Wonsu
.svg/300px-Generalissimo_rank_insignia_(North_Korea).svg.png)
Wonsu is a very high military rank of the armed forces of the Republic
of Korea and of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.[1]
Contents
1 North Korea
2 South Korea
3 Meaning
4 See also
5 References
5.1 Citations
5.2 Sources
North Korea[edit]
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North Korean dae wonsu insignia
North Korean konghwaguk wonsu insignia
North Korean wonsu insignia
North Korean chasu insignia
Wonsu
.svg/300px-Generalissimo_rank_insignia_(North_Korea).svg.png)
Wonsu is a rank in the
Korean People's Army

Korean People's Army of North Korea, equivalent
to marshal in other armies. This rank is held by all Supreme Leaders
of the DPRK.
While he was the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, Kim Il
Sung became North Korea's first marshal during the Korean War by the
decision of the Supreme People's Assembly, the unicameral parliament
of North Korea, on February 4, 1953. Period photographic evidence
demonstrates that the early marshal shoulder board rank insignia was
the same as that of the current vice marshal shoulder boards (a large
star overlain with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
coat-of-arms).
The rank of vice marshal (chasu) is unique to the North Korean ranking
system. Vice marshal was first conferred in February 1953 on Choe Yong
Gon. Sources suggest that the shoulder board rank insignia for marshal
and vice marshal then became a single large star without the state
coat-of-arms (for marshals) and the state coat-of-arms without a star
(for vice marshals)[citation needed]. By the time the next conferral
of rank to vice marshal was awarded (1985), the shoulder board rank
insignia for marshal and vice marshal had taken on their current
design.
The next change in the DPRK marshal ranks took place in 1992 when the
rank of dae wonsu or grand marshal (full title grand marshal of the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea) was created for Kim Il Sung. At
this time the rank of marshal was divided into two ranks: the rank of
marshal with the title "marshal of the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea" (konghwaguk wonsu) was conferred upon Kim Il Sung's son Kim
Jong-il, and the same rank but with the title "marshal of the Korean
People's Army" was conferred upon O Jin U. In 1995, two other military
officers were conferred the rank of marshal with the title "marshals
of the Korean People's Army", i.e.
Choe Kwang and Ri Ul-sol. Insignia
of rank of the two grades of marshal are different (with the insignia
for marshal of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea being more
like that of grand marshal—the grand marshal insignia has a larger
wreath encompassing the marshal's star—but is smaller as it is below
the star itself).
Also, in 1992 eight other generals were promoted to vice marshal at
which time in
North Korea

North Korea there was one grand marshal, one marshal of
the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, one marshal of the Korean
People's Army and eight vice marshals.
The rank (as marshal of the DPRK) was bestowed to
Kim Jong-un

Kim Jong-un in 2012.
On April 15, 2016,
Kim Yong-chun and
Hyon Chol-hae were promoted to
the rank of
Marshal

Marshal of the Korean People's Army, the first promotions
of active duty officers after 21 years.
South Korea[edit]
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South Korean wonsu insignia
Wonsu, known in English as "General of the Army of the Republic of
Korea" or "Admiral of the Fleet of the Republic of Korea", is the
highest military rank of the Republic of Korea (ROK) armed forces and
is the combined equivalent of a field marshal, fleet admiral and
marshal of the Air Force in other nations. The rank is senior to that
of daejang.
Wonsu
.svg/300px-Generalissimo_rank_insignia_(North_Korea).svg.png)
Wonsu only exists on paper, and has never been held by an
officer of the South Korean Armed Forces. According to the Armed
Forces Personnel Act of National Defense Law of the Republic of Korea,
the wonsu is appointed from the daejang who has distinguished
achievements.
The South Korean rank insignia for wonsu is heavily influenced by
United States military insignia, in that a five-star pentagon design
is used very similar to the U.S. rank of General of the Army and
General of the Air Force

General of the Air Force for Army and Air Force officers deserving to
be given the rank. While the rank insignia for the Navy remains the
same the sleeve insignia for a naval officer promoted to the rank is
the same sleeve insignia of
Fleet admiral used in the United States
Navy.
Meaning[edit]
Coincidentally, wonsu is also a word meaning "mortal enemy" (怨讐).
The two words have different etymologies and hanja, but in South Korea
are homophonous and so are written identically in hangul. In North
Korea, the government has addressed the issue by changing the word for
"enemy" to "wonssu" (원쑤).[2]
See also[edit]
North Korea

North Korea portal
South Korea

South Korea portal
Yuan Shuai, the Chinese equivalent, written identically in Hanja/Hanzi
Military of South Korea
Military of North Korea
Six-star rank
References[edit]
Citations[edit]
^ Chung-in Moon, Understanding regime dynamics in North
KoreaInternational Political Science Association. World Congress -
1998 Page 105 "Kim Jong Il.. ... which places him at the top of the
party hierarchy, he holds the titles of the chairman of the National
Defense Commission and the supreme commander of the Korean People's
Army (KPA). He is, moreover, one of the two marshals (wonsu) in the
DPRK, the other being Li Ul Sol who heads the KPA unit that guards top
officials (honvi ch'ongguk)."
^ Sohn 2006, p. 38
Sources[edit]
Sohn, Ho-min (2006), Korean language in culture and society,
University of Hawaii Press, ISBN 978-0-8248-2694-9
v
t
e
Highest military ranks
General officer
Flag officer
Air officer
Imperator
Marshal

Marshal of Italy
Generalissimo
Generalissimus of the Soviet Union
Supreme Allied Commander
Admiral of the Navy
General of the Armies
General of the Air Force
Generalfeldmarschall
Mareşal
Marshal

Marshal of the air force
Marshal

Marshal of the Soviet Union
Marshal

Marshal of the Russian Federation
Mushir
Magister militum
Spahbed
Ispahsalar
Beylerbey
Bojni Vojvoda
Chom Thap Thai
Constable of France
Domestic of the Schools
Grand Domestic
Shōgun
Dux bellorum
Grand marshal
Hetman
Jenderal besar
Polemarch
Reichsmarschall
Federal General of Switzerland
Sardar
Serasker
Autokrator
First marshal of the empire
Da yuan shuai
Dai-gensui
Taewonsu
Yuan shuai
Wonsu
Marshal

Marshal of Yugoslavia
v
t
e
Star officer grades
General officer
Flag officer
Air officer
By star ranks
Six-star rank

Six-star rank (proposed)
Five-star rank
Four-star rank
Three-star rank
Two-star rank
One-star rank
By titles
Generalissimo
Generalissimus of the Soviet Union
Supreme Allied Commander
Admiral of the Navy
General of the Armies
Generalfeldmarschall
Field marshal
Mareşal
Marshal

Marshal of the air force
Marshal

Marshal of the Russian Federation
Marshal

Marshal of the Soviet Union
Mushir
Caudillo
Magister militum
Spahbed
Ispahsalar
Beylerbey
Constable of France
Grand Domestic
Dux bellorum
Grand marshal
Hetman
Jenderal besar
Reichsmarschall
Sardar
Serasker
Strategos autokrator
First marshal of the empire
Dai-gensui
Taewonsu
Voivoda
Wonsu
Yuan Shuai
Da yuan shuai
Mar