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The Yan'an faction () were a group of pro-China communists in the
North Korean government In the North Korean government, the Cabinet is the administrative and executive body. The North Korean government consists of three branches: administrative, legislative, and judicial. However, they are not independent of each other, but al ...
after the division of Korea following
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. The group was involved in a power struggle with pro-Soviet factions but
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 ...
was eventually able to defeat both factions and dominate the North Korean government, allowing him to push for unification during the
Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...
. "Yeonan" is the Korean reading of
Yan'an Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an) ...
, a town in China that formed the base of the
Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...
during the
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...
. Led first by
Mu Chong Mu Chong (, 1904–1952), born Kim Mu-chong (), was a Korean communist, independence activist, general and statesman of North Korea. He had been living in China for years when he joined the Chinese Communist Party fighting against the Japan ...
and then by
Kim Tu-bong Kim Tu-bong (16 February 1889 – March 1958 or later) was the first Chairman of the Workers' Party of North Korea (a predecessor of today WPK) from 1946 to 1949. He was known in Korean history as a linguist, scholar, revolutionary and poli ...
and
Choe Chang-ik Choe Chang-ik (, 1896 – 1960) was a Korean politician in the Japanese colonial era. He was a member of the Korean independence movement. He was also known by the names Choe Chang-sok (최창석, 崔昌錫), Choe Chang-sun (최창순, 崔昌淳) ...
, the Korean exiles had lived in China's
Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...
province and joined the
Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...
whose regional headquarters were at Yan'an. They had formed their own party, in exile, the "North-Chinese League for the Independence of Korea". In the autumn of 1945, the Soviet Union allowed some 4,000 Koreans who had joined the Chinese communist movement to fight with the
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...
to return to North Korea, though they disarmed them. They then formed the New People's Party which merged with the Communist Party in 1946 to form the
Workers Party of North Korea The Workers' Party of North Korea () was a communist party in North Korea from 1946 to 1949 and was a predecessor of the current Workers' Party of Korea. It was founded at a congress on 28–30 August 1946, by the merger of the northern bran ...
. Many members of the Yan'an faction had fought in the Chinese
Eighth Route Army The Eighth Route Army (), officially known as the 18th Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, was a group army under the command of the Chinese Communist Party, nominally within the structure of the Chines ...
and
New Fourth Army The New Fourth Army () was a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China established in 1937. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and not by the ruling Ku ...
and thus had close relations with
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...
.


Influence

The group included thirty Korean People's Army (KPA) generals by the time the Korean War started.
Mu Chong Mu Chong (, 1904–1952), born Kim Mu-chong (), was a Korean communist, independence activist, general and statesman of North Korea. He had been living in China for years when he joined the Chinese Communist Party fighting against the Japan ...
was vice marshal at the Ministry of Defence,
Pak Il-u Pak Il-u ( ko, 박일우, 1903–1955) was a Korean independence activist and a politician. Following the formal establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, he was the first Minister of Interior in the North Korean Cabinet. B ...
was minister of internal affairs, and deputy commander North Korea-China Combined Forces Command.
Kim Ung Kim Ung ( or ; 1912 – ?) was a North Korean general and vice-minister of defence. He was a member of the Yan'an faction. Chinese military Kim fled China to avoid the Japanese occupation, and was trained at the Whampoa Military Academy in ...
was KPA front commander in 1951, Pang Ho-san, Lee Kwon-mu and Kim Chang-dok were corps commanders.


List

*
Kim Tu-bong Kim Tu-bong (16 February 1889 – March 1958 or later) was the first Chairman of the Workers' Party of North Korea (a predecessor of today WPK) from 1946 to 1949. He was known in Korean history as a linguist, scholar, revolutionary and poli ...
*
Choe Chang-ik Choe Chang-ik (, 1896 – 1960) was a Korean politician in the Japanese colonial era. He was a member of the Korean independence movement. He was also known by the names Choe Chang-sok (최창석, 崔昌錫), Choe Chang-sun (최창순, 崔昌淳) ...
*
Mu Chong Mu Chong (, 1904–1952), born Kim Mu-chong (), was a Korean communist, independence activist, general and statesman of North Korea. He had been living in China for years when he joined the Chinese Communist Party fighting against the Japan ...
* Ho Jong-suk *
Pak Il-u Pak Il-u ( ko, 박일우, 1903–1955) was a Korean independence activist and a politician. Following the formal establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, he was the first Minister of Interior in the North Korean Cabinet. B ...
* Han Pin * Yun Kong-hum * So Hwi * Kim Chang-man *
Kim Won-bong Kim Won-bong (김원봉, 金元鳳 – 1958) was a Korean anarchist, independence activist, communist, and statesman from North Korea. Biography Kim Won-bong was born in 1898, in Miryang, Gyeongsangnam-Do province, Korea. His father was Kim Ju ...


References


Citations


Sources

* Bragg, Christine: ''Korea, Vietnam and US Foreign Policy 1945-75'', Heinemann, 2005
Noack, David: ''Das Wendejahr'' (The turn-around year)
''
junge Welt ''Junge Welt'' (English: ''Young World'', stylized in its logo as ''junge Welt'') is a German daily newspaper, published in Berlin. The jW describes itself as a left-wing and Marxist newspaper. German authorities categorize it as a far-left medi ...
'', 3 December 2011 {{China–North Korea relations History of the Workers' Party of Korea Organizations associated with the Chinese Communist Party Political history of North Korea China–North Korea relations