[News Today] Finding forgotten independence fighters

[LEAD]
More than 100,000 Koreans are estimated to have sacrificed for independence during Japanese colonial rule, but only about 10 percent have been officially recognized. Now, both the government and private sector are working to uncover these long-forgotten fighters, with plans to award them honors.

[REPORT]
This girl in the black-and-white photo is Ko Wan-nam, who was a member of the Joseon Student Comrades Association, an anti-Japanese organization of Korean students founded in 1939.

She worked as an organizer, but was caught by the Japanese and brutally tortured, remaining unknown for a long time.

There were no court rulings or other records about her.

Lee Tae-ryong / Dir., Korean Independence Movement History Institute, Incheon Nat'l Univ.
Her nephew visited our institute and brought this photo only.

Ko's activities to achieve Korea's liberation were finally confirmed five years ago through the memoirs of one of her comrades.

Traces of those who fought for independence remain in Japanese foreign ministry records, court rulings, and photo cards of people who were subject to Japan's surveillance.

Thanks to the arduous efforts to find and compare old documents, their sacrifices can now be commemorated.

Lee Yun-ok / Korean Independence Movement History Institute, Incheon Nat'l Univ.
The activities of Korean independence fighters who were subject to surveillance at the time are documented here.

Incheon National University's Institute of Korean Independence Movement History has so far identified some 5,200 independence activists this way.

But only about 10% of them have been officially recognized by the government.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the institute plan to push for awarding honors to 500 long-forgotten independence fighters by next August.

Kim Hong-chan / Seoul Metropolitan Gov't
Local gov'ts must find these people. It's our obligation as their descendants.

The private and public sectors are working together to document the dedication of Korean ancestors who fought to reclaim their lost nation.