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 current leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un.
Biography He was born in South Pyongan Province Taedong County, Nam-ri, Gopyeong-myeon, at Mangyongdae, as the son of Kim Pohyŏn and Yi Poik. After graduating from Soongsil School, founded by the Christian missionary William M. Baird, he worked as a teacher at Sunhwa School in Mangyongdae. Kim Hyong-jik himself was also a follower of Christianity, and it is known that Cho Man-sik was his senior at school. In the spring of 1916, he went to Naedong village in Kangdong County, South Pyongan Province (江東郡 古邑面 東三里) (present-day Bonghwa-ri, Kangdong County, Pyongyang) and began teaching at Myongsin School.北 김일성 아버지 김형직 사망 90돌 행사 : 평양시 강동군 봉화리의 김형직 동상 헌화 CBS노컷뉴스 6 June 2016새 전기「세기와 더불어」허동찬씨의 분석(신고/김일성자서전연구:5) 서울신문 15 October 1992 4면새전기「세기와 더불어」허동찬씨의 분석(신고 김일성자서전연구:16) 1992. 11. 26 (목) | 서울신문김형직(金亨稷) 한국민족문화대백과 (한국학중앙연구원) Contemporary records suggest that, rather than being a formal school teacher, his position was closer to that of a traditional village school (seodang) instructor. On 23 March 1917, Jang Il-hwan (張日煥, 1886 ~ 1918.04.09) and others organized the "Joseon National Association", in Pyongyang, and Kim Hyong-jik (金亨稷) is listed as a member.不逞團關係雜件-朝鮮人의 部-在歐米 7雜 > 朝鮮人槪況 送付에 관한 건 (1919년 3월 26일) p.60 : 한국사데이터베이스(국사편찬위원회)不逞團關係雜件-朝鮮人의 部-在歐米 7雜 > 朝鮮人槪況 第二 壹部 參考 送付 (1919년 3월 26일) p.61 : 한국사데이터베이스(국사편찬위원회)강덕상 편(姜德相編),「현대사 자료(現代史資料)」 25, 조선(朝鮮) 1 (みすず書房, 1967)金日成의 父 金亨稷 조선국민회활동 사실로 확인돼, Yonhap News Agency, 25 March 1998김형직 독립운동 사료 독립기념관에 소장, Yonhap News Agency, 23 March 2005
On 18 February 1918, while attempting to establish an independence movement base in Jiandao, he was arrested by Japanese police and imprisoned in Pyongyang along with Jang Il-hwan, Bae Min-su, and Kang Seok-bong. After his release in 1918, he fled to Junggangjin, and in 1919 is said to have led the local March First Independence Movement. Evading police arrest, he crossed the Yalu River in May and moved to Linjiang County in China. The area where his family settled was near a rice mill on the way from the county office toward the Yalu River. There, Kim Hyŏng-jik put up a sign reading "Sunchŏn Clinic" and displayed a forged diploma from Severance Medical School.Analysis of the new biography *With the Century* by Heo Dong-chan (Report on Kim Il-sung autobiography research: 20) Seoul Shinmun, 10 December 1992
In March 1920, it is recorded that his brother-in-law Kang Jin-sŏk, a member of the Baeksan Military Corps, briefly stayed at his house in Moasan, Linjiang County.Arrest of a Baeksan Military Corps member: 12 May 1921 Korean Disturbance Incident Documents Although not documented, there is testimony that Kim Hyŏng-jik himself was also a member of the Baeksan Military Corps.Analysis and critique of *History of the Korean War*, modern section National Institute of Korean History
In the summer of 1921, he moved again to Badaogou, Changbai County, east of Linjiang, where he practiced traditional medicine under the sign "Gwangje Clinic," as he had done previously.Analysis of the new biography *With the Century* by Heo Dong-chan (Report: 8) Seoul Shinmun, 27 October 1992 A Japanese document also recorded his personal details as an influential Korean resident in Changbai County. In March 1925, he moved once more to Fusong County and opened Murim Clinic.Analysis of the new biography *With the Century* by Heo Dong-chan (Report: 25) Seoul Shinmun, 5 January 1993
He died on 5 June 1926, at the age of 31. In North Korea, it is claimed that his death was due to complications from frostbite suffered while evading Japanese police.Dong-A Ilbo, 25 January 1972 However, another account suggests that he may have been killed by a Communist group with whom he had longstanding grievances. His grave, together with that of his wife Kang Pan-sŏk, is located near Mangyongdae in Pyongyang, Kim Il-sung's birthplace, although it is believed that the remains were relocated there after liberation from their original burial site in China.
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 ().
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 Pohyŏn (3 October 1871 – 2 September 1955) Paternal grandfather: Kim Ŭngu (17 June 1848 – 4 October 1878) Paternal grandmother: Lady Yi () Mother: Yi Poik (; 31 May 1876 – 18 October 1959) Two brothers Kim Hyŏngnok () Kim Hyŏnggwŏn (4 November 1905 – 12 January 1936) Three sisters Kim Kuil () Kim Hyŏngsil () Kim Hyŏngpok () 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)
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