Kim Du-han
| Kim Du-han | |
|---|---|
| Title | Member of the National Assembly of South Korea |
| Term | 1954 - 1965 |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 김두한 |
| Hanja | 金斗漢 |
| Revised Romanization | Gim Du-han |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kim Tuhan |
| Pen name | |
| Hangul | 의송 |
| Hanja | 義松 |
| Revised Romanization | Uisong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Uisong |
Kim Du-han, also spelled Kim Doo-han (1918–1972) was a South Korean politician and the son of Kim Chwa-chin, a noted Korean freedom fighter and Anarchist. His nickname was Uisong.
Life
Career
Doo Han Kim was the leader of the Jongro street gang during the Japanese occupation of Korea. He was considered to be the greatest fist fighter in Korea during his time.
After the end of Imperial Japanese rule in Korea, Kim joined Syngman Rhee's Liberal Party, where he served as a politician. He was elected to the Third National Assembly in 1954 and the Sixth National Assembly in 1965.
Personal life
Kim was the grandfather of South Korean actor Song Il-gook whose mother, Kim Eul-dong, is a politician and the daughter of Kim, who was one year old when he died.
Uncertainties regarding Doo Han Kim's fighting skills
Kim Doo Han mentioned in one of his interviews that the jumok pae of his time were remarkably talented fighters, capable of extraordinary physical feats such as: lifting up a cow and walking one hundred steps, being able to jump up and kick the lantern out of a street light, being able to do over one hundred pull ups, jumping in the air and kicking a person in the face five times in the time that they blink, etc. If Kim Doo Han was the leader of all of the jumok pae, he must have been able to defeat all of these talented fighters of his time, which says a lot about how skilled he was as a fighter.
Yi Sung-sun(sirasoni) was only one person who Kim Doo Han chose not to fight. He was a person named . They say Kim Doo Han bowed to him in courtesy because Yi Sung Soon was older than he is but then again, Kim Doo Han fought with many jumok pae who were older so nobody knows why exactly Kim Doo Han yielded to him.
It is a fact that Kim Doo Han faced off in a street fight against a Japanese police named Maruoka, who was extremely skilled in Judo. Present day witnesses of this fight claims that Kim Doo Han was able to defeat him in a matter of seconds with only a few punches.
One of Kim Doo Han's nicknames is ippon, which means "one full point" in Japanese. He was called so because of his ability to knock out opponents with a single blow.
It is unknown what style of martial art Kim Doo Han practiced. They say that Kim Doo Han did not learn martial arts at all. That he was just naturally a great fighter. This is questionable because Kim Doo Han faced off against fighters who were very talented; rivaling the physical abilities of some of the best known martial artists such as Bruce Lee. One would think he would have needed to receive training in martial arts to be able to stand a chance against such fighters.
Because of his extraordinary accomplishments as a fighter, some people think that Kim Doo Han would be able to defeat some of the greatest martial artists who ever lived. Martial artists such as Bruce Lee or Mas Oyama.
In popular culture
- Kim gained status as a folk hero in many South Korean films, in which he has been portrayed by actors such as Park Sang-min in the General's Son trilogy.
- Kim was portrayed by Ahn Jae-mo (and later, Kim Yeong-cheol) in the 2002 SBS biographical television series, Rustic Period, which focused on his life.
- Kim's grandson, Song Il-gook, made a cameo appearance in the MBC television series This Man, playing his own grandfather.
External links
- Kim Du-han (Korean)
- 야인시대 (Korean)
- (Korean) In Korean language online encyclopedias: