Kim Hyong-jik (; 10 July 1894 – 5 June 1926) was a Korean independence activist during Japanese rule. He was the father of the

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 Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

n founder

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 ...

, the paternal grandfather of

Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il (born Yuri Kim; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader of North Korea from Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung, the de ...

, and a great-grandfather of the current leader of North Korea,

Kim Jong Un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...

Biography

Little is known about Kim. Born on 10 July 1894, in the small village of Mangyongdae, situated atop a peak called Mangyungbong (만경봉(萬景峰),"All-Seeing Peak") just 12 kilometers downstream on the Taedong River from Pyongyang, Kim was the son of Kim Pohyŏn (1871–1955). Kim attended Sungshil School (), which was run by American missionaries, and became a teacher at the Sunhwa school () in Mangyongdae in 1913 and the Christian Myongsin school () in Ponghwa-ri, Kangdong County in 1916 and later worked as a herbal

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

. According to the North Korean official sources, he died as a result of numerous medical problems, including third-degree

frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when someone is exposed to extremely low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occ ...

. Kim and his wife attended Christian churches, and Kim even served as a part-time

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

missionary. It was reported that his son, Kim Il Sung, attended church services during his teenage years before becoming an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

later in life. Kim Il Sung often spoke of his father's idea of ''chiwŏn'' (지원(志遠), righteous aspirations). Kim Jong Il's official government biography states that his grandfather was "the leader of the anti-Japanese national liberation movement and was a pioneer in shifting the direction from the nationalist movement to the communist movement in Korea". Kim Hyong-jik is claimed by North Korea to have convened an important meeting of independence activists in November, 1921 memorialized at the Sansong Revolutionary Site.

Family

* Father: Kim Pohyŏn (3 October 1871 – 2 September 1955) ** Paternal grandfather:

Kim Ŭngu Kim Ŭngu (; June 17, 1848 – October 4, 1878) was a Mangyongdae farmer who was the father of Kim Pohyŏn, grandfather of Kim Hyong-jik, great-grandfather of Kim Il Sung, and ancestor of the Kim family. In North Korea, he is a national hero. ...

(17 June 1848 – 4 October 1878) ** Paternal grandmother: Lady Yi () * Mother: Lee Bo-ik (; 31 May 1876 – 18 October 1959) * Two brothers **

Kim Hyŏngnok Kim may refer to: People and fictional characters * Kim (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Kim (surname), a list of people and fictional characters ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim dynasty (disambiguation), several dynas ...

() **

Kim Hyŏnggwŏn Kim Hyŏnggwŏn (; 4 November 1905 – 12 January 1936) was a Korean revolutionary. He is known for attacking a Japanese police station in Japanese-occupied Korea and subsequently dying in Seoul's Seodaemun Prison where he was serving his sent ...

(4 November 1905 – 12 January 1936) * Three sisters ** Kim Kuil () ** Kim Hyŏngsil () ** Kim Hyŏngpok () * Wife:

Kang Pan Sok Kang Pan Sok (; 21 April 1892 – 31 July 1932) was the mother of North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, the paternal grandmother of Kim Jong Il, and a great grandmother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Biography She came from the village ...

** First son:

(15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) ** Second son:

Kim Chol-ju Kim may refer to: People and fictional characters * Kim (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Kim (surname), a list of people and fictional characters ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim dynasty (disambiguation), several dynasti ...

(12 June 1916 – 14 June 1935) ** Third son:

Kim Yong-ju Kim Yong-ju (; 21 September 1920 – 13 December 2021) was a North Korean politician and the younger brother of Kim Il Sung, who ruled North Korea from 1948 to 1994. Under his brother's rule, Kim Yong-ju held key posts including Politburo membe ...

(1920–2021)

Biography

Family

References

Further reading