Kim Chaek (, 14 August 1903 – 31 January 1951) was a

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

n revolutionary, military general, and politician. His real name was Kim Hong-gye ().

Life

Kim Chaek was born in Sŏngjin, North Hamgyong, Korea, in 1903. He and his family fled to

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...

after Korea was colonized by Japan. In 1927, Kim joined the

Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

and the Anti-Japanese movement to oppose the Japanese occupation. He was imprisoned for his resistance activities. After his release from prison, Kim joined the

Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army The Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army was the main anti-Japanese guerrilla army in Northeast China (Manchuria) after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. Its predecessors were various anti-Japanese volunteer armies organized by locals ...

in 1935 and fought alongside

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 ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

. He fled to the Soviet Union to escape the Japanese conquest of the partisans in 1940. He lived in Khabarovsk where he met with Kim Il-sung and formed the 88th Special Brigade. After the

Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian strategic offensive operation (russian: Манчжурская стратегическая наступательная операция, Manchzhurskaya Strategicheskaya Nastu ...

, he returned to Korea along with the Soviet Army in 1945. On September 9, 1948, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was established, Kim became the industry minister and deputy prime minister under Kim Il-sung. He was appointed number 2 Committee Vice Chairman in the

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party ...

. In the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, he was a commander of the North Korean troops on the front lines. A Japanese history of the Kim Il-sung family claims that Kim Chaek was purged when he was found responsible for the failure at the Inchon landing, and died in January 1951 after an American military air raid bombing or was assassinated following a power struggle. Kim Il-sung's memoir ''

With the Century ''Reminiscences: With the Century'' () is the autobiography of Kim Il-sung, founder and former president of North Korea. The memoirs, written in 1992 and published in eight volumes, retell Kim's life story through his childhood to the time of ...

'' states instead that Kim died of heart failure after a long night of work.Kim Il-sung (1998) ''With the Century'' vol. 8

Posthumous honours

Views from Yanggakdo International Hotel 05

After his death, Kim Chaek's birthplace Haksong County, combined with the neighboring city of Songjin, was formally renamed to Kim Chaek City to commemorate his life and accomplishments. Kim Chaek University of Technology in Pyongyang and Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex in

Chongjin Chŏngjin (; ) is the capital of North Korea's North Hamgyong Province (함경북도) and the country's third largest city. It is sometimes called the ''City of Iron''. History Prehistory According to archaeological findings near the lower ...

are also named after him. He was awarded North Korea's National Reunification Prize in 1998.

Work

* Feature-length epic "Mt. Paektu" 《장편 대서사시 백두산》

References

*''Korea, a century of change'' by Jürgen Kleiner page 275 *''Korea Web Weekly'
Remembering Kim Chaik
*''Kim Jong Il Biography''. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House for Literature, 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Chaek 1903 births 1951 deaths People from Kimchaek Government ministers of North Korea North Korean generals North Korean military personnel of the Korean War Recipients of the National Reunification Prize 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 2nd Political Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 2nd Standing Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 1st Supreme People's Assembly People of 88th Separate Rifle Brigade