Pak Yong-sun (politician)

Pak Yong-sun (19 October 1905 – 18 August 1987) was a North Korean guerilla fighter, and later a politician after liberation, being a deputy to the Supreme People's Assembly and a member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.

Pak Yong-sun
박영순
Delegate to Supreme People's Assembly
2nd SPA
In office
1959 – 23 October 1962
3rd SPA
In office
22 October 1962 – 16 December 1967
4th SPA
In office
14 December 1967 – 25 December 1972
5th SPA
In office
25 December 1972 – 17 December 1977
6th SPA
In office
17 December 1977 – 5 April 1982
7th SPA
In office
5 April 1982 – 2 November 1986
8th SPA
In office
2 November 1986 – 18 August 1987
Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea
4th CC of WPK
In office
18 September 1961 – 13 November 1970
5th CC of WPK
In office
13 November 1970 – 14 October 1980
6th CC of WPK
In office
14 October 1980 – 18 August 1987
Personal details
Born(1905-10-19)October 19, 1905
Kyongwon County, North Hamgyong Province
DiedAugust 18, 1987(1987-08-18) (aged 81)
Awards
 ???? Hero of the Republic
 ???? Order of Kim Il Sung
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl
박영순
Hancha
朴英淳
Revised RomanizationBak Yeong-sun
McCune–ReischauerPak Yŏngsun

Early life edit

Pak Yong-sun was in Kyongwon, in North Hamgyong Province in either 19 October 1905 or 1909.[1][2] He completed primary school by 1919, and was subsequently sent to work in Kaolin mines near Hoeryong by 1924. In 1927, he entered joined Anti-Japanese movements, for which he was imprisoned in 1930. After being released around or before 1933, he moved to Jiandao,[2] and started producing weaponry for the anti-Japanese movements.[1] According to his recollections, he first met Kim Il Sung around this time, in November 1932 while he was in a secret munitions workshop, who encouraged him to further the process of constructing weaponry.[3] As a result, he became a member of the guerilla unit in the Yanji area under Kim Il Sung from 1934.[2] He operated a secret camp from 1936 in Musong-hyon to support the rear of the guerilla effort.[1] He was known as a master of the 'Yanji bomb', a gunpowder-filled improvised explosive device used against the Japanese.[4]

Career edit

In 1945, during the liberation of Korea, he marched into Pyongyang as part of the 88th brigade of independence, Far Eastern Army.[2] He first entered politics in 1946, becoming the vice chairman of the Chongjin city committee. From 1946, he was the director of communications for the Ministry of State Security. In his position, he helped the establishment of the Korean People's Army, by attending conferences on the formation of a regular army.[2]

Pak Yong-sun was first elected to the second Supreme People's Assembly in 1959, then elected to the fourth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. He was reelected to both positions repeatedly until his death in 1987.[2] During the 4th Supreme People's Assembly, he was also the minister for communications,[5] and he was described as an expert of telecommunications.[2]

He was the museum director of the Korean Revolution Museum since either 1973 or January 1971.[2][1]

He led several delegations of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly on a number of unofficial overseas visits to East Germany, China, the USSR, Romania and Czechoslovakia.[2]

He is known to have been awarded both the Order of Kim Il Sung and Hero of the Republic; however, the date when it was awarded is unknown.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e "북한지역정보넷". www.cybernk.net. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "박영순(朴英淳)". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  3. ^ "로동신문박영순동지의 회상실기 《하자고 결심만 하면 못해낼 일이 없다》중에서". rodong.rep.kp. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  4. ^ "《조선의 오늘》". DPRK Today. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  5. ^ Suh, Dae-sook (1981). Korean Communism 1945–1980: A Reference Guide to the Political System (1st ed.). University Press of Hawaii. pp. 412–417. ISBN 0-8248-0740-5.