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A Brief History of the Kook Min Hur
(Korean National
Association) |
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| Korean National Association | In 1905,
through a protectorate agreement, Japan gained broad control over Korea.
Koreans throughout the United States, both in Hawaii and on the mainland,
formed many patriotic organizations to express their resentment over the
tragedy of their fatherland. Among the many organizations showing concern,
some 30 representatives gathered in Honolulu and decided to organize the
Hanin Hapsong Hyophoe (Korean United Association) in order to bring
together all of the Korean organizations in Hawaii in 1907. Formation of
this Hanin Hapsong Hyophoe, which advocated Korean independence and the
guarantee of social security and education for Koreans in the United
States, marked the beginning of solidarity and political action for
Koreans in Hawaii.
Meanwhile, on the U.S. mainland, in the July
1903, two social organizations - in Los Angeles and San Francisco - had
been established under the leadership of the famous patriot Doan Ahn
Chang-ho for the mutual benefit of their members. With their membership
swelled by Koreans moving to the mainland from Hawaii, these social
organizations developed to establish the Kongnip Hyophoe (Public
Association) in April 1905 and, at the same time, became political
entities with anti-Japanese objectives.
The assassination of the
pro-Japanese foreign affairs advisor Durham W. Stevens by the Korean
patriots Chang In-hwan and Chon Myong-un on March 23, 1908 served to
promote spiritual solidarity among all Korean groups on the mainland and
led to the need for a unified organization to focus anti-Japanese efforts.
In response to this necessity, representatives of the Hawaii Hanin Hapsong
Hyophoe and the U.S. Kongnip Hyophoe gathered on October 23, 1908. On
November 30 of the same year, they laid the foundation for the unification
of overseas Korean associations in the United States. These efforts
resulted in the formation of the KooK Min Hur (Korean National
Association) on February 1, 1909. In Honolulu on this day, Koreans were
filled with such joy and hope that they closed their business and flew
Korean National flags in their houses. Furthermore, more than 1,000
Koreans gathered downtown to celebrate.
In order to expand and
reorganize Korean-American association, the Kook Min Hur was restructured
into a North America Regional General Assembly and a Hawaii regional
General Assembly but in just two years structure was reinforced by the
addition of Siberia and Manchuria Regional General Assemblies.
Strengthened by an alliance with the Taedong Pogukhoe (United Patriotic
Association) in 1910, the Kook Min Hur changed its name to the Taehanin
Kook Min Hur (Korean National Association). Finally, at a meeting in San
Francisco on November 8, 1912, its structure was made complete with the
formation of the Central Assembly of the Taehanin Kook Min Hur. But the
unification movement of Korean-American associations was doomed to wither
when, in 1922, the Central Assembly was dissolved.
The Hawaii Kook
Min Hur, keenly aware of the need for personnel to manage the diplomacy,
education, and publishing necessary for strengthening the organization and
working toward national liberation, in 1912 invited Pak Yong-man, who had
been pursuing the study of political science at the University of
Nebraska. Propelled by the opportunity presented by Pak Yong-man's
arrival, the Hawaii Kook Min Hur developed into such a fundamental
organization of the Korean community that it was granted the police
authority by the government of Hawaii. But, because of the factional
strife that enveloped leaders of the Korean community, the moribund Hawaii
Regional General Assembly was soon virtually dissolved. Alarmed at the
prospect of utter dissolution, Hawaii Korean in 1922, following the advice
of the Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai, formed their own Hawaii
Taehanin Kyomindan (Hawaii Oversea Korean Association) in place of the
Hawaii Regional General Assembly.
In 1932 representatives of the
Taehanin Kyomindan voted to dissolve their association and reestablished
the Hawaii Taehanin Kook Min Hur. Starting January 3 of the following
year, the Hawaii Taehanin Kook Min Hur, carrying on the founding
principles and procedures of the original Kook Min Hur, made a new
beginning as it stood in the forefront of support for the independence
movement. The Kook Min Hur during the Pacific War participated in the
Chaemi Hanjok Yonhap Wiwonhoe (United Committee for Koreans in the United
States), which had been formed with the goals of expanding the movement
for recovery of the fatherland and the consolidation of efforts of Koreans
in the United States. In so doing, they lent strength to the task of
diplomatic propaganda and to the formation of the Kwangbokkun (Restoration
Army) under the aegis of the Provisional Government.
As we have
seen here the Hawaii Taehanin Kook Min Hur went through three stages of
the organizational changes. From February 1909 through February 1921 was
the period of the Taehanin Kook Min Hur Hawaii Regional Assembly; from
March 1923 through December 1932, the Hawaii Taehanin Kyomindan; and from
then until present, the Taehanin Kook Min Hur.
The Kook Min Hur,
which was moved its headquarters to the present location on Rooke Avenue
in 1947, looks forward to another period of vigorous growth through the
participation of the good people who still maintain the traditions of
Hawaii's Korean community.
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