Kim Hyong-jik

In this Korean name, the family name is Kim.

Kim Hyong-jik (Korean: 김형직; 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 current leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un.

Seonsaeng[1] Kim Hyong-jik
김형직
Kim in 1921
Born	(1894-07-10)10 July 1894 Mangyongdae, Joseon
Died	5 June 1926(1926-06-05) (aged 31) Jilin Province, China
Spouse	Kang Pan Sok
Children	Kim Il Sung Kim Chol-ju Kim Yong-ju
Parent(s)	Kim Pohyŏn Yi Poik
Relatives	Kim family

Kim Hyong-jik
Hangul	김형직
Hanja	金亨稷
RR	Gim Hyeongjik
MR	Kim Hyŏngjik

Biography

Little is known about Kim. Born on 10 July 1894,^[2] 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).^[3][4] Kim attended Sungshil School (평양숭실학교), which was run by American missionaries, and became a teacher at the Sunhwa school (순화학교) in Mangyongdae in 1913 and the Christian Myongsin school (명신학교) in Ponghwa-ri, Kangdong County in 1916 and later worked as a herbal pharmacist. According to the North Korean official sources, he died as a result of numerous medical problems, including third-degree frostbite.

Kim and his wife attended Christian churches,^[5] and Kim even served as a part-time Protestant missionary.^[6] It was reported that his son, Kim Il Sung, attended church services during his teenage years before becoming an atheist later in life.^[5][7]

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".^[8] 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 (17 June 1848 – 4 October 1878)
  • Paternal grandmother: Lady Yi (이씨)
• Mother: Yi Poik (이보익; 31 May 1876 – 18 October 1959)
• Two brothers
  • Kim Hyŏngnok (김형록)
  • Kim Hyŏnggwŏn (4 November 1905 – 12 January 1936)
• Three sisters
  • Kim Kuil (김구일)
  • Kim Hyŏngsil (김형실)
  • Kim Hyŏngpok (김형복)
• Wife: Kang Pan Sok
  • First son: Kim Il Sung (15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994)
  • Second son: Kim Chol-ju (12 June 1916 – 14 June 1935)
  • Third son: Kim Yong-ju (1920–2021)