Dosan Institute, also known as Dosan Hakdang, 
is KCCNYC's initiative to promote Dosan Ahn Chang Ho's Continuing Legacy in Korea and America

Dosan Ahn Chang Ho

Ahn Chang Ho (Korean: 안창호; Chinese: 安昌浩, November 9, 1878 - March 10, 1938) was a Korean independence activist and one of the early leaders of the Korean-American immigrant community in the United States. He is also referred to by his pen name Dosan (도산; 島山). Ahn was born on November 9, 1878 near Pyongyang, North Korea. In 1894, Ahn moved to Seoul where he attended Save the World School (Gusae Hakdang), a Presbyterian missionary-sponsored school in Seoul run by Horace G. Underwood and Rev. F.S. Miller. Dosan eventually converted to Christianity. While Dosan was a student at Gusae he worked for Dr. Oliver R. Avison at Jejungwon, the first medical institution in Korea which became Severance Hospital and is now part of Yonsei University Medical Center.

Ahn Chang Ho picking oranges in Southern California c. 1910

Immigration to America

In October 1902, Ahn came to San Francisco with his wife Helen (Hye Ryeon Lee/이혜련) to pursue a better education. They were the first married couple to come from Korea to the Mainland. Their passports from Emperor Gojong were numbers 51 and 52. While living in San Francisco, California, he witnessed two Korean Ginseng merchants fighting in the streets over sales territory. Ahn was apparently upset by this display of incivility among his countrymen overseas, so he began to invest time into reforming the earliest local Korean community members, rising to become one of the first leaders of the Korean-American community.

 

He founded the San Francisco Friendship Society (상항친목회) in 1903, the first group that was organized exclusively for Koreans in the United States. On April 5, 1905, he expanded the Friendship Society name to the Mutual Assistance Society (MAS, Kongrip Hyophoe/공립협회) with its headquarters at 938 Pacific St, San Francisco, California. This was the first Korean political organization in the United States. Dosan set up the first Korean newspaper Kongnip Sinbo on November 20, 1905. In reaction to the Durham White Stevens assassination on March 23, 1908 the MAS would eventually merge with the United Korean Society (Hapsong Hyophoe/합성협회) in Hawaii to become the Korean National Association (KNA, 대한인국민회; 大韓人國民會) in 1909, the official agent of Koreans in the United States until the end of World War II.

Ahn with his family

Return to Korea

In 1926 departing from San Pedro, California by ship, Dosan traveled back to China, never returning to the United States to live for long. (He was resident with his family at 106 North Figueroa St, Los Angeles, on April 24, 1930. During Dosan's anti-Japanese activism in Korea, he was arrested and imprisoned by the Japanese Imperialist government at least five times. He was first arrested in 1909 in connection with Ahn Chung Gun's assassination of Itō Hirobumi, the Japanese Resident General of Korea. Dosan was tortured and punished many times during the years of his activism. In 1932 he was arrested in Shanghai, China in connection with Yun Bong-gil's bombing at Hongkew Park (April 29, 1932). He was a naturalized Chinese citizen at this time and illegally extradited back to Korea, where he was convicted of violating Japan's "Preservation of Peace Laws" and sentenced to five years in Taejon prison.

Death and Legacy

In 1926 departing from San Pedro, California by ship, Dosan traveled back to China, never returning to the United States to live for long. (He was resident with his family at 106 North Figueroa St, Los Angeles, on April 24, 1930. During Dosan's anti-Japanese activism in Korea, he was arrested and imprisoned by the Japanese Imperialist government at least five times. He was first arrested in 1909 in connection with Ahn Chung Gun's assassination of Itō Hirobumi, the Japanese Resident General of Korea. Dosan was tortured and punished many times during the years of his activism. In 1932 he was arrested in Shanghai, China in connection with Yun Bong-gil's bombing at Hongkew Park (April 29, 1932). He was a naturalized Chinese citizen at this time and illegally extradited back to Korea, where he was convicted of violating Japan's "Preservation of Peace Laws" and sentenced to five years in Taejon prison.

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Ahn Chang Ho is one of the key moral and philosophical leaders of Korea during the 20th century. In the turmoil immediately before and during the Japanese occupation of Korea, he called for the moral and spiritual renewal of the Korean people through education as one of the important components in their struggle for independence and building a democratic society. Dosan also emphasized economic and military strength  in his independence movement strategies.

Dosan's Legacy Lives on

in Korea and America

  • Dosan Memorial Park (도산 공원)

    The Dosan Memorial Park (Korean: 도산공원) and Memorial Hall were built to honor Ahn's memory in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

    Located in Sinsa-dong, Seoul, Dosan Park, a neighborhood park, was built in 1973 to pay tribute to Dosan Ahn Chang-ho’s patriotism. Dosan Ahn Chang-ho’s tomb was moved here from Manguri Public Cemetery as well as his wife, Lee Hyeryen, whose tomb was moved from Los Angeles. The tribute was extended by naming the boulevard from Cheongdam-dong to Nonhyeon-dong, as Dosan-daero. Visitors can find a bronze statue, monument with quotations, epitaph headstone and more within the park. Commemoration event is held on March 10th every year.

  • Dosan Ahn Changho Memorial Hall (도산 안창호 기념관)

    Dosan Ahn Changho Memorial Hall (도산안창호 기념관) was established for the purpose of sharing the teaching and spirit of Ahn Changho.

    It opened in November 1998 to mark the 120th anniversary of the patriot’s birth and the 60th anniversary since he lost his life serving his country. On the first floor of the building is Dosan Hall, which is used as an exhibition hall, multimedia room and reference room. One floor below is Daeseong Hall, which houses the secretariat and Dosan ideology research association. The floor below that is Jeomjin Hall, which is used as an auditorium. The memorial hall holds collections such as Dosan’s personal belongings and related materials and also hosts experience-oriented programs for students of all ages to educate them on the dedication Dosan had for his country, his people and for humanity.

  • The Ahn's Family House

    The house was residence to the wife and five children of Ahn Chang Ho (1878-1938), Korean patriot, educator, social reformer and statesman. Ahn and his wife Helen, were the first Koreans to legally immigrate to America as a married couple. They arrived in San Francisco in 1902, moved to Riverside in 1903 and then to Los Angeles in 1914.

    While his family remained in Los Angeles, Ahn relocated to Shanghai to serve as a minister in the newly formed Korean Provisional Government following the March 1, 1919 uprising. Mrs. Ahn and her children (Philip, Philson, Susan, Soorah and Ralph) lived in this house from 1937-1946. Their home served as a central gathering place for the early Korean American community (it is estimated that 80% of the community lived within a mile of USC). It was also here that the family learned of Ahn’s death in 1938 and Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945.

    The Ahn House Today

    The house was originally located southwest of campus when USC purchased and incorporated the structure during a period of campus expansion in the 1960s. It was moved to this location in 2004 to house the Korean Studies Institute and given historic status by the city of Los Angeles for its American Foursquare architectural style.

    Ahn's family home on 36th Place in Los Angeles has been restored by the University of Southern California, on whose campus it sits (albeit in a different location).

  • Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Station

    At the request of Congresswoman Diane Watson, the USPS Post Office in Koreatown at Harvard and 6th Street was named Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Station. This was the first USPS naming honoring an Asian historical figure.

  • Ellis Island Foundation, International Civil Rights Walk of Fame, and More

    In 2011, the Ellis Island Foundation installed a plaque honoring Dosan to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his entrance to the United States through Ellis Island from London on September 3, 1911. He sailed from Glasgow on the SS Caledonia.

    The City of Los Angeles, in the early 1990s, declared the nearby intersection of Jefferson Boulevard and Van Buren Place - across from the Korean National Association and Korean Presbyterian church - to be named "Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Square" in his honor. In 2002, the main freeway interchange in downtown Los Angeles where the 10 Freeway and 110 Freeway meet was also renamed to Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Memorial Interchange.

    The third pattern of ITF-style Taekwondo which is made up of 24 movements is called Do-San or Dosan in his honor. This is the pattern is required to advance from 7th Kup Yellow Belt with Green Tag to 6th Kup Green Belt.

    In 2012, Ahn was posthumously inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta, Georgia.

    November 8, 2013 Dosan was given an Honorary Diploma by his alma mater Yonsei University in recognition of his service as teaching assistant at Gusae Hakdang and for his work at Jejungwon and Severance Hospital. Dosan was also a good influence on many Yonsei and Severance Medical School alumni.