December Independence Activists: Lee Jong-ho, Kim Hak-man, and Choi Bong-jun

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The Gwangju Regional Veterans Office announced on the 30th that the independence activists of the month (December) selected by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs are Lee Jong-ho (1885?1932), Kim Hak-man (birth and death years unknown), and Choi Bong-jun (1859?1917).

Lee Jong-ho participated in the organization of the Shinminhoe, an anti-Japanese secret society, in 1907 and carried out nationalistic movements. In 1912, he established the Gwoneophoe in the Noryeong area and the Hanmin School in Vladivostok, leading Korean education.

Kim Hak-man supported the militia forces with funds around Hamgyeong Province around 1908, and from 1910 to 1912, he served as president and chairman of the Seongmyeonghoe and Gwoneophoe in Vladivostok. He also actively promoted the construction project of Hanhung-dong, a Korean settlement in Bongmilsan, Milsan County, China.

Choi Bong-jun, upon the signing of the Eulsa Treaty in 1905, launched the Haejo Newspaper in the Russian Maritime Province to raise national consciousness and carried out patriotic enlightenment activities. In 1910, he signed the Seongmyeonghoe declaration along with 8,624 comrades.

The government posthumously awarded Lee Jong-ho the Order of Independence Merit in 1962, Kim Hak-man the Order of Patriotism Merit in 2012, and Choi Bong-jun the Order of Independence Merit in 1996 to honor their contributions.