Kim Tu-bong (; 16 February 1889 – March 1958 or later) was the first

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the Workers' Party of North Korea (one of two predecessors of today's

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), also called the Korean Workers' Party (KWP), is the sole ruling party of North Korea. Founded in 1949 from a merger between the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is ...

, the other being

Workers' Party of South Korea The Workers' Party of South Korea () was a communist party in South Korea from 1946 to 1949. It is also sometimes colloquially referred to as the "Namro Party" (). It was founded on 23 November 1946 through the merger of the Communist Party of ...

) from 1946 to 1949. He was known in South Korean history as a

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

, scholar, revolutionary and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. His most famous work was under Ju Sigyeong; later, after participating in the March First Movement, he with other Korean leaders of the time established a provisional government-in-exile in China, and because of his communist beliefs he played an important role in the early North Korean communist government. He and other members of the Yan'an faction formed the New People's Party when they returned from exile. After the New People's Party merged into the Workers Party of North Korea (WPNK) in 1946 at the 1st WPNK Congress, he became WPNK Chairman. He was the first

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

( Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly) of North Korea from 1948 to 1957. He is most remembered in South Korea for his efforts in establishing the Korean linguistic field and especially that of

Hangul The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...

. Much of his work both political and linguistically was done while living in China with the exiled government of Korea. He is also known by his pen name Baekyeon. He was

purge In history, religion and political science, a purge is a position removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group undertaking such an ...

d by

Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

in 1957.

Early childhood and education

Born on 2 February 1889, in South Korea's South

Gyeongsang Province Gyeongsang Province (; ) was one of the Eight Provinces of Joseon Korea. Gyeongsang was located in southeastern Korea. The provincial capital of Gyeongsang was Daegu. The region was the birthplace of the kingdom of Silla, which unified Korea i ...

, near modern-day

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

, he spent his early years being homeschooled during the time of imperial rule. He would move to

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

at the age of 20 (1908) to attend both Geho School and Baechae School and in that same year graduate from Bogo High School. While he was in

he would join the Korea Youth organization in 1913 and the following year (1914) leave Baechae School. He was also an editor for the magazine.

Early linguistic work

After graduating from Bosungkobo (Bosung College) in 1908, Kim Tu-bong worked closely with a linguistics professor from Bosungkobo named Ju Sigyeong, who was at that time beginning his work in the study of

, for which his name would later be known, as he would dedicate his life to bring it about (the Korean script made by

King Sejong Sejong (; 15 May 1397 – 8 April 1450), commonly known as Sejong the Great (), was the fourth monarch of the Joseon, Joseon dynasty of Korea. He is regarded as the greatest ruler in Korean history, and is remembered as the inventor of Hangu ...

during the 15th century). He also worked as a teacher. In 1916 he spent a majority of his time working on compiling MalMoi, the first Korean dictionary.

Shanghai and the exiled Korean government

300px, Kim Tu-bong (right) sitting next to Kim Il Sung (center) After the 1919 March First Movement, he and other members of the independence club fled into

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and in April 1919 set up a

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. During that time, he was first exposed to

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

and eventually accepted it in 1920 after he had first supported the Democratic Party. In 1924, he was entrusted with the department of children education and schooling where he served as the president and also taught both Korean and Korean History. After the Japanese invaded China he and other members of the Korean government in

fled to

Yan'an Yan'an; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi Province of China, province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several c ...

, headquarters of the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

, and Kim would become the head of the independence club and a very important figure in combining the conflicting views of both communist and democratic ideas.

Return home and the new government

The December following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the Japanese's surrender (15 August 1945) Kim Tu-bong and other members returned to the now-divided Korea. Like many other communist-minded people of the time, Kim Tu-bong and other communist leaders took residence in what is now North Korea under the Soviet occupation. In February 1946, Kim Tu-bong became the chairman of the new People's Party. Later that year in August, it merged to form the Workers' Party. He would become the chairman in 1948, but from the outset the real power was held by Premier Kim Il Sung. Kim Il Sung became chairman of the Workers' Party after it had merged with its southern counterpart in 1949, thus becoming in name as well as in fact the country's leader. In most communist states, the party leader is understood to be the most powerful man in the country.

Disappearance and death

After the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, Kim Tu-bong had served his usefulness in the government, and, whether real or imagined, many scholars believe that he had become a perceived threat to Kim Il Sung's dictatorship. Rumors began that it had to do with a scandal, as he had married a much younger woman later in life. Whatever the reason, he was purged in March 1958, accused of involvement in the 1956 August Faction Incident. Like many others of Kim Il Sung's political opponents, he disappeared with no records to indicate whether he had been sentenced to hard labor or exile. He is believed either to have been executed or to have died sometime in the 1960s in detention within North Korea.

Popular culture

* Portrayed by actor Park Yeong-ji in the 1981–82 TV series, '' 1st Republic''.

References

*Dae-Sook Suh. ''Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader''. Columbia University Press, 1988. pg. 351 *n.d. ''Kim Dubong (김두봉).'' Naver encolopidia. 20 November 2013. http://terms.naver.com/.

External links

"Kim Tu-bong and Historical Linguistics" by Andrei Lankov
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Tu-Bong 1889 births Year of death unknown Stalinism Anti-revisionists Korean communists Chairmen of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly Heads of state of North Korea New People's Party (Korea) politicians North Korean atheists Leaders of the Workers' Party of Korea and its predecessors Members of the 1st Supreme People's Assembly Members of the 2nd Supreme People's Assembly Members of the 1st Central Committee of the Workers' Party of North Korea Members of the 2nd Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 1st Political Committee of the Workers' Party of North Korea Members of the 1st Standing Committee of the Workers' Party of North Korea Members of the 2nd Political Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 2nd Standing Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Flag designers Linguists from North Korea 20th-century linguists Members of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea Yan'an faction