Kim Hyong-jik (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

: 김형직; 10 July 1894 – 5 June 1926) was a

independence activist during Japanese rule. He was the father of the North Korean 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 ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

, the paternal grandfather of Kim Jong-il, and a great-grandfather of the current leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un.

Biography

Little is known about Kim. Born on 10 July 1894, in the small village of

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 he wrote that he had been born in the nearby n ...

, situated atop a peak called Mungyungbong ("All-Seeing Peak") just 12 kilometers downstream on the Diadong River from Pyongyang, Kim was the son of Kim Bo-hyon (金輔鉉, 1871–1955). Kim attended Sungshil School, which was run by American missionaries, and became a teacher and later an herbal pharmacist. He died as a result of numerous medical problems, including third-degree

frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when exposed to extreme 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 occurs in the ha ...

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

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

missionary. It was reported that his son, Kim Il-sung, attended church services during his teenage years before becoming an atheist later in life. Kim Il-sung often spoke of his father's idea of ''chiwŏn'' (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 Bo-hyon (김보현; 3 October 1871 – 2 September 1955) ** Paternal grandfather: Kim Ung-u (김응우; 17 June 1848 – 4 October 1878) ** Paternal grandmother: Lady Lee (이씨) * Mother: Lee Bo-ik (이보익; 31 May 1876 – 18 October 1959) * Two brothers ** Kim Hyong-rok (김형록) **

Kim Hyong-gwon Kim Hyong-gwon (; 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 sente ...

(김형권; 4 November 1905 – 12 January 1936) * Three sisters ** Kim Gu-il (김구일녀) ** Kim Hyong-sil (김형실) ** Kim Hyong-bok (김형복) * Wife:

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 ...

** First son:

(김일성; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) ** Second son: Kim Chol-ju (김철주; 12 June 1916 – 14 June 1935) ** Third son:

Kim Yong-ju Kim Yong-ju (; 1920 – 14 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 member in the Work ...

(김영주; 1920–2021)

Biography

Family

References

Further reading