View source for Taewonsu

{{Short description|Highest military rank in North Korea}}
{{Infobox military rank
| name           = ''Taewonsu''<br />Grand marshal
| image          = DPRK-Army-OF-12.svg
| image_size     = 80
| caption        = Shoulder boards for the rank of {{Transliteration|ko|taewŏnsu}}
| image2         = 
| image_size2    = 
| caption2       = 
| image3         = 
| image_size3    = 
| caption3       = 
| country        = {{flag|North Korea}}
| service branch = {{armed forces|North Korea}}
| abbreviation   = 
| rank           = 
| NATO rank      = 
| Non-NATO rank  = 
| formation      = April 1992
| abolished      = 
| higher rank    = None
| lower rank     = ''[[Wonsu|Konghwaguk Wonsu]]''{{efn|{{Korean|labels=no |hangul=공화국 원수 |hanja=共和國元帥}} }}<br />{{small|(Marshal of the Republic)}}
| equivalents    = 
| history        = 
}}
{{Infobox Korean name/auto|hangul=대원수|hanja=大元帥|auto=yes}}
'''''Taewonsu''''' ({{Korean|대원수|lit=[[grand marshal]]}}) is the highest possible [[Comparative military ranks of Korea|military rank of North Korea]] and is intended to be an honorific title for [[Kim Il Sung]], [[Kim Jong Il]] and [[Kim Jong Un]]. It is often confused with [[Wonsu|Marshal of the Republic]] and [[Wonsu|Marshal of the Korean People's Army]], but ranks above both.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Yi |first1=Wonju |title=S. Korea urges N. Korea to stop escalating tensions over Kim's pledge to bolster nuclear power |url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20220428005752325 |access-date=29 April 2022 |work=Yonhap News Agency |date=28 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref> The rank is senior to that of [[Wonsu]]. The title also exists in Chinese military history as ''[[Da yuan shuai|dàyuánshuài]]'' (same Sino-Korean characters {{lang|ko|大元帥}}), and was briefly taken by [[Sun Yat-sen]].<ref>The People's Liberation Army as organization: reference volume v 1.0 - Volume 1 - Page 30 James C. Mulvenon, Andrew N. D. Yang, Center for Asia-Pacific Policy (Rand Corporation) - 2002 "Rank Categories - Ranks 1. Generalissimo (dayuanshuai) 2. Marshal (yuanshuai) 3. General Grade (jiangguan).. "</ref><ref>China this century - Page 169 Rafe De Crespigny - 1992 "In 1917 Sun Yatsen took for a time the title dayuanshuai, which basically means 'commander-in-chief ; though it is a general term rather than a military rank, it was translated as "</ref>

==History==
The rank of ''taewonsu'' was created by a joint decision of the [[Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea|Central Committee]] and [[Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea|Central Military Commission]] of the [[Workers' Party of Korea]], the [[National Defence Commission]] and the [[Cabinet of North Korea|Central People's Committee]] in April 1992 to honor [[Kim Il-sung]] on his 80th birthday ([[Day of the Sun]]). In February 2012, his son and successor [[Kim Jong-il]] was awarded the title posthumously on the occasion of his official 70th birthday ([[Day of the Shining Star]]).
<ref>James Fleming  Broken Border - Page 22  2009 "President Kim Jong Il is a man of many titles: Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, Commander of the Armed Forces, Taewŏnsu (a seven–star general), Chairman of the National Defense Committee, General Secretary,{{nbsp}}..."</ref><ref>Armstrong, Charles: "The Role and Influence of Ideology". In Kyung-Ae Park, Scott Snyder (ed.) ''North Korea in Transition: Politics, Economy, and Society'' 2012 "Kim Jong Il{{nbsp}}... and on April 20th, 1992, he was named “Marshal” (Wonsu). Kim Il Sung had been named “Generalissimo” (Taewonsu){{nbsp}}..."</ref>

The insignia for ''taewonsu'' is similar to ''[[wonsu]]'' but with an added crest worn beneath the shoulder board's large marshal star (and an added crest added to the parade uniform's marshal star worn below the collar), below the [[Emblem of North Korea]]. The rank insignia is based on the rank of [[Generalissimo of the Soviet Union]].

==See also==
* ''[[Dayuanshuai]]'' in Chinese
* ''[[Dai-gensui]]'', the Japanese equivalent
* ''[[Wonsu]]'', a rank lower than ''Taewonsu''
* ''[[Gensui (disambiguation)|Gensui]]''

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091026234926/http://songunpoliticsstudygroup.org/0409/1/CUPP/05-06.JPG Image of Kim Il-sung in the ''taewŏnsu'' uniform]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110605055510/http://www.korea-dpr.com/dprk-60th-foundation/materials/imgkorea.jpg Image of Kim Jong-il ''wonsu'' and Kim Il-sung ''taewŏnsu'' shoulder/collar insignia and crests]

{{Highest Military Ranks}}
{{Star officer ranks}}
{{Italic title}}

[[Category:Military ranks of North Korea]]
[[Category:1992 establishments in North Korea]]