Ahn Changho

Ahn Changho , also An Ch'ang-ho , Korean pronunciation: [antɕʰaŋho]; Hangul: 안창호; hanja: 安昌浩, pseudonym Dosan (도산; 島 山) (born November 9, 1878 ; died March 10, 1938 ), was a Korean independence activist and one of the early leaders of the Korean-American immigration society in the United States .

After returning from the United States in 1907, he founded the Shinminhoe (New Korea Society). It was the main organization that fought against the Japanese occupation of Korea. He founded the Young Korean Academy (흥사단; 興 士 團) in San Francisco in 1913 and was an important founding member of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai in 1919. Ahn is believed to be one of the two men who wrote the text of the Aegukga , the South Korean National anthem. In addition to working for the independence movement, Dosan wanted to reform the Korean people's mark and the entire social system of Korea. Educational reform and the modernization of schools were two key efforts by Dosan. He was the father of Philip Ahn and Susan Ahn Cuddy.

Early years

Ahn was born as Ahn Ch'i-sam on the 6th day of the 10th lunar month of 1878, in the Kangso Pyeongan Province, South Pyongan, North Korea. He belongs to the family of the Sunheung ancestors (순흥안 씨; 順興 安氏). It is believed that he changed his name to Chang-ho when he began speaking publicly in his teenage years. In 1894 Ahn moved to Seoul, where he attended the “Save the World” (Gusae Hakdang) School, a Presbyterian missionary school run by Horace G. Underwood and Rev. FS Miller, the following year. Dosan eventually converted to Christianity. During his undergraduate studies, he worked for Oliver R. Avison at Jejungwon at Severance Hospital, the first medical facility in Korea that became the first medical institute that is now part of Yonsei University Medical Center.

On November 8, 1913, Dosan was posthumously awarded an honorary diploma from Yonsei University in recognition of his participation in Gusae Hakdang as a former student, alongside his work there as an assistant, as well as for his work in Jejungwon, while he was in Gusae and Severance- Hospital had worked in the early 1900s.

Immigration to America

In October 1902, Ahn went to San Francisco with his wife, Helen , for a better education. While in San Francisco, he witnessed street fighting between two Korean ginseng dealers. Ahn was shocked by this experience and angry at his compatriots abroad; he began to invest that time in reforming the local Korean diaspora and rose to become one of the first leaders of the Korean-American community and invest more in it.

He founded the Friendship Society (Chinmoke Hoe) in 1903, the first group organized exclusively for Koreans in the United States. On April 5, 1905, he founded the Legal Aid Society (MAS) (Kongnip Hyophoe), the first Korean political organization in the United States. The MAS was eventually merged with the United Korean Society (Hapsong Hyophoe) in Hawaii to become a member of the Korean National Association (Daehan Kungmin Hoe) (대한 인 국민회; 大 韓人國 民 會). In 1909 he was given the official mission of Koreans in the United States until the end of World War II.

Back in Korea

In 1926 Dosan traveled by ship from San Pedro , California to China and never returned to the United States. During Dosan's anti-Japanese activism in Korea, he was arrested and also imprisoned more than five times by the Japanese imperialists for his patriotism and independence activities. He was first arrested in 1909 in connection with Ahn Chung Gun's assassination by Itō Hirobumi , the Japanese Resident General of Korea. Dosan was tortured and often punished during his years of activism. In 1932 he was arrested in Shanghai in connection with the Yun Bong gil bombing of Hongkew Park (April 29, 1932). He was a naturalized Chinese citizen at the time and was illegally extradited back to Korea by the Japanese police. Dosan was sentenced to five years in prison in Tajeon City for violating Japanese laws and failing to comply with peace laws. He never gave up his love for Korea and stayed strong and fought for the freedom of Korea.

Ahn Chang-ho was considered by many to be the most important moral and philosophical leader of Korea in the 20th century. In the turmoil immediately before and during the Japanese occupation of Korea, he called for the moral and spiritual renewal of the Korean people through education as one of the most important components in his struggle for independence and building a democratic society.

The Japanese authorities arrested Ahn in 1937, but he was released in 1938 due to illness. Memorial Park Doshas came about and he died at Kyungsung University Hospital on March 10th of the same year. The aforementioned park (Korean: 도산 공원) and HALL were built to honor it. The park is located in Seoul. Another memorial was built in downtown Riverside, California to honor him. Ahn's family home at 36th Place in Los Angeles was restored by the University of Southern California and it is on their campus. Dosan never lived in this house.

In 2011, the Ellis Island Foundation installed a plaque in honor of Dosan to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his entry into the United States. The city of Los Angeles named the area near the intersection of Jefferson Boulevard and Van Buren Place “Dosha Ahn Chang Ho Square” in his honor. The main interchange in downtown Los Angeles, where the 10 Freeway and 110 Freeway meet, was named after Ahn Chang-ho Dosan. One of the movements of Taekwondo is called Do-San or Dosa, all to honor it.

In 2012, Ahn was posthumously inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta, Georgia. His grandson Philip Cuddy accepted the honor on his behalf at the ceremony in Atlanta.

On November 8, 2013, Dosan was posthumously awarded an honorary degree from Yonsei University as a retired student and research assistant at Gusae Hakdang and for his work at Severance Hospital and Jejungwon. Dosan was also a good influence on the Yonsei Severance Medical School and alumni. Susan Cuddy's son accepted the diploma in Seoul on behalf of Dosan.

family

• Helen Lee (Yi Hye Ryon), 1884-1969
• Philip Ahn, 1905–1978
• Phils Ahn, 1912-2001
• Susan Ahn Cuddy, 1915-2015
• Surah Ahn, 1917–
• Ralph Ahn, 1926–

Web links

• The Ahn Chang Ho website
• Patriot Dosan Ahn Chang-ho Memorial , International Relations Council of Riverside, CA.
• Photos of Riverside Memorial

Individual evidence

1. ↑ To Pyong-Uk: Dosan: The Man and His Thought , Global Korean Network. July 24, 2003. Archived from the original on April 30, 2007. Retrieved on April 14, 2007. 
2. ^ A Brief History of Korean Americans , National Association of Korean Americans. Retrieved April 14, 2007. 
3. ↑ Dosan Park , naver.com