North Korea Exposed – Part 1: Kim Hyong-jik, Kim Il-sung’s Father

Let’s Learn About North Korea.

South Korea and North Korea

They are among the few divided countries in the world,
and they are still technically in a state of “armistice.”

From the very beginning,

their political ideologies

and the directions they wanted to take
were vastly different.

The result is that

the two countries have now become

examples of just how different
two nations can become.

South Korea and North Korea.

So, what was North Korea like at the beginning?

Let’s take a look.

This article is written from the perspective of a South Korean,
so its interpretation may be completely opposite

to that of North Korean sources.

Please keep that in mind. I plan to write this article
by examining and challenging claims made by North Korean sources.

First, to understand how it all began,

we need to learn about Kim Il-sung,
the founder of North Korea,
and his father.

Kim Il-sung’s Father
Kim Hyong-jik
Who Was He?

Kim Il-sung, the grandfather of North Korea’s current leader Kim Jong-un,

started an ideological war
that eventually led to the division of the Korean Peninsula
into North and South Korea.

But before we learn about Kim Il-sung,

let’s first take a look at

Kim Hyong-jik (1894–1926),
his father.

Kim Hyong-jik was from South Pyongan Province.
He attended Soongsil Academy in Pyongyang,
a school established by American Presbyterian missionaries,
where he received his education.

He later met Kang Pan-sok,
who came from a devout Christian family, and married her.

They had a son named Kim Song-ju,
who would later become known as Kim Il-sung.

Kim Il-sung’s mother, Kang Pan-sok,
had a name that used the word “rock” or “foundation,”
a term associated with the Bible.

At the time, this was said to be

a very unusual choice of name.

Of course, the word for “rock” or “foundation”
already existed in Chinese-derived Korean vocabulary
before Christianity arrived in Korea.

However, it is said that using it as a personal name
was uncommon.

Later, he helped local residents
by providing basic acupuncture treatments
and herbal remedies.

However, during the Japanese colonial period,

he took part in anti-Japanese activities
and was arrested and detained by the Japanese police
in connection with those activities.

In other words, we cannot say for certain
whether he was a Christian or not,

but we can say that he was an independence activist.

He is also known to have participated in the March 1st Movement of 1919.
Later, he moved to Manchuria with his family.

He eventually

died on June 5, 1926, in the Jilin area of China,
at the age of 31.

Kim Hyong-jik

Ironically, he died at the hands of communists.

He had witnessed acts of terror committed by communists
and developed a strong hostility toward them.

He openly expressed his opposition to communists,
even refusing to treat them when they sought medical help.

Eventually, these actions are said to have earned him
the resentment of communists,
who then killed him.

Did Kim Hyong-jik ever imagine
that his own son would become a communist
and go on to violate the human rights of millions?

It is truly tragic.

Looking at Kim Hyong-jik’s own life,

it would not be unreasonable to describe him
as a young man who left behind a respectable legacy.

But wait a moment.

Have we ever stopped to wonder

which Kim family Kim Il-sung belonged to?

Perhaps we simply assumed
he belonged to some Kim clan from Hamgyong Province or somewhere,
and moved on.

Maybe it’s time to look into the Kim family genealogy.

For readers from Western countries,

let me briefly explain something.

What Is a Family Genealogy?

A genealogy is a document that records a family’s lineage and relationships, tracing descendants back to their ancestors.

An example of a genealogy

The wooden genealogy printing blocks of the Gyeongju Kim Clan, Pando Panseo Branch (慶州金氏版圖判書公派族譜木板). [Photo provided by Lee Yang-jae]

In the early days, genealogies were recorded
on wooden printing blocks like these.

They documented details such as who married whom,
who had which sons and daughters,
and the year each person died.

Then they would record the next generation:
who each son married, which children they had,
and when they died.

And then the next generation, and so on…

In this way, the lives of people belonging to the same lineage
were continuously recorded, preserving the family’s history

in written form.

– Jinyang Ha Clan Genealogy (1606) / Committee for Promoting Korean Genealogies for UNESCO Memory of the World Registration –

The genealogy shown above belongs to the Ha clan.
It has absolutely nothing to do with Kim Il-sung’s family genealogy.

I am using it only as an example

to help readers understand the concept.

Can you see it? If you look on the left,
even if you cannot read Chinese characters,
you will notice that the character 子 appears repeatedly.

The character 子 means “son.”

Korea also used Chinese characters in the past,
and these characters were preserved in genealogical records.

In other words, for hundreds of years,
families recorded and preserved their lineage,

passing it down to future generations.

Today, these records are considered important historical materials,
much like cultural heritage.

In the past, there were no modern safe-storage systems,
and reliable public security could not always be taken for granted.

Families that managed to preserve old genealogies

could sometimes be seen as families
with a certain level of wealth or social standing.

After all, if a family was struggling just to survive
or constantly moving from place to place,
it would have been difficult to preserve fragile paper records
for hundreds of years.

Of course, the value of genealogies
is not what it used to be in modern times.

Now, let’s return to Kim Hyong-jik,
Kim Il-sung’s father.

So, what was the family lineage
behind Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Il-sung?

Which Kim clan did Kim Hyong-jik belong to?

This has been a matter of debate,
with some claiming that the family belonged to the Jeonju Kim clan
and others to the Seonsan Kim clan.

Both Jeonju and Seonsan are places
located in present-day South Korea.

This means it is possible to contact the organizations
that manage the genealogical records directly.

News reports have also covered inquiries made to these organizations.

But one thing is clear:

Both the Jeonju Kim clan and the Seonsan Kim clan

have reportedly stated that Kim Il-sung
does not belong to their respective clans.

Honestly, even if they had said he did belong to their clan,

could they really say,

“Yes! He is one of our own!”?

Within a family lineage that has been preserved for hundreds of years,

someone started a war,

and for decades,

indoctrinated the population,

while his own family ate shark fin and caviar as if they were snacks,

created an organization of women known as the “Pleasure Squad”
to satisfy their sexual desires,

while ordinary people were left unable even to find tree roots to eat

and starved to death.

How could anyone easily accept that such a dictator
belonged to their own family lineage?

Perhaps someone might think that
a bad king is still a king,
and that having a king in the family history
could be a source of pride.

But genealogies will continue to be passed down,
and it is likely that such an association
could affect how future generations view their clan’s identity.

So it is not difficult to understand
why accepting that connection might be uncomfortable.

I can certainly understand their position.

I think I would probably do the same.

Now, let’s leave Mr. Kim Hyong-jik alone,
since he himself was not responsible for all of this,

Starting with Part 2,

we will focus on Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il,

and the atrocities committed by North Korea.

Let’s explore them in more detail.