d'Vinci
Mu Jeong
Active in the anti-Japanese guerrilla movement in the 1930s, Mu Jeong was purged during the Korean War (1950-53).
MU JEONG (1905-c. 1951). Active in the anti-Japanese guerrilla movement in the 1930s, Mu Jeong was purged during the Korean War (1950-53). He was born in North Hamgyeong Province, but moved to China. He studied at the Henan Military Academy, becoming an expert in artillery warfare. He fought with the Chinese Nationalist forces for a time, but later joined the Chinese Communist Party and may have taken part in the 1934-35 Long March. By 1939, he had organized a Korean military unit to fight with the Chinese against the Japanese. In 1942, he played a leading role in the formation of the North China Korean Independence League and commanded the Korean Volunteer Army. The Chinese communist leadership regarded him as the key figure among Korean revolutionaries who became known as the Yeon-an (often spelled as Yanan) faction. He returned to Korea in 1945 but lost his independent power base when Soviet forces disarmed the Korean Volunteer Army as it crossed the border from China. He held office in the northern branch of the Korean Communist Party and later in the North Korean Workers' Party. When the Korean armed forces were being organized under Soviet auspices in 1946, he became head of the artillery corps. On the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, he was in charge of the Second Army Corps, defending Pyongyang. However, he retreated to China when the United Nations Command swept north in October 1950 in order to regroup his forces. In December 1950, he was charged with incompetence and insubordination for having failed to defend Pyongyang and was stripped of his rank and position. For a time he was apparently in charge of the construction of the Moranbong Underground Theater, but died soon afterward. Mu's links with the Chinese make it likely that Kim Il Sung was anxious to have him and his Yeon-an faction out of the way as the future of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was increasingly dependent on the Chinese.
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. (Historical Dictionary of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, by James E. Hoare, published by RLPG Books, appears by permission of the author and publisher).
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. (Historical Dictionary of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, by James E. Hoare, published by RLPG Books, appears by permission of the author and publisher).
