미국 군인에게 수여된 대한민국 태극무공훈장 분석

Analysis of the Republic of Korea’s Taegeuk Military Merit Awarded to American Soldiers: Focused on the Comparison with American Medal of Honor

This paper analyzes Republic of Korea(ROK) s records of the Taegeuk Military Merit awarded to American soldiers for the first twenty-five years since the medal was introduced. Specifically, it examines the criteria that ROK government considered to award the highest medal to American soldiers, and analyzes how the criteria differed from those applied to Korean soldiers. In addition, comparing these with the criteria of awarding the Medal of Honor awarded by the US government to its own soldiers, this paper examines the differences between the two countries’ military medal systems. According to official records on the highest medal from two governments, American Medal of Honors were awarded to United States soldiers who made achievement through heroic combat actions or who showed a sublime spirit of sacrifice regardless of their rank. On the other hand, most of Korean Taegeuk Military Merit were given to American soldiers based on their ranks and positions, without considering their combat achievement and/or sacrifice.