Kim was born on 12 June 1916 in the
Mangyongdae neighborhood of
Pyongyang, when the
peninsula was still
under Japanese rule. His parents were
Kim Hyong-jik, a Korean
independence activist, and mother,
Kang Pan Sok. His two brothers were Kim Il Sung, the first supreme leader of North Korea, and
Kim Yong-ju, who became Honorary
Vice President of the country's
Supreme People's Assembly. Kim's family originated from
Jeonju,
North Jeolla. His paternal great-grandfather
Kim Ŭngu settled in
Mangyongdae in 1860. Kim was raised in a
Christian family, specifically following the
Presbyterian denomination. His maternal grandfather was a
Protestant minister, and his father attended a
missionary school. Kim's family participated in
anti-Japanese activities and fled to
Manchuria in 1920, like most Korean families, to escape
famine and
Japanese oppression during the
Japanese occupation of Korea. Kim became an active member of the Saenal Youth Union, Korea's first revolutionary
youth organization. He later joined the
Young Communist League. He died in battle in
Yanji on 14 June 1935. He is buried in the
Taesongsan Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery. The
Kim Chol Ju University of Education is named after him. == References ==