LA Descendants Finally Receive Long-Delayed Korean Independence Medal

Descendants who were unaware that their ancestor had been officially recognized as an independence activist have now received his posthumous national medal and begun procedures to relocate his remains from LA to Korea.

The case involves independence activist Si-han Ho (1885–1956), whose story emerged through the “Finding Independence Activists’ Graves” project jointly organized by The Korea Daily, the Korean National Association Memorial Foundation, and the Hwarang Youth Foundation, with sponsorship from Bank of Hope. The project has been underway since May 2025.

Si-han Ho was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Patriot Medal in November 2021, but the medal was not delivered at the time because his descendants had not been identified.

Family members said the official medal presentation ceremony was held on December 29 at the Jung-gu District Office Mayor’s Office in Seoul. They said they were grateful to receive the medal that Si-han Ho did not receive during his lifetime.

Attendees included his daughter Jae-sook Ho, 96, who resides in Korea, and his grandson Yoon-jin Ho, 77, who lives in Northridge.

Jae-sook Ho said she was thankful that her father’s independence activities had been officially acknowledged through The Korea Daily article and said she was happy to be able to travel to receive the medal in person.

Yoon-jin Ho said he immediately booked a flight to Korea after hearing about the ceremony and wanted to honor his grandfather’s wishes together with his aunt in Seoul.

The family has also begun preparations to relocate Si-han Ho’s remains to Korea. They have initiated contact with the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and submitted relocation request documents to Rosedale Cemetery in LA, where he is buried.

On December 15th, the cemetery’s operator, Angelus-Rosedale Inc, issued an official confirmation stating that, at the request of Jae-kyung Ho, Si-han Ho’s son, the relocation of Si-han Ho and his wife Jeong-soon Lee would proceed immediately once approval for transfer to Korea is finalized.

Yoon-jin Ho said he believes his grandfather’s final resting place should be on Korean soil and added that burial at Korean National Cemetery would carry added significance.

Min Kwon, a veterans affairs consul at the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles, said the office would provide administrative support and cooperation for the family’s preparations and would work to ensure the process proceeds smoothly.

The reporting has also contributed to research on Korea’s independence movement. In October, Yoon-jin Ho visited Korea and donated more than 50 historical documents related to Si-han Ho to Seung-yoon Lee of the Korean Independence Movement History Research Institute at Independence Hall of Korea, as well as research fellow Dong-hyun Hong.

The donated materials include primary sources such as a passport issued by the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, a letter sent to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and receipts for national defense donations. As reported on September 23, 2025, the collection is considered a key record for verifying both Si-han Ho’s independence activities and aspects of Korean immigration history.

Through the gravesite project, 34 independence activists’ graves were identified at Rosedale Cemetery over the past year. Si-han Ho, previously not publicly documented, was among them, and his photograph and records were revealed after descendants came forward with related materials following the newspaper’s reporting.

The project is continuing. The Hwarang Youth Foundation plans to confirm the locations of seven unidentified graves among 17 independence activists at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills this month. Additional investigations covering eight more graves are scheduled for late February to March at Reedley Cemetery in California’s Central Valley. Organizers said the long-term goal is to systematically survey, connect, and manage independence activists’ graves across the United States.

BY HANKIL KANG [kang.hankil@koreadaily.com]