Kim Hong-il (general)
Kim Hong-il (23 September 1898 – 8 August 1980) was a Korean independence activist and a general of the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Korean War, who later became a diplomat and politician in South Korea. Born in North Pyongan, he did his early schooling in China and Korea, and had a brief career as a teacher before his connections with the nascent Korean independence movement led to his imprisonment. He fled into exile in China in 1918, and served in the Kuomintang's National Revolutionary Army from 1926 to 1948, following which he moved to the newly-independent South Korea to join the Republic of Korea Army. He commanded South Korea's I Corps during the first year of the Korean War, and was then sent to Taipei as South Korea's ambassador to the Republic of China, which by then had retreated to Taiwan. His assignment there ultimately lasted nine years. He returned to South Korea in 1960 following the April Revolution which ended the rule of Syngman Rhee, and served briefly as Minister of Foreign Affairs under the Park Chung-hee junta. He ran for the National Assembly, first unsuccessfully in 1960 and 1963, and was then elected in 1967 and became a major figure in the opposition New Democratic Party.
Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il badges
Badges bearing the portrait of Kim Jong-il appeared in 1982, and many started to wear one alongside their Kim Il-sung badges. The first badge containing both Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il appeared in the 1980s, but is different from the present double badge reserved for security services cadres. Kim Jong-il badges were discontinued in the 1990s following his alleged remark: "How can I be presented on the same level as our sole 'sun', Kim Il Sung?". In 1992, in time for Kim Jong-il's 50th birthday, a pin with his face only reappeared. It, too, was unpopular due to his known reluctance to be elevated to the level of his father. Kim Jong-il badges began to be worn more widely only around the year 2000, with a renewed design, and badges featuring both Kims only recently.