Remains of 2 Korean independence fighters to return home from US, Uzbekistan
Summary
The remains of Ho Si-han and Lee Gwal will return to South Korea from the United States and Uzbekistan on Sunday, the veterans ministry said Friday. A ceremony will be held at a memorial park in Seoul on Monday, and the remains will later be buried at the national cemetery in Daejeon. Lee is the first independence fighter buried in Uzbekistan whose remains will be returned to Korea. The repatriation marks 80 years of efforts to bring overseas-buried independence fighters home.
Key Facts
- Ho Si-han was born in Seoul in 1885 and died in Los Angeles in 1956.
- Ho was arrested by Japanese police while raising military funds after the March 1 independence movement and supported fundraising schemes from 1927 to 1945.
- The government posthumously awarded Ho the Aejok Order of Merit for National Foundation in 2021.
- Lee Gwal was born in North Hamgyong Province in 1898, served as a diplomatic delegate of the Korean Provisional Government in the early 1920s and was deported to Uzbekistan in 1937.
- The ministry has identified 240 tombs of Korean independence fighters across 10 countries and said 158 sets of remains have been repatriated from 14 countries.
Late Korean independence fighters Ho Si-han, left, and Lee Gwal / Courtesy of veterans ministry
The remains of two Korean independence fighters laid to rest in the United States and Uzbekistan will return home next week to mark the 80th anniversary of a project to repatriate the remains of such activists from overseas, the veterans ministry said Friday.
The remains of Ho Si-han and Lee Gwal will be brought back from the U.S. and Uzbekistan, respectively, on Sunday, according to the ministry.
It marks the first time that the remains of an independence fighter buried in Uzbekistan will return home.
An event marking their return will be held at a memorial park in Seoul on Monday, attended by some 300 personnel, and the remains will later be buried at the national cemetery in the central city of Daejeon.
Ho, born in Seoul in 1885, was arrested by the Japanese police while raising military funds following the March 1 independence movement against Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea.
He also took part in a number of fundraising schemes to support the Korean independence movement from 1927 to 1945, before he died in Los Angeles in 1956. The Korean government posthumously awarded him the Aejok Order of Merit for National Foundation in 2021 over his role in the country's independence.
Lee, born in North Hamgyong Province in 1898, moved to Manchuria and actively participated in Korean national organizations in Russia's far eastern region of Primorsky Krai in 1919.
He also served as the diplomatic delegate of the Korean Provisional Government in the early 1920s, but he was later deported to Uzbekistan in 1937, where he died. Lee was awarded the National Foundation Medal in 2009.
The repatriation comes as part of civilian and government-led efforts that began with the return of the remains of three renowned Korean independence fighters, including Yun Bong-gil, in 1946 and have continued for 80 years.
Meanwhile, the ministry has identified 240 tombs in total of Korean independence fighters buried across 10 countries, including China, the U.S. and Kazakhstan, and plans to bring their remains back home after consulting with their bereaved families.
The veterans ministry said 158 sets of remains of independence fighters have been so far repatriated from 14 countries.
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