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Paik Sun Yup

Paik Sun-yup
백선엽
白善燁
ROKA General Paik Sun Yup July 27th 2011 CE.jpg
Paik in July 2011.
Born (1920-11-23) November 23, 1920 (age 96)
Kangsŏ-gun, Japanese Korea
(now Nampho, South Pyongan Province, North Korea)
Allegiance  Manchukuo
 South Korea
Service/branch  Manchukuo Imperial Army
Korean Constabulary
 Republic of Korea Army
Years of service 1944-1945
1945-1946
1946-1960
Rank First Lieutenant
First Lieutenant
General
Commands held 5th Infantry Regiment
5th Infantry Division
1st Infantry Division
I Corps
II Corps
First Republic of Korea Army
Republic of Korea Army
Republic of Korea Armed Forces
Battles/wars

World War II
Korean War

Paik Sun-yup
Hangul 백선엽
Hanja
Revised Romanization Baek Seon-yeop
McCune–Reischauer Paek Sŏnyŏp

World War II
Korean War

Paik Sun-yup (Korean: 백선엽, Hanja: 白善燁) (born November 23, 1920) is a retired South Korean military officer. He served both Manchukuo and South Korea, the latter during the Korean War.

Paik is known for his service during the Korean War and for being the first four-star general in the history of the South Korean military. His brother, Paik In-Yeop, also served in the Republic of Korea Army during the Korean War, commanding the 17th Independent Regiment at the Battle of Ongjin and again in the Inchon Landings.

Paik was born in Kangsŏ-gun, South P'yŏngan, currently the city of Nampo, on November 23, 1920, during a time when Korea was under Japanese rule. He was born the eldest of three siblings, with a younger sister and brother, being raised by a widowed mother. In 1925 the Paik family moved to Pyongyang where it lived under extremely poor conditions in a single, rented room. Unable to feed her family, Paik's mother attempted to take the children and commit family suicide by jumping from the Taedong River bridge but was dissuaded from doing so by her older sister.

Paik's mother and sister soon took jobs at a rubber factory to pay for his schooling. He attended Mansu Primary School for four years before transferring to Yaksong Primary School. After, he spent five years in Pyongyang Normal School, training to be a teacher in 1939.


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