Kim Pohyŏn (; 3 October 1871 – 2 September 1955) was a farmer from

South Pyongan Province South Pyongan Province (; ) is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Pyongan Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, then became a province of North Korea. Its capital is Pyo ...

. He was the paternal grandfather of the founder of

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 ...

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 great-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 great-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 ...

. He is buried in the

Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery Taesongsan Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery () is a cemetery and memorial to the North Korean soldiers fighting for freedom and independence against Korea under Japanese rule, Japanese rule. The 30-hectare site is located near the top of Mount Ta ...

in North Korea.

Biography

Kim Pohyŏn was born on 3 October 1871 as the only son to

Mangyongdae Mangyongdae () is a neighborhood in Mangyongdae-guyok, Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korean propaganda claims Mangyongdae is the birthplace of North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, although in his memoirs A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narra ...

farmer

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). Kim Ŭngu died at the age of thirty, one day after Kim Pohyŏn's seventh birthday. Without his father, Kim went to live with his uncle. In his twenties, Pohyŏn married a girl named Lee Bo-ik, who was five years younger than Kim. Together, they had three sons and three daughters, the most well known of the offspring being

Kim Hyong-jik Kim Hyong-jik (; 10 July 1894 – 5 June 1926) was a Korean independence activist during Japanese rule. He was the father of the North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, the paternal grandfather of Kim Jong Il, and a great-grandfather of the c ...

. To feed his six offspring, Kim was said to have woken up at early dawn and went around the village to collect manure, while at night, he was said to twist straw ropes, make straw sandals and plait straw mats by lamplight. Kim Il Sung claimed his ancestors, including his grandfather Kim Pohyŏn and great-grandfather Kim Ŭngu, were involved in the ''General Sherman'' incident, despite the fact that Kim Pohyŏn was not born until five years later. The account, undisputed in North Korea, has been questioned by independent scholars abroad. From September 16, 1948, to October 1, 1949, he served as the Deputy Head of the High Special Advisor to the Agricultural Department of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. After officially retiring from his position on October 1, 1949, he died at the age of 83 in 1955.

Legacy

Kim Pohyŏn and Yi Poik were likened as "patriots" by the Editorial Committee for the Short Biography of Kim Il Sung. A statue in his honor stands at the

. In 1947, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea established an agricultural college named in his honor. On 19 August 2013, wreaths were sent by various North Korean organizations to the tombs of Kim Pohyŏn and Lee Bo-ik.

Family

* Father:

(; 17 June 1848 – 4 October 1878) ** Grandfather: Kim Songnyŏng (; 1 December 1810 – 12 March 1899) ** Grandmother: Na Hyŏnjik (; 4 March 1811 – 23 January 1897) * Mother: Lady Yi () * Wife: Lee Bo-ik (; 31 May 1876 – 18 October 1958) #Son:

(; 10 July 1894 – 5 June 1926) #Son:

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 ...

() #Son: Kim Hyong-gwon (; 4 November 1905 – 12 January 1936) #Daughter: Kim Kuil () #Daughter: Kim Hyŏngsil () #Daughter: Kim Hyŏngpok ()

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Pohyŏn 1871 births 1955 deaths Korean communists Kim family (North Korea) Burials at the Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery