LGU+ and Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Campaign Commemorating the Repatriation of Hwang Gi-hwan's Remains

LG Uplus announced on the 2nd that it will carry out the ‘In an Independent Homeland, See You Again’ campaign to commemorate the repatriation of the remains of independence activist Hwang Gi-hwan in collaboration with the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.

This is the second campaign jointly held by LG Uplus and the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs following last year’s Liberation Day. Hwang Gi-hwan (1886?1923) is known as the real-life model of Captain Eugene Choi, the protagonist of the drama ‘Mr. Sunshine,’ and was an independence activist. Hwang’s remains are scheduled to be interred at the National Daejeon Cemetery later this month. LG Uplus and the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs planned the production of goods and an SNS campaign so that all citizens can remember and commemorate Hwang’s achievements.

Images of goods such as passport cases and luggage tags created to commemorate the return of Governor Hwang Ki-hwan's remains.
[Photo provided by LG Uplus]

LG Uplus collaborated with an oriental painting illustrator to produce 300 goods inspired by Hwang Gi-hwan. By participating in a ‘mobile game’ containing Hwang’s story through the SNS channels of LG Uplus and the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, 300 people will be selected by lottery to receive the goods. The goods consist of two types: a passport case and a luggage tag, both reflecting Hwang’s footsteps.

Hwang was born in Suncheon, South Pyongan Province. While studying in the United States, he served as a soldier in the U.S. military during World War I. In 1919, he assisted Kim Kyu-sik and worked as a secretary for the delegation to the Paris Peace Conference in France. Afterwards, he served as secretary-general of the Paris branch of the Provisional Government and engaged in independence propaganda activities.

Hwang’s achievements include ▲ rescuing 35 Murmansk laborers including Hong Jae-ha in October 1919 and transferring them to France ▲ founding a French-language magazine as director of the propaganda department of the Korean propaganda group in January 1920 ▲ organizing the Korean Friendship Association in London, UK, in October 1920 ▲ serving as a member of the London Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in April 1921. He later worked as a diplomatic commissioner in London for the Provisional Government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the Gumi Committee. He passed away from heart disease on April 17, 1923, in New York, USA.

The government honored Hwang’s contributions by posthumously awarding him the Order of Merit for National Foundation in 1995. Efforts have been made to repatriate Hwang’s remains, which are interred at Mount Olivet Cemetery in New York. After 10 years of persuasion by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs to the Olivet Cemetery authorities, repatriation became possible 100 years after his death.

Previously, LG Uplus has highlighted independence activists who devoted themselves to Korea’s liberation but were not widely known through the ‘Everyday Not Taken for Granted’ campaign. During last year’s Liberation Day campaign, donations from LG Uplus helped deliver 130 nameplates for the ‘House of Descendants of Independence Patriots’ to descendants of patriots residing in Hawaii.

Jung Hye-yoon, Senior Vice President and Head of Marketing Group at LG Uplus, said, “We hope that the repatriation of the remains of Hwang Gi-hwan, who lived a devoted life for the independence movement, will be an opportunity for all citizens to commemorate and reflect on the meaning of patriotism.” She added, “LG Uplus will continue to work with the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs to shed light on forgotten independence activists.”