Ikdu Kim (1874-1950)

If one were to imagine the rise of a revival leader in early modern Korea, the expectation might be of a steady, respectable ascent shaped by education and institutional support. The life of Ik-du Kim unfolded in precisely the opposite direction. Born into a noble family in 1874 in Anak, Hwanghae Province, Kim’s early life was marked by privilege, Confucian learning, and strong moral ideals. Yet the death of his father, financial ruin, repeated failure in the civil service examination, and betrayal by a close friend plunged him into despair. These losses transformed him into a violent drunkard and sensualist, while intensifying his anxiety over death and the meaning of life.

Before encountering Christianity, Kim explored religious paths such as Seondo and Donghak, but none resolved his fear of death or moral disintegration. Initially hostile to Christianity as a foreign religion undermining filial piety, his attitude changed dramatically in 1900 after hearing a sermon on eternal life by the Presbyterian missionary W. L. Swallen, at Geumsan Church. The Christian message confronted him not only with hope beyond death but also with the reality of personal sin. After repeated attendance, Kim converted, devoted himself rigorously to prayer and Scripture, and underwent a prolonged period of moral purification before baptism. A later crisis of repentance—culminating in what he described as a “baptism of fire”—sealed his conviction that genuine faith required radical transformation and holiness.

Kim’s ministry began humbly as a schoolteacher and lay evangelist, yet churches under his care grew rapidly. Early growth was driven less by healing than by his transformed life, fervent prayer, and uncompromising call to repentance. Ordained in 1911 after theological training in Pyongyang, Kim gradually became known for revival meetings that combined Bible teaching, evangelistic preaching, prolonged prayer, and reported healings. These meetings, often attended by thousands, were emotionally charged and spiritually intense, marked by repentance, weeping, and renewed devotion.

Kim’s healing ministry functioned as an extension of his revival preaching rather than its center. He resisted being defined as a “healing specialist,” insisting that healing served the gospel by leading people to repentance and new life. Healing, in his understanding, was not a mystical power possessed by the minister but the power of God manifested in response to faith and earnest prayer, always subject to divine permission. Practices such as fasting, mountain prayer, and communal repentance reflected his deep conviction that dependence on God—not technique—was essential. Within a Korean context shaped by fear of spirits and national trauma, healing also carried the meaning of spiritual liberation and divine comfort.

Kim’s nationwide influence peaked in the early 1920s, when his revival meetings coincided with notable growth in the Korean Presbyterian Church. His ministry inspired renewed evangelistic zeal, strengthened church workers, and shaped an indigenous revival tradition. He influenced a generation of pastors and revivalists, including figures such as Seongbong Lee, and challenged prevailing theological resistance to divine healing without abandoning evangelical and pietistic commitments.

Under Japanese rule, Kim’s refusal to participate in Shinto worship led to arrest, torture, and forced withdrawal from ministry in 1942. After Korea’s liberation, he briefly resumed leadership, only to be martyred in 1950 during the Korean War. Remembered by many as “the D. L. Moody of Korea,” Ik-du Kim remains a pivotal figure whose preaching, prayer, and healing ministry embodied hope, repentance, and divine presence for a suffering church and nation.

Jun Kim
Asia Pacific Theological Seminary

Ikdu Kim (1874–1950)

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