Song Oh-kyun

Song Oh-kyun Song Oh-Kyun
Born	(1892-02-28)February 28, 1892 Pyongyang, Korea
Died	(1970-06-20)June 20, 1970 Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
Known for	Korean Independence Activist
Korean name
Hangul	송오균
Hanja	宋五均
Revised Romanization	Song Ogyun
McCune–Reischauer	Song Okyun

Song Oh-kyun (Hangul: 송오균; Hanja: 宋五均; February 28, 1892 – June 20, 1970) was a Korean-American activist who played an important role in the Korean independence movement in America. He was a leading member in the Korean National Association (ko:대한인국민회) , and actively involved in other Korean Independence organizations in the US including the Young Korean Academy (ko:흥사단).

Life

Song Oh-Kyun was born in Pyongyang, Korea in 1892. In October 1916, he immigrated to the US following his studies in Shanghai . He attended the University of Southern California, majoring in liberal arts. After graduating in 1926, he would begin taking on various regional responsibilities within the Korean National Association, the earliest Korean global organization during the Korean Independence Movement.

In 1927 he served as the Legal Counsel for the Sacramento Regional Council of the Korean People's Congress of Korea. The following year, he became the Deputy Director of the Los Angeles Regional Council. He would later be elected as a member of the 19th delegation meeting of the Korean National Assembly. In 1938, he joined the Central Executive Committee of the Korean National Assembly then was selected for the Supervisory Board of the Los Angeles Regional Council in 1944. . In October of the same year, he was picked for the 9th Korean National Congress

From 1917 to 1945, he supported the Korean National Association’s independence movement fund several times. He would also donate money to support Korean immigrants in other countries such as Cuba and Mexico.

Legacy

Following Song Oh-Kyun's death in 1970, the Korean newspaper The New Korea (신한민보) paid tribute to his decades of work for the Korean National Association. . In 2015, he was posthumously awarded the President's Commendation Award (대통령표창) by the Republic of Korea for contributing to the interests of the nation.

Bibliography

• 국민회 제十九대 의회 [The 19th People’s Congress].(1928 Jan. 12) The New Korea, no.1060. Retrieved from http://db.history.go.kr/item/imageViewer.do?levelId=npsh_1928_01_12_v0001_0010
• 차이나선편에 새로 건너온 동포, 남녀 동포 26인[26 Men and Women Arrive from China].(1916, Oct 5), The New Korea, no.413. Retrieved from http://db.history.go.kr/item/imageViewer.do?levelId=npsh_1916_10_05_v0003_0110
• 중상 회록 초록. (1944 Feb. 24), The New Korea, no. 1874. Retrieved from http://db.history.go.kr/item/imageViewer.do?levelId=npsh_1944_02_24_v0001_0020
• 국제부 상조부의 예비금 성산 [Ministry of International Affairs]. (1944 May, 4), The New Korea, no. 1884. Retrieved from http://db.history.go.kr/item/imageViewer.do?levelId=npsh_1944_05_04_v0001_0020
• 동포 구제금 [Korean Relief ]. (1922 Feb. 23). The New Korea, no. 781. Retrieved from http://db.history.go.kr/item/imageViewer.do?levelId=npsh_1922_02_23_v0004_0320
• Korean National Association Central and Local Officers (1944), Retrieved from http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15799coll126/id/10827/rec/37
• 빌셔와 안장 [Song Oh-Kyun Laid to Rest in Wilshire]. (1970 Feb 26) The New Korea, no.3131. Retrieved from http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15799coll43/id/17629/rec/37
• "독립유공자" [Independence Patriots]. Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (in Korean). 2015. Retrieved 2018-08-16. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)