Kim Kyusik (1881-1950)

Kim Kyusik, a leader in the Korean independence movement, was born in southern Korea and graduated from Roanoke College in 1903. After Japan annexed Korea in 1910, Kim served the Provisional Korean Government based in China as secretary of foreign affairs, and later as minister of education and vice president. He advocated Korean independence at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, promoted the Korean cause in the U.S. as chair of the Korean Commission, and helped organize the Korean National Revolutionary Party in China. After World War II, Kim opposed permanent partition of Korea into North and South. He was kidnapped by the North Korean army during the Korean War and died in captivity.