The Korean word "Ppalchisan(빨치산)" is derived from the French word "Partisan" and refers to irregular armed guerrillas. During the Korean War, they were also called "Gongbi(공비)".
The word "Ppalchisan" has taken on a slightly different meaning in South Korea. It refers to the anti-Japanese armed guerrillas active in Manchuria during the Japanese invasion of the 1930s and 1940s, led by Kim Il-sung. The North Korean regime emphasizes them as the "roots of the revolution" and its legitimacy.
The Ppalchisans, while based on irregular guerrilla tactics rather than regular military forces, actually functioned as well-organized, elite units.
Those of "Ppalchisan origin" formed the core power structure (Ppalchisan faction) after the establishment of the North Korean regime and contributed to the establishment of Kim Il-sung's one-man dictatorship.
![]() |
| Ppalchisan made in gemini Ai |
Also, there is a history that imprinted the memory of Ppalchisans = Communists or Leftist. During the Korean War on June 25, 1946, the communist South Korean Workers' Party (남로당) organized and carried out armed guerrilla activities. They were mainly active in mountainous areas such as Jiri Mountain (지리산), and were a communist armed force (남부군) that disrupted the rear of the Republic of Korea. They cut off the supply routes of the national army and waged fierce and persistent guerrilla warfare, but most of them were wiped out in large-scale suppression operations after 1953.
![]() |
| North korea and Iran made in gemini Ai |






.png)
.png)
.png)

.png)
.png)