Kim Chaek

Kim Chaek
Kim Chaek
Vice Premier of the Cabinet
In office 9 September 1948 – 31 January 1951 Serving with Pak Hon-yong, Hong Myong-hui and Ho Ka-i.
Premier	Kim Il-sung
In office 9 September 1948 – 31 January 1951
Premier	Kim Il-sung
Preceded by	Post established
Succeeded by
Personal details
Born	(1903-08-14)14 August 1903 Sŏngjin, , North Hamgyong Province, Korean Empire
Died	31 January 1951(1951-01-31) (aged 47)
Citizenship	North Korean
Nationality	Korean
Children	Kim Kuk-thae
Occupation	North Korean general and politician
Awards	North Korea's National Reunification Prize
Military service
Allegiance	Korean People's Army
Years of service	1945–1951
Commands	KPA front commander
Battles/wars	See battles Korean independence movement Pacification of Manchukuo Chinese Civil War World War II Pacific War Korean War Operation Pokpoong Battle of P'ohang-dong First Battle of Seoul Battle of Pusan Perimeter Battle of Kyongju Battle of Taegu Pusan Perimeter offensive UN offensive into North Korea Battle of Inchon Hungnam evacuation UN September 1950 counteroffensive

Kim Chaek (Korean: 김책; Hanja: 金策, 14 August 1903 – 31 January 1951) was a North Korean National resistance activist, general and politician. His real name was Kim Hong-gye (김홍계, 金洪啓).

Life[]

Kim Chaek was born in Sŏngjin, North Hamgyong, Korea, in 1903. He and his family fled to Manchuria after Korea was colonized by Japan. In 1927, Kim joined the Communist Party of China and the Anti-Japanese movement to oppose the Japanese occupation. He was imprisoned for his resistance activities. After his released from prison, Kim joined the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army in 1935 and fought alongside with Kim Il-sung. He fled to the Soviet Union to escape the Japanese conquest of the partisans in 1940. He lived in Khabarovsk where he met with Kim Il-sung and formed the 88th Special Brigade. After the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, he returned to Korea along with the Soviet Army in 1945. On September 9, 1948, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was established, Kim became the industry minister and deputy prime minister under Kim Il-sung. He was appointed number 2 Committee Vice Chairman in the Korean Workers Party. In the Korean War, he was a commander of the North Korean troops on the front lines.

Kim was purged when he was found responsible for the failure at the Inchon landing. He died in January 1951 after an American military air raid bombing. Some scholars believe that his death was an assassination after a power struggle, and caused by gas poisoning rather than an air strike.^[1]

Posthumous honours[]

Bust at the Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery

The Kim Chaek University of Technology in Otan-Kangan Street, Pyongyang

After his death, Kim Chaek's birthplace , combined with the neighboring city of Songjin, was formally renamed to Kim Chaek City to commemorate his life and accomplishments.^[2] The Kim Chaek University of Technology, Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex, and Kim Chaek People's Stadium^{[3][user-generated source]} are also named after him. The stadium is located at 40°41'0"N 129°11'47"E.

He was posthumously awarded North Korea's National Reunification Prize in 1998.^[4]

Work[]

• Song "Song of General Kim Il-sung" 《김일성장군의 노래》
• Feature-length epic "Mt. Paektu" 《장편 대서사시 백두산》

References[]

• Korea, a century of change by Jürgen Kleiner page 275
• Korea Web Weekly Remembering Kim Chaik
• Kim Jong Il Biography. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House for Literature, 2005.