Two Independence Activists Discovered by Suwon City Selected for National Awards
Two independence activists from Suwon who were discovered by Suwon City have been added to the list of awardees for independence activism.
On the occasion of the 81st Liberation Day, Suwon City announced on the 14th that Moon Yong-bae (1916–whereabouts unknown) and Yun Gyeong-ui (1893–whereabouts unknown), both from Suwon, were included in the list of 283 independence merit awardees announced by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.
These individuals were discovered by Suwon City and had their awards applied for in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of liberation last year. They have now received national recognition for their previously undisclosed contributions.
Moon Yong-bae was awarded posthumously the Medal of the Patriot. Originally from Yangsan-ri, Seongho-myeon, Suwon-gun, he was arrested during the Chosun Communist Party Reconstruction Movement (Gyeongseong Com Group) incident while working as a factory worker at the Yongsan Workshop and was imprisoned in Seodaemun Prison in May 1937. He was sentenced to one year imprisonment with three years suspended under the Public Peace Preservation Act, served approximately two years in prison, and was released on April 14, 1939.
Yun Gyeong-ui, who received the Presidential Commendation, was originally from Maehwa-ri, Seosin-myeon, Suwon-gun and was engaged in agriculture. In 1937, during wartime, he was sentenced to six months in prison for spreading rumors that the Japanese military would be defeated.
Since the details of the two individuals' activities after their independence activism and their descendants' relationships remain unclear, Suwon City discovered these hidden independence activists and applied for their awards on behalf of their descendants.
Earlier, Suwon City began systematic research on independence activists from Suwon in 2008 with the opening of the Suwon Museum and has made continuous efforts to discover independence activists.
In 2009, Kim Hyang-hwa, a Suwon-based gisaeng who led the independence movement demonstrations, received the Presidential Commendation, and in 2012, Lee Seon-gyeong, who organized and participated in a secret society for national independence and died for her country at age 19, received the Medal of the Patriot.
Subsequently, based on the discovery of 113 independence activists from 2017 to 2018, 15 awards were applied for in 2019, the centenary of the March First Movement and the founding of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, and 9 received awards the following year.
Additionally, in 2024, two more awardees were secured, and seven more individuals were discovered and applied for last year, with two more receiving awards this time.
Lee Dong-geun, head of the curatorial team at the Suwon Museum, stated, "Over the past 20 years since its opening, the Suwon Museum has continued research on regional independence activism in Suwon and efforts to discover awardees, resulting in a total of 15 independence activists receiving national awards," and added, "We will continue our interest and efforts in discovering previously unawarded independence activists."