(; ) is the rank usually held by

enlisted personnel An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States m ...

in some

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...

n militaries. The ranks are used in both the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, and both

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

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 ...

. The rank name is based on the on one of the four ancient occupations.

Etymology

The Sino-Korean word component "" means "soldier" literally, used in a wide variety of words related with soldiers, like in ( ko, 부상병;

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

: , ), but rarely (usually in technical context in armed forces) ''per se''. s, who work closely with their US military counterparts, are frequently addressed as "sergeant" or the equivalent E-5 term in English by the U.S. military. This varies however by unit. In a similar vein, some US E-5s are called ''hasa'' by the ROKA members, as their status is one of an NCO.

History

The various ranks of are denoted by stripes worn laterally on a service member's left sleeve. An even lower rank, that of '' mudeungbyeong'' ( ko, 무등병;

: , ), also known as ''hullyeonbyeong'' ( ko, 훈련병;

: , ), is usually believed to be held by enlisted

recruit __NOTOC__ Recruit can refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * '' Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Books *''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (E ...

s in

basic training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique deman ...

, and those recruits are not allowed to have any insignia on their uniform until they finish the training course, but they are actually regarded to be ''ideungbyeong'' (the lowest ''byeong'' rank) officially. In most comparative military scales, a is considered the equivalent of a

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

equal to a

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

. The South Korean military, however, does not generally grant NCO powers to a service member until obtaining the rank of ''

hasa Hasa may refer to: * Hasa (Korean military), a rank in the Korean military * Hasa, Al Madinah, Saudi Arabia * Hearing and Speech Agency of Baltimore * Hasa of Eshtemoa (3rd–4th century CE), Jewish scholar * Hasa oasis, a historical region now i ...

''. Still, in South Korea is exceptionally considered as an NCO when holding the squad leader position. The word ''byeong'' (soldier) has a natural context that personnel in those ranks are not in commanding responsibilities, thus not NCOs at all. They are strictly distinguished from the ranks above in many respects. Personnel with ranks of ''

'' or above are called ''ganbu'' ( ko, 간부;

: , ), as an antonym of ''byeong''.

South Korean military The Republic of Korea Armed Forces (), also known as the ROK Armed Forces, are the armed forces of South Korea. The ROK Armed Forces is one of the largest and most powerful standing armed forces in the world with a reported personnel strength o ...

are retained by the

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

system. If a person is enlisted to an armed force and has not applied for NCO or officer, then his highest rank until he finishes the mandatory service term (21 months in case of the

ROK Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...

Etymology

History

Chinese variant

People's Liberation Army

Republic of China Armed Forces

Korean variant

See also

References