Kim Kyu-sik (, January 29, 1881 – December 10, 1950), also spelled Kimm Kiusic, was a Korean politician and academic during the

Korean independence movement The Korean independence movement was a series of diplomatic and militant efforts to liberate Korea from Japanese rule. The movement began around the late 19th or early 20th century, and ended with the surrender of Japan in 1945. As independence a ...

and a leader of the

Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea The Korean Provisional Government (KPG), formally the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (), was a Korean government-in-exile based in Republic of China (1912–1949), China during Korea under Japanese rule, Japanese rule over K ...

. Kim served in various roles in the provisional government, including as foreign minister, ambassador, education minister and finally as the vice president from 1940 until the provisional government's dissolution on March 3, 1947. Kim's

art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin Chinese), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by artists, poets and writers in the Sinosp ...

s included Usa (), Kummun (), Kimsong (), and Chukchok ().

Life and career

Early life

Kim was born in

Dongnae Dongnae District () is a '' gu'' (district) in central Busan, South Korea. Administrative divisions It has a population of about 300,000, and an area of 16.7 square kilometers. It was once a separate city, the principal port of southeastern Ko ...

, now part of 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 ...

. Orphaned at an early age, Kim studied with American missionary H.G. Underwood starting from the age of 6, taking the

Christian name A Christian name, sometimes referred to as a baptismal name, is a religious personal name given on the occasion of a Christian baptism, though now most often given by parents at birth. In English-speaking cultures, a person's Christian name ...

"Johann". He later traveled to the United States, receiving a bachelor's degree from

Roanoke College Roanoke College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers ...

in 1903 and a master's degree in English literature from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

the following year. In 1905 Kim returned to Korea, teaching widely. Following the 1910

Japanese annexation of Korea From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled by the Empire of Japan under the name Chōsen (), the Japanese reading of "Joseon". Japan first took Korea into its sphere of influence during the late 1800s. Both Korea (Joseon) and Japan had been under polic ...

Kim fled to China in 1913.

Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea

In 1919 Kim traveled to Paris for the

Paris Peace Conference Agreements and declarations resulting from meetings in Paris include: Listed by name Paris Accords may refer to: * Paris Accords, the agreements reached at the end of the London and Paris Conferences in 1954 concerning the post-war status of Germ ...

to lobby for Korean independence from Japan. He was sent by

Lyuh Woon-Hyung Lyuh Woon-hyung (; 25 May 1886 – 19 July 1947), also known by his art name Mongyang (), was a Korean independence movement, Korean independence activist and Korean reunification, reunification activist. Lyuh was a prominent figure in the Pro ...

and

Chang Duk-soo Chang may refer to: People Surname * Chang (surname), the romanization of several separate Chinese surnames * Chang or Jang (Korean name), romanizations of the Korean surname Given name * Chang Bunker () (1811–1874), one of the origina ...

, who had organized Sinhan Cheongnyeondang in Shanghai in the summer of 1919. Eckert, Carter J., Lee, Ki-baik, Lew, Young Ick, Robinson, Michael & Wagner, Edward W. (1990). ''Korea old and new''. Seoul: Ilchokak. His efforts in Paris proved to be futile. The

Korean National Revolutionary Party The Korean National Revolutionary Party (), or KNRP, was a nationalist party formed by exiles in Shanghai in 1935 to resist the Japanese occupation of Korea. At first it was the main nationalist Korean political party, but as the Second Sino-Jap ...

was formed in

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 ...

in 1935 through a grouping of nationalist Korean parties. The organizers were Kim Kyu-sik,

Kim Won-bong Kim Won-bong (; 1898 – ) was a Korean independence activist, Korean anarchist, communist, and later statesman for North Korea. He was a general of the Korean Liberation Army and the commander of the Heroic Corps and the Korean Volunteer ...

and Cho Soang. Kim was a leading member of the

based in Shanghai, becoming the Vice-President. He was fluent in English and taught English to the Provisional Government's members.

After Korean Liberation

After the post World War II liberation of Korea in 1945, he returned to his homeland to join in the formation of a newly independent state, which was then under the rule of the

United States Army Military Government in Korea The United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) was the official ruling body of the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula from 9 September 1945 to 15 August 1948. The country during this period was plagued with political a ...

in the south and the

Soviet Civil Authority The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by are ...

in the north. Kim was favored by the American occupation leader

John R. Hodge General John Reed Hodge (12 June 1893 – 12 November 1963) was an American military officer of the United States Army. Hodge commanded Operation Blacklist Forty in 1945. He served as the governor of the American military government in Korea fr ...

, who saw him and

as moderate leaders on the right and left, respectively. In September 1947, the United States and

Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee (; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965), also known by his art name Unam (), was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisiona ...

''et al.'' pushed to move the Korean question to the newly created United Nations, which voted to allow for

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

in the south despite the objections of southern nationalists such as Kim Kyu-sik and

Kim Ku Kim Ku (; August 29, 1876 – June 26, 1949), also known by his art name Paekpŏm, was a Korean independence activist and statesman. He was a leader of the Korean independence movement against the Empire of Japan, head of the Provisional Gove ...

as well as from the

Provisional People's Committee of North Korea The Provisional People's Committee of North Korea () was the provisional government of North Korea. The committee was established on 8 February 1946 in response for the need of the Soviet Civil Administration and the communists to have centraliza ...

, who were opposed because of the non-participation of the North.

Death

After failed efforts to broker reunification in that year, he retired from politics. After the outbreak of 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 ...

in 1950, he was kidnapped and taken to the North; he reportedly died near

Manpo Manpo () is a city of northwestern Chagang Province, North Korea. As of 2008, it had an estimated population of 116,760. It looks across the border to the city of Ji'an, Jilin province, China. History Manp'o was incorporated as a city in Octob ...

in the far north on December 10. In May 1988 he was posthumously awarded the Republic of Korea Medal of

Order of Merit for National Foundation The Order of Merit for National Foundation () is one of South Korea's orders of merit. It is awarded by the President of South Korea for "outstanding meritorious services in the interest of founding or laying a foundation for the Republic of Kor ...

, the most prestigious civil decoration in South Korea. He was posthumously awarded North Korea's

National Reunification Prize The National Reunification Prize () is an award of North Korea, bestowed by the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly upon people who have contributed to the reunification of Korea. The award was instituted in 1990. Recipients 1990 * An Ji ...

in 1998.

Other information

; Educational career * December 17, 1913 in Shanghai, a professor of Barkdal English School * 1923 professor of English at Fudan University * 1927–1929 In Tianjin, Northern Sea University Professor of English * 1932–1937 Nanjing political instructor School, professor of political. * 1937–1940 ShChwan College Professor of English Literature, Foreign Languages and Chair, Head of Foreign Language and Literature ; Books * Poems, 《Yangjayugyong》() * 《Small English grammar》 * 《Practical English》 * 《Elizabeth I Age's Introduction to Theatre》 * 《WonYongSa》 ; Degrees * 1903

(Bachelor of Arts) * 1904

Master of English Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

Literature(MA) at

* 1923 Honorary Doctor of Law

; Awards and recognition *

(1988) *

(1988)

Popular culture

* Portrayed by actor Lee Mug-won in the 1981―82 TV series, '' 1st Republic''.