The Order of Military Merit (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The l ...

: 무공훈장) is the primary military decoration awarded by the

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

n government. It is awarded to a person who rendered "outstanding military services by participating in an action in time of war or in quasi-state of war or by performing his/her duty equivalent to combat, such as responding to the attack of an enemy in a contact area."

Grades

The Order of Military Merit is awarded in five classes and each of these has three grades. In descending order of rank, the classes are: ''Taeguk'' (태극), ''Eulji'' (을지), ''Chungmu'' (충무), ''Hwarang'' (화랑) en ''Inheon'' (인헌). Each class has a first, second or third grade, denoted respectively by a gold star (금색 별), silver star (실버 스타), or an unadorned ribbon.

Notable recipients

Taegeuk

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was ...

– General of the Army,

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

* Chappy Hakim – Air Chief Marshal,

Indonesian Air Force The Indonesian Air Force ( id, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara (TNI-AU), literally "''Indonesian National Military-Air Force''") sometimes shortened as IDAF / IdAF, is the aerial branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. The I ...

* Conrado Yap – Captain, Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK),

Philippine Army The Philippine Army (PA) ( Tagalog: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas''; in literal English: ''Army of the Ground of the Philippines''; in literal Spanish: ''Ejército de la Tierra de la Filipinas'') is the main, oldest and largest branch of the ...

* Maximo Young – Major, Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK),

* Young-Oak Kim –

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

* Homer Litzenberg –

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

William Westmoreland William Childs Westmoreland (March 26, 1914 – July 18, 2005) was a United States Army general, most notably commander of United States forces during the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968. He served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from ...

– General, United States Army * Frank Fort Everest – General,

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sig ...

* Horace Robertson –

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 ...

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

* Raoul Magrin-Vernerey –

,(acting

Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel ...

)

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

* Bill Speakman VC – Sergeant,

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkh ...

* Lee Han-Lim – Lieutenant General,

Republic of Korea 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 ...

* Chung-Shik YIM -

* Edward L Rowny – Lieutenant General of the Army,

* Chaplain Emil J. Kapaun - Captain, United States Army

Eulji

* Pham Van Dong – General, Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam * Chesty Puller – Lieutenant General, United States Marine Corps * William P. Yarborough – Lieutenant General, United States Army

Chungmu

* Han Moo-hyup – Major General,

* Charles Billingslea – Major General,

* Alfredo M. Santos – General,

Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ( fil, Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The ...

* James A. McDivitt – Brigadier General,

* Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. – Admiral,

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

* Phan Hoa Hiep – General, Armed Forces Republic of Vietnam * Denis Earp - Lieutenant General,

South African Air Force "Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

* AG Rangaraj, MVC - Lieutenant Colonel, Indian Army (60 Parachute Field Ambulance) * NB Banerjee, MVC - Major, Indian Army (60 Parachute Field Ambulance) * KC Chopra - Captain, Indian Army (60 Parachute Field Ambulance) * HS Parmar - Captain, Indian Army (60 Parachute Field Ambulance)

Hwarang

* Hugh M. Elwood – Lieutenant General,

* Wilbur F. Simlik – Major General,

* Alvin B. Conlin - Captain, United States Army, KMAG 1951 * John M. Ballantyne - Sergeant, United States Army, 31st Recon Company

Inheon

* Yoon Jang-ho – (Ha-sa) Staff Sergeant,

Republic of Korea Armed Forces 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 of ...

References

External links

Images of the Order of Military Merit
(in Korean with some English) {{Honors and decorations of South Korea Military Merit, Order Military Merit, Order *