page_title: Kim Hong-il (general)
section_title: As a diplomat
hierarchical_section_title: Kim Hong-il (general) / In South Korea / As a diplomat
caption_attribution_description: 한국어: 이승만 대통령이 대만을 방문, 장개석 총통의 영접을 받고 있다. (1953년 11월 27일)
context_page_description: Kim Hong-il was a Korean independence activist and a general of the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Korean War, who later became a diplomat and politician in South Korea. Born in North Pyongan, he did his early schooling in China and Korea, and had a brief career as a teacher before his connections with the nascent Korean independence movement led to his imprisonment. He fled into exile in China in 1918, and served in the Kuomintang's National Revolutionary Army from 1926 to 1948, following which he moved to the newly independent South Korea to join the Republic of Korea Army. He commanded South Korea's I Corps during the first year of the Korean War, and was then sent to Taipei as South Korea's ambassador to the Republic of China, which by then had retreated to Taiwan. His assignment there ultimately lasted nine years. He returned to South Korea in 1960 following the April Revolution which ended the rule of Syngman Rhee, and served briefly as Minister of Foreign Affairs under the Park Chung-hee junta. He ran for the National Assembly, first unsuccessfully in 1960 and 1963, and was then elected in 1967 and became a major figure in the opposition New Democratic Party.
context_section_description: Kim arrived in Taipei, Taiwan on 3 November 1951 to begin his service as ambassador to the Republic of China. He remained in the position until 13 June 1960. On the occasion of his departure, General Peng Meng-chi presented him with the Order of the Cloud and Banner in recognition of his wartime military service to the Republic of China, as well as the second rank of the civilian Order of Brilliant Star. Kim was one of a large number of high-level diplomatic personnel who resigned in the aftermath of the April Revolution, along with ambassador to the U.S. Yang You-chan and ambassador to Japan Yu Tae-ha. In the aftermath of Park Chung-hee's May 1961 coup, Kim served a brief term as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 21 May until his resignation on 21 July. He continued to play a role in foreign affairs after his resignation, and was dispatched to Niger in December 1961 as South Korea's representative to the celebrations for Niger's fourth Republic Day.
caption: Kim (centre) with Chiang Kai-shek (left) and Syngman Rhee (right) during the latter's state visit to Taipei in 1953
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