Kim Kyu-sik

Kim Kyu-sik was a Korean politician and academic during the Korean independence movement and a leader of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. He was born in Dongnae, now part of modern-day Busan. Orphaned at an early age, Kim studied with American missionary H.G. Underwood starting from the age of 6, taking the Christian name "Johann". He later traveled to the United States, receiving a bachelor's degree from Roanoke College in 1903 and a master's degree in English literature from Princeton University the following year. In 1905 Kim returned to Korea, teaching widely. Following the 1910 Japanese annexation of Korea Kim fled to China in 1913. In 1919 Kim traveled to Paris for the Paris Peace Conference to lobby for Korean independence from Japan. His efforts in Paris proved to be futile. Kim was a leading member of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea based in Shanghai, becoming the Vice-President. He was fluent in English and taught English to the Provisional Government's members. After the post World War II liberation of Korea in 1945, he returned to his homeland to join in the formation of a newly independent state, which was then under the rule of the United States Army Military Government in Korea in the south and the Soviet Civil Authority in the north. Kim was favored by the American occupation leader John R. Hodge, who saw him and Lyuh Woon-Hyung as moderate leaders on the right and left, respectively. In September 1947, the United States and Syngman Rhee et al. pushed to move the Korean question to the newly created United Nations, which voted to allow for elections in the south despite the objections of southern nationalists such as Kim Kyu-sik and Kim Gu as well as from the Provisional People's Committee of North Korea, who were opposed because of the non-participation of the North. Kim was kidnapped by the North Korean regime in 1950 and taken to Manpo, where he was assassinated on December 10, 1950. His resting place is unknown. Kim was married to Lee Hye-ryeon, a granddaughter of King Gojong. They had seven children, four sons and three daughters. Kim was a Presbyterian and a poet. He wrote several books, including "The History of Korean Literature" and "The History of Korean Education". He was also a friend of Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore.