Independence patriot · Righteous army (uibyeong) · Righteous army (uibyeong)
| Life | 1827 ~ 1899 |
| Era | 근현대 |
| Clan | 의성 김씨 |
Kim Heung-rak (art name Seosan), of the Uiseong Kim clan, was born in 1827 in Geomje Village, Andong, as the eleventh-generation head heir of the great scholar Kim Seong-il. His father, Kim Jin-hwa, served as magistrate of Neungju.
Following the 1895 assassination of Empress Myeongseong and the hair-cutting decree, Kim joined fellow scholars Gwak Jong-seok, Kim Do-hwa and Gwon Jin-yeon in December 1895 to issue the "Andong Circular," calling on Confucian communities across the Yeongnam region to rise up in righteous armies against Japan. As one of Yeongnam's foremost Confucian scholars, he trained many students over his lifetime, including Kim Dong-sam (art name Ilsong), who went on to lead the armed independence movement in Manchuria. Kim Heung-rak died in 1899.