Walking around the streets of downtown Riverside, California, one can see statues of famous historical figures. The likeness of Martin Luther King Jr and Mahatma Gandhi can be found, as well as one other: Ahn Chang-ho. The Korean independence activist is such a well-known figure on the West Coast that Riverside designated August 11 _ the day Ahn¡¯s statue was unveiled to the public _ as Dosan Ahn Chang-ho Day.

The legend of Dosan, Ahn¡¯s pen name, can be seen throughout the state: Los Angeles has a freeway interchange named Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Memorial Interchange, while there is a post office named after him in the city¡¯s Koreatown. He will also be the first East Asian to be inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame at the Martin Luther King Jr Center on Jan 6, 2012.

The center was established in 1968 to honor civil rights pioneers from around the world. Inductees include former US Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton; Andrew Young, a former ambassador to the UN; African-American civil rights activist Rosa Parks; Stevie Wonder and Jesse Jackson. Why, you might ask, is Ahn Chang-ho so respected in the United States?

Ahn was born in Gangseo (now North Korea) in 1878, during the close of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) and a time when the nation was plunged into confusion with the prospect of foreign invasion.The outbreak of the First Sino- Japanese War (1894-1895) had a major impact on Ahn, who was studying the Chinese classics at the time. The war made him realize the necessity of introducing a new culture and civilization to his country and raising an independent Korea¡¯s status and power.

When Japan won the war and revealed its desire to invade Korea, Ahn headed to Seoul to study. In 1896 he attended Gusae Hakdang, a missionarysponsored school in the capital city run by Horace G Underwood, and converted to Christianity. In 1897, he joined the Independence Association, a social political group which focused on the importance of a sovereignty that did not rely on foreign influences.

He also started his career as an independence activist and educator around this time. At the age of 22, he established the first private co-ed primary school in Korea. In 1902, he left for America to get a better education. While studying in San Francisco and Riverside, he witnessed the same discrimination and contempt his countrymen overseas were experiencing, and began to dedicate his time protecting the rights of local Koreans by founding the Korean Fellowship Society. His activism led him to become one of the first people to bring together the Korean-American community.

The Eulsa Treaty between Japan and Korea in 1905, which virtually sealed Korea¡¯s fate as a colony of Japan, brought Ahn back home to Korea. Upon his return, he launched the New People¡¯s Association, a clandestine organization for fostering the country¡¯s independence, founded the Dae Sung School for secondary education and organized the Young Students¡¯ Association to nurture future Korean leaders.

Hounded by the Japanese police,he moved to China and then to Vladivostok, Russia, to explore bases for his independence movement. He moved to the US via Siberia after trying to bring together the Korean community in the Russian Far East.

On March 1, 1919, as protests against Japanese colonial rule swept the whole nation, independence activists gathered in Shanghai to found an interim government. Ahn joined this government and devoted himself to national independence, holding important posts such as Secretary of the Interior, Deputy Prime Minister andSecretary of Labor.

He was imprisoned by the Japanese in 1938 while trying to integrate different independence groups. He passed away just seven years before the liberation of Korea, on Aug 15, 1945. Today, he rests in Dosan Park, Seoul, which was opened in commemoration of the activist in 1973. Ahn dedicated his life to restoring Korean independence and leading a prosperous nation. Today, his legacy is still admired in the communities in which he earned his reputation, from Seoul to Riverside.

Article from Korea Magazine