Kim was born on 17 October 1915, in Pyongyang, Heianhoku-dō (South Pyongan Province), Korea, Empire of Japan.
[1] In 1932, he went into exile in China to join the Korean Provisional Government (KPG) in their resistance against the Japanese occupation of Korea.
[2] Two of the Korean instructors of the course, Ji Cheong-cheon and Kim Ku, frequently clashed over authority and funding for the class.
Kim Hyeok was returned to Korea, and in April 1937, sentenced to three years in prison by the Haeju district court.
One culprit, looking to be around 30 years old and dressed in a suit, fired a bullet from a pistol that pierced Kim's heart, killing him instantly.
[1] The incident was largely assumed to be a simple robbery,[4] although it was noted by contemporary and later reports that Kim had been an independence activist.
[1] However, interviews with Na Byeong-deok,[f] the head of the special task force, revealed that the man behind the murder was Yeom Dong-jin, who had been feuding with Kim.
[4] In 1995, he was posthumously awarded an Order of Merit for National Foundation, 5th grade by the government of South Korea for his independence activities.