Kang Ryang-uk (, 7 December 1903 – 9 January 1983), also spelled Kang Lyanguk, 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 Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister and Chairman of the

Korean Christian Federation The Korean Christian Federation is a Protestant body in North Korea founded in 1946. The federation is based in the capital city Pyongyang. The current secretary general is O Kyong-u. The federation has come to play an important role in internat ...

since 1946. Kang was the maternal uncle of North Korean leader

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 ...

. Kim's mother, Kang's cousin, was

Kang Pan-sok Kang Pan-sŏk ( ko, 강반석; 21 April 1892 – 31 July 1932) was the mother of North Korean leader Kim Il-sung. Biography She came from the village of Chilgol and raised Kim on a small farm in Mangyongdae, both near Pyongyang. She ac ...

, who was also a devout Presbyterian. In his early years, Kang he was a school teacher (one of his pupils was Kim Il-sung). In the 1940s he studied

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at the Pyongyang University, and after he completed his study he became a minister. Kang became one of the close advisers of Kim Il-sung shortly after his return from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in October 1945. In 1946 he became the Chairman of the Christian League, later called the

. This organisation was in close contact with the Communist Party. In 1949 all

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Ministers were forced to join Kang's Christian Federation. In the late 1940s, Kang became Vice Chairman of the

Korean Social Democratic Party The Korean Social Democratic Party (KSDP) is a political party in North Korea, allied with the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. It was formed on 3 November 1945 as the Korean Democratic Party by a diverse group of medium and small entrepreneurs, ...

, which was a close ally of the ruling

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 of ...

. He became the Chairman of the party in November 1958. Kang later served as a

Vice President of North Korea The Vice President of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea () was a political position in North Korea established in 1972, and abolished after the death of Kim Il-sung during the reign of Kim Jong-il. In 1972 the Presidency was established ...

and a secretary of the

Supreme People's Assembly The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA; ) is the unicameral legislature of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. It consists of one deputy from each of the DPRK's 687 constituencies, elected to five-year ...

. He was appointed as Vice President by the

in 1972 and he left the office in 1982. Kang's second son, Kang Yong-sop, later succeeded him as head of the Korean Christian Federation.

References

Further reading