Kim Jong-suk was born December 24; 1917 to Kim Chun San and Oh Ssi; who were poor farmers in Osan-dong; Hoeryong County; in the North Hamgyong Province of Japanese-occupied Korea. In 1922 her family abandoned Korea to live in China. Kim Jong-suk joined the Young Communist League of Korea; led by Kim Il-sung; on July 10; 1932.

Later; on April 25; 1936; she was assigned to the KPRA main unit directly under the command of Kim Il-sung. Kim Jong-suk was formally admitted into the Communist Party on January 25; 1937. Kim Jong-suk gave birth to Kim Jong-il on February 16; 1941 in the Soviet village of Vyatskoye; near Khabarovsk.

On September 22; 1949; Kim Jong-suk died at the age of 31 while giving birth to a stillborn baby girl. Known in North Korea as 'The Heroine of the Anti-Japanese Revolution'; the North Korean government conferred the title of Hero of the DPRK on her on September 21; 1972; her image is used as part of the propaganda apparatus of the Workers Party of Korea (WPK); in which she is portrayed as a revolutionary woman. She is credited as the founder of the WPK's auxiliary organizations; the Korean Children's Union and the Korean Democratic Women's Union; among others.