in Korea. He wrote under the name Minchon. Ri attended the Seiisku School of English in Tokyo, Japan, He wor ...

(26 April 1951, second class) * Yi T'aejun (26 April 1951, second class) * Kim Chogyu (26 April 1951, third class) * Pak Unggŏl (26 April 1951, third class) * Shin Kosong (26 April 1951, third class) *

Pak Chong-ae Pak or PAK may refer to: Places * Pakistan (country code PAK) * Pak, Afghanistan * Pak Island, in the Admiralty Islands group of Papua New Guinea * Pak Tea House, a café in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan Arts and entertainment * PAK (band), an Am ...

(July 1953, second class; first class) *

Thae Byong-ryol Thae Byong-ryol (; 1916-December 29, 1986), General of the Korean People ’s Army (April 1992). On October 1980 elected by the First Plenary Session of the 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea he was elected a member of the Centra ...

* Jang Chol (August 1961, first class) * Ri Tu-il (June 1968, first class) * Kim Ryong-yong (January 1976, first class) * Choe Sam-suk (1982, first class) *

(1982, first class) * Jong Chang-ryol (June 1986, first class) * Kim Su-jo (October 1989, first class) *

Paek Hak-rim Paek Hak-rim (October 1918 – October 5, 2006) was the Deputy Director of the North Korean Ministry of Public Security. He occupied a number of high-ranking positions, including serving from 1998 to 2003 on the National Defense Commission. He ...

(April 1997, first class) *

Ri Ul-sol Ri Ul-sol (리을설; 14 September 19217 November 2015) was a North Korean politician and military official. He played an important role in the administrations of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, achieving the rank of Marshal of the Korean People's ...

(April 1997, first class) * O Ik-je (September 1997, first class) *

Jon Pyong-ho Jon Pyong-ho (, 20 March 1926 – 7 July 2014) was a North Korean officer and politician who served as the Chief Secretary of the Korean Workers Party (KWP) Committee of the North Korean Cabinet, and director of the DPRK Cabinet Political Burea ...

(February 1998, first class) *

Ryu Mi-yong Ryu Mi-yong (14 February 1921 – 23 November 2016) was the chairwoman of the North Korean Chondoist Chongu Party. She was a standing committee member of the 10th Supreme People's Assembly. She was known as a South Korean defectors, defector fro ...

(January 1991, first class) *

Han Duk-su Han Deok-su (1907–2001) founded the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, *

Hyon Yong-chol Hyon Yong-chol (; January 11, 1949 – rumored April 30, 2015) was a North Korean general and Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) politician. He served as Minister of Defence from 2014 to 2015. In 2015, he was reportedly removed from his post. Perso ...

(eight times first class, five times second class, and twice third class) * Kim Ryong Rin (nine times first class) *

Jo Myong-rok Jo Myong-lok (12 July 1928 – 6 November 2010) was a North Korean military officer who held the military rank Chasu (Vice Marshal). In 1998, he was appointed First Vice-Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea, Director ...

(first class) * Kim Jung-rin (first class) *

Kim Rak-hui Kim Rak-hui (, 11 November 1933 – February 2013) was a North Korean politician. Kim worked in the agricultural and cooperatives section for most of her working life. During the Korean War, her efforts in rationing caught the attention of Kim I ...

(first class) *

Lee Kwon-mu Lee Kwon-mu ( ko, 리권무, Hanja: ), also known as Yi Kwon-mu or Ri Gwon-mu (1914–1986?), was a North Korean People's Army general officer during the Korean War. He commanded a division, and later a corps, on the front line of the conflict ...

(first class) *

Ri Jong-ok Ri Jong-ok (10 January 1916 – 23 September 1999) was a North Korean politician who served as the Premier of North Korea from 1977 to 1984. He was elected to the Presidium at the 6th WPK Congress in 1980. He was appointed as Vice President o ...

(first class) * 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 Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...

. The crew attempted to salvage the ship's portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. *

Pyongyang University of Music and Dance The Pyongyang University of Music and Dance is a North Korean performing arts university founded in July 1972 in the Taedonggang District of Pyongyang from a merge with the Pyongyang Art College. Its facilities include a full orchestra and a musi ...

(first class) *

Kigwancha Sports Club Kigwancha Sports Club or Kigwancha Sports Team (; ), known as Sinuiju Locomotive Sports Club is a North Korean multi-sports club belonging to the Korean State Railway and based in Sinuiju. It was established on 11 January 1956, and has been awar ...

(first class) * '' Chongnyon Jonwi'' (first class) *5th generator turbine of Sup'ung Dam (first class)

Foreign recipients

Peng Dehuai Peng Dehuai (; October 24, 1898November 29, 1974) was a prominent Chinese Communist military leader, who served as China's Defense Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was born into a poor peasant family, and received several years of primary edu ...

(China, 1951 and 1953, first class) *

Nureddin al-Atassi Noureddin Mustafa Ali al-Atassi ( ar, نور الدين مصطفى الأتاسي, translit=Nūr ad-Dīn Muṣṭafā al-'Atasī, 11 January 1929 – 3 December 1992) was President of Syria from February 1966 to November 1970. Early life and ...

(

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, September 1969, first class) *

(

Democratic Republic of Somalia The Somali Democratic Republic ( so, Jamhuuriyadda Dimuqraadiya Soomaaliyeed; ar, الجمهورية الديمقراطية الصومالية, ; it, Repubblica Democratica Somala) was the name that the socialist military government gave to So ...

, 1972, first class) *

Gnassingbé Eyadéma Gnassingbé Eyadéma (; born Étienne Gnassingbé, 26 December 1935 – 5 February 2005) was the president of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005, after which he was immediately succeeded by his son, Faure Gnassingbé. Eyadéma participated i ...

(

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

, September 1974, first class) *

Samora Machel Samora Moisés Machel (29 September 1933 – 19 October 1986) was a Mozambican military commander and political leader. A socialist in the tradition of Marxism–Leninism, he served as the first President of Mozambique from the country's ...

(

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, March 1975, first class) *

Ferdinand Kozovski Ferdinand Todorov Kozovski ( bg, Фердинанд Тодоров Козовски; 27 January 1892 – 12 September 1965) was a Bulgarian communist politician and Lieutenant General in the Bulgarian Army who served as Chairman of the National Ass ...

(Bulgarian

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Bulgarian army The Bulgarian Land Forces ( bg, Сухопътни войски на България, Sukhopŭtni voĭski na Bŭlgariya, lit=Ground Forces of Bulgaria) are the ground warfare branch of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The Land Forces were established ...

, deputy komander of Bulgarian army 1944-1945 in

Second world war 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 ...

, Chairman of National assembly of Bulgaria 1958-1965) *

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet Union, Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Gener ...

(

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, 18 December 1976, first class) *

Juvénal Habyarimana Juvénal Habyarimana (, ; 8 March 19376 April 1994) was a Rwandan politician and military officer who served as the second president of Rwanda, from 1973 until 1994. He was nicknamed ''Kinani'', a Kinyarwanda word meaning "invincible". An ethn ...

(

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

, 1978, first class) *

Choi Eun-hee Choi Eun-hee (; November 20, 1926 – April 16, 2018) was a South Korean actress, who was one of the country's most popular stars of the 1960s and 1970s. In 1978, Choi and her then ex-husband, movie director Shin Sang-ok, were abducted to North ...

(

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, 1983, first class) *

(

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, 1983, first class) *

Agatha Barbara Agatha Barbara, (11 March 1923 – 4 February 2002) was a Maltese politician, having served as a Labour Member of Parliament and Minister. She was the first woman to serve as president of Malta, and remains the longest-serving woman Member ...

(

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, August 1985, first class) *

Sam Nujoma Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma, (; born 12 May 1929) is a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first President of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a founding member and the first ...

(

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, 1992) *

(

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, 2006, first class) * Józef Borowiec, former director of the National Center of Education in ,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

* (

) *

Alejandro Cao de Benós Alejandro Cao de Benós de Les y Pérez (born 24 December 1974) is a Spanish political activist with close relations with North Korea. He is a Special Representative of the Foreign Ministry of North Korea. He is, according to himself, also the S ...

(

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

) * Ra Hun, Korean minority activist in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

(first class, second class, and twice third class) *

Megawati Sukarnoputri Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (; born 23 January 1947) is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004. She previously served as the eighth Vice President of Indonesia, vice president f ...

(

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, first class) *

Wojciech Jaruzelski Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski (; 6 July 1923 – 25 May 2014) was a Polish military officer, politician and ''de facto'' leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party be ...

(

, 1977, first class) *

Heinz Kessler Heinz Kessler or Heinz Keßler (26 January 1920 – 2 May 2017) was a German communist politician and military officer in East Germany. His career in the military started when he was conscripted into the Wehrmacht, the armed forces of Nazi Ger ...

(

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, July 1988, first class) *

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...

(

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, 25 August 1977, first class)''Bilo je časno živjeti s Titom''. RO Mladost, RO Prosvjeta, Zagreb, February 1981. (pg. 102) * (

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, 1978, second class) * Saleh Harsi Awad Al-Ban (

South Yemen South Yemen ( ar, اليمن الجنوبي, al-Yaman al-Janubiyy), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (, ), also referred to as Democratic Yemen (, ) or Yemen (Aden) (, ), was a communist state that existed from 1967 to 19 ...

, 1969, third class) *

Vajiralongkorn Vajiralongkorn ( th, วชิราลงกรณ; , ; born 28 July 1952) is the King of Thailand. He is the only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit. In 1972, at the age of 20, he was made crown prince by his father. After his ...

(

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, 1992, first class)

References

Citations

Works cited

* * * {{refend Orders, decorations, and medals of North Korea Awards established in 1948

History

Eligibility

Precedence

Recipients

North Korean recipients

Foreign recipients

See also

References

Citations

Works cited