宋憲澍의 재미민족운동과 한인단체 연합활동

Abstract

Song Hurn Joo(1880-1965), a graduate of the Royal English Academy in the Korean Empire, had flown to Hawaii as employed in an immigration company in 1903. Occupying a leading position in the Hawaiian Korean community and the Korean Methodist Church in the early days, he moved to the States in 1906 and volunteered to the emissary to the Hague. After he graduated from the Roanoke College and the graduate school of Princeton University, he continued his career as a principal of the Korean Central School in Hawaii and as the Minister of First Korean Methodist Church up to the member of the Korean Commission during 1919 to 1920, working at the frontline of the Independence Movement. Even though his non-compliance with Mr. Syngman Rhee resulted to his resignation from the Korean Commission, his grocery business was successful in Reedley and Los Angles, California. In 1930s, he began to lead the United Association of Korean-Americans and announced his support for Kiusic Kim. He actively involved in the Korean National Association, working as the Chairman of the Construction Committee and the President of Central Executive Committee. In 1940s, his work focused on the United Korean Committee in America. The issue of the Korean Commission to America in 1944 drove him to withdraw from the Korean National Association because of his support for the Provisional Government. Later, he served as a member of the Korean Commission to America and as a member of the Korean Delegation to the United Nations Conference on International Organization at San Francisco until he finally witnessed the liberation of Korea. Mr. Song, the pioneer in the National Independence Movement in the States, dedicated himself to education, missionary work, and diplomatic affairs as well as emphasized armed resistance against the Japanese Imperialists. He determined to focus on working in the Korean associations such as the United Association of Korean-Americans, Korean National Association of North America and the United Korean Committee in America. His decision had been firmly based on his belief that he regarded the alliance within Korean associations as the driving force in the independence of Korea.