Born on 10 July 1894,[2][unreliable source?] in the small village of Mangyongdae, situated atop a peak called Mungyungbong ("All-Seeing Peak") just 12 kilometers downstream on the Diadong River from Pyongyang, Kim was the son of Kim Bo-hyon (金輔鉉, 1871–1955).[3][4] Kim attended Sungshil School, which was run by American missionaries, and became a teacher and later an herbal pharmacist. He died as a result of numerous medical problems, including third-degree frostbite.