Dr. James E. Hoare, Udang Award · Youngseok Award Korea Housing Construction Association
Dr. J E Hoare.
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Jamin] The Udang Lee Hoe-young Education and Culture Foundation (Chairman Lee Jong-chan) announced on the 3rd that it will hold the 3rd Udang Award and Youngseok Award Ceremony and Scholarship Presentation on the 6th at the Press Center 19th floor press conference room.
The Udang Award was given to James E. Hoare, former first British charg? d'affaires to North Korea (acting ambassador), and the Youngseok Award was awarded to the Korea Housing Construction Association (Chairman Park Jae-hong).
Dr. James E. Hoare served as the first British charg? d'affaires to North Korea and, based on his experience working in Seoul and Pyongyang, has been researching the Korean Peninsula and unification issues at the Royal Asiatic Society and the Anglo-Korean Society in the UK after retirement.
He actively participates in broadcasting activities in the UK BBC and various European countries, contributing to the development of UK-Korea relations.
In the 1970s, while serving as the head of the Northeast Asia Research Division at the UK Foreign Office, he responded to a request from the Korean embassy by finding and delivering diplomatic documents to the embassy. These documents showed that in 1905, during the Eulsa Treaty when Japan deprived Korea of its diplomatic rights, Lee Han-eung, the acting minister of the Korean Empire, protested to the UK Foreign Office.
He played a decisive role in finding historical records that Lee Han-eung died as a martyr due to an assassination ordered by Japan.
He contributed significantly to the process of establishing embassies between the UK and North Korea, a role also confirmed by the testimony of Tae Yong-ho, the current member of the National Assembly and former minister.
Representative Tae is expected to reveal his relationship with Dr. Hoare through a congratulatory video message at the award ceremony.
Dr. Hoare prepared to attend the award ceremony and press conference but will participate via video due to government COVID-19 guidelines.
The Korea Housing Construction Association (Chairman Park Jae-hong), selected as the Youngseok Award recipient, has been repairing about 100 houses annually free of charge for national veterans' old houses for 28 years, recommended by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.
Since 1997, for four years, they supported residential environment improvement projects for descendants of Koreans forcibly relocated to Central Asia in 1937 from Primorsky Krai, building 39 detached houses and establishing the Korean village "Ujeong Village."
They also provided farming tools and fertilizers and disseminated farming techniques to support the settlement of the Koryo-saram community.
The Udang Education and Culture Foundation plans to provide research funds to Kim Hee-gon, honorary professor at Andong University, who has made significant contributions to the study of independence movement history at this award ceremony. Additionally, scholarships will be awarded to 16 university and graduate students researching independence movement history, recommended by various universities.
Meanwhile, the Udang Education and Culture Foundation has been establishing and awarding the Udang Award and Youngseok Award annually since 2019.
The Udang Award targets domestic and international figures who inherit the spirit of independence activism of Udang Lee Hoe-young and contribute to creating an atmosphere for peaceful unification.
The Youngseok Award honors exemplary companies or organizations in social contribution and volunteer activities, commemorating the patriotic spirit of Youngseok Lee Seok-young, Udang’s second elder brother, who was a prominent wealthy man at the time and devoted his entire fortune to the independence movement.
The first recipients were Bishop Kim Seong-su of the Anglican Church of Korea for the Udang Award and Pulmuone Co., Ltd. for the Youngseok Award. The second Udang Award went to Kim Ja-dong, chairman of the Korean Provisional Government Memorial Association, and the Youngseok Award was given to AgriTech Global Co., Ltd., an international feed production company.
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