Kim Hyong-jik

Kim Hyŏng-jik (10 July 1894 – 5 June 1926) was a Korean independence activist. He was the father of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, the paternal  grandfather of Kim Jong-il, and 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, 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.

Kim and his wife attended Christian churches, and Kim even served as a part-time Protestant 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". This is widely disputed among foreign academics and independent sources, who claim that Kim's opposition was little more than general grievances with life under Japanese occupation. Kim Il-sung claimed his ancestors, including his grandfather Kim Bo-hyon and great-grandfather Kim Ung-u (1848–1878), were involved in the General Sherman incident, but this is also disputed and believed to be a fabrication.

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 (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
 First son: Kim Il-sung (김일성; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994)
 Second son: Kim Chol-ju (김철주; 12 June 1916 – 14 June 1935)
 Third son: Kim Yong-ju (김영주; 21 September 1920 – )

References

Further reading
 
 
 

Category:1894 births
Category:1926 deaths
Category:Korean independence activists
Category:Korean communists
Category:Korean revolutionaries
Category:Korean Protestants
Category:Kim dynasty (North Korea)