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Korean Liberation Army
Flag of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
Active	1940–1946
Allegiance	Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
Branch	Infantry
Type	Infantry
Role	Guerrilla warfare, special operations
Size	339
Part of	National Revolutionary Army ( Kuomintang) (~1944)
Motto(s)	"대한독립만세" (Korean) "Long live the Korean Independence"
March	Le Chant des Partisans
Commanders
President	Baekbeom Kim Koo
Commandant	Ji Cheong-cheon
Notable commanders	Lee Bum-suk, Kim Won-bong Kim Hak-gyu Park Si-chang Kim Hong-il
Insignia
Coat of arms

Korean Liberation Army
Korean Liberation Army
Korean name
Hangul	한국광복군
Hanja	韓國光復軍
Revised Romanization	Han(-)guk Gwangbokgun
McCune–Reischauer	Han'guk Kwangbokkun

The Korean Liberation Army, established on September 17, 1940 in Chungking, China, was the armed force of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. Its commandant was General Ji Cheong-cheon, with General Lee Beom-seok, a hero of the Battle of Cheongsanri and future prime minister of South Korea as the Chief of Staff. Effectively a part of the Chinese forces upon which it was dependent, the army was limited by available manpower and did not get much above 339 strong. The KLA became the basis of the modern day Republic of Korea Armed Forces.

Early days[edit]

The KLA brought together many Korean guerrilla armies that proliferated in northern Korea, Manchuria and mainland China during the 1920s. After the declaration of war by the Provisional Government against Japan and Germany on December 9, 1941, the units of the KLA participated on the allied side in the Chinese and Southeast Asian theatres. The Regulation regarding the activities of the Korean Liberation Army, imposed by the Chinese Nationalist Government upon the provisional government in 1941, placed the KLA under the supreme authority of the Commander-in-chief of the Chinese army. This regulation was repealed in 1944, after the provisional government had achieved improved financial standing and greater importance in the eyes of the Chinese government.

The KLA was not idle during this period. The KLA sent troops to fight alongside British soldiers in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II by request of British Army, including the outskirts of Burma and India (Especially, Battle of Imphal in Burma Campaign). In 1943, socialist-aligned guerrilla groups joined the KLA, and their leader, General Kim Wonbong, became the deputy commandant of the KLA. Its numbers were continuously boosted by the influx of Koreans escaping from the Japanese army (into which some in mainland Korea had been impressed) and through the recruitment of Koreans living in China. From its humble beginnings with an officer corps of 30 men at its foundation in 1941, the KLA grew to a substantial force with 339 in active service by the end of the war.

End of the War[edit]

KLA Soldier

In 1945, the KLA was working in cooperation with the US Office of Strategic Services to train men for specialist military operations within Korea. The leading units were due to depart on August 20, with General Lee in command. However, the aspiration of the KLA to play a significant role in the liberation of Korea from Japanese occupation was not fulfilled, as Japan unconditionally surrendered to the Allies on August 15. Three days later, a helicopter^{[citation needed]} carrying twenty-odd members of the KLA landed in Seoul, only to be forced back by the Japanese military, which refused to surrender until US military forces arrived.

Post-war[edit]

Lee Beom-seok with Korean Liberation Army and OSS agents.

The members of the KLA returned to Korea during late 1945 and 1946. Many of its members, including Generals Ji and Lee, became part of the South Korean government, while General Kim contributed to the North Korean regime of Kim Il-sung, who himself claimed to have been a KLA commander.

There has been a movement in South Korea for years to change the National Armed Forces Day from October 1 to September 17 in honor of the foundation of the Korean Liberation Army in 1941.

Army Ranks[edit]

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  General (정장)
  

  
  

  
  


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  Lieutenant General (부장)
  

  
  

  
  


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  Major General (참장)
  

  
  

  
  


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  Colonel (정령)
  

  
  

  
  


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  Lieutenant Colonel (중령)
  

  
  

  
  


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  Major (참령)
  

  
  

  
  


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  Captain (정위)
  

  
  

  
  


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  First Lieutenant (부위)
  

  
  

  
  


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  Second Lieutenant (부사)
  

  
  

  
  


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  Warrant Officer (준위)
  

  
  

  
  


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  Master Gunnery Sergeant (특무상사)
  

  
  

  
  


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  Master Sergeant (상사)
  

  
  

  
  


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  Sergeant First Class (중사)
  

  
  

  
  


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  Staff Sergeant (하사)
  

  
  

  
  


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  Corporal (상등병)
  

  
  

  
  


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  Private First Class (일등병)
  

  
  

  
  


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  Private (이등병)
  

  
  

  
  

See also[edit]

• List of Korea-related topics


• History of Korea


• Korean independence movement


• Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea


• Righteous army