President Moon Awards Independence Movement Medal in Hawaii... First Ever by a Sitting President

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the 22nd (local time), President Moon Jae-in held a medal conferment ceremony at the Korean Studies Institute of the University of Hawaii for the late Hawaii independence activists Kim Nodi and Ahn Jeongsong.

The University of Hawaii is the first Korean studies research institute overseas and the largest in the Americas. This is the first time a President of the Republic of Korea has personally conducted a medal conferment ceremony for independence patriots on foreign soil.

The late Kim Nodi and Ahn Jeongsong were part of the Hawaii immigrant generation whose independence activities were recently uncovered, and they were awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation on this year's March 1st Movement anniversary.

Kim Nodi, who received the Order of Merit for Patriotic Service, attended the 1st Korean American Representatives Conference held in Philadelphia while studying at Oberlin College, where he exposed Japan's brutal acts against women and delivered a speech stating that women should be regarded as having the same rights as men since they also participated in the independence movement.

He also actively raised funds for the independence movement as an executive of the Korean Women's Relief Society and, from 1921, traveled across the United States promoting Korea's situation and independence.

Ahn Jeongsong, who received the Order of Merit for National Foundation, served as vice president of the Korean Consolidated Association and president of the Korean National Association General Assembly. As the spouse of Ahn Won-gyu, who played a significant role in the independence movement in Hawaii and the Americas, she taught ethnic consciousness and language to students in the Hawaii area and raised independence funds as an executive of the Korean Women's Association and the Korean Women's Relief Society.

The Blue House stated, "Hawaii is where large-scale modern Korean overseas migration began and where overseas Koreans' fundraising for independence was most active," adding, "The President inviting descendants of independence patriots here and conferring medals on them holds great significance."

Meanwhile, President Moon also invited members of academia, education, and the economy who contribute to the Hawaii community to the medal conferment ceremony to encourage them.