Wellington Chung: Child of the Korean Independence Movement Crushed by Cold War Regimes

Abstract

Wellington Chung (1927–1963) was a Korean American doctor born and raised inHawaii, striving all his life to move to Korea, and dying in despair in Czechoslovakia. Chung received medical education at Charles University and practiced pathologyin Czechoslovakia for eight years. Chung’s life, however, ended tragically when hecommitted suicide. This study recounts the untold life story of Chung as well as hisKorean American family. Reverend Hyun Soon, Chung’s grandfather, was a nationalistmovement leader. Alice Hyun, Chung’s mother, was labeled Korean Mata Hari. This study argues that Chung was a son of the Korean independence movement whoperished amidst the Cold War. The lives of his mother, grandfather, and uncles influencedChung’s life path. He joined political organizations, wrote essays, and organizedfundraisers in support of North Korea, and wanted to return there afterbecoming a doctor. However, his mother was executed in North Korea around 1956as an alleged U.S. intelligence spy. His uncles were summoned to the U.S. HouseUn-American Activities Committee hearings and harassed with the threat of deportation. Chung himself lost his American citizenship. He had nowhere to return. Hewas trapped in rural Czechoslovakia by the witch hunt of the Cold War regimes.