Korean National Association
The Korean National Association (Korean: 대한인국민회; Hanja: 大韓人國民會), also known as All Korea Korean National Association, was a political organization established on February 1, 1909, to fight Japan's colonial policies and occupation in Korea. It was founded in San Francisco by the intellectual scholar and Korean Independence activist Ahn Changho, and represented the interests of Koreans in the United States, Russian Far East, and Manchuria during the Korean Independence Movement.[1]
Founded
1 February 1909
Political organization
- San Francisco, California (before 1936) Los Angeles, California, U.S. (after 1936)
Daehanin Gungminhoe
Taehanin Kungminhoe
Earlier years[edit]
Following its establishment, the KNA began with two regional headquarters in Hawaii and San Francisco, and expanded its activities by sending delegates to other regions to establish additional chapters. By 1911, the KNA had expanded to four key regions: North America, Hawaii, Siberia, and Manchuria.[3]
To reflect its geographic expansion, the Korean National Association changed its name to All Korea Korean National Association. Each regional headquarters administered over local chapters, and at the organization's peak, there would be nearly 130 including 38 chapters in Hawaii and 73 chapters in North America.[4]
On November 8, 1912, representatives coming from all regional headquarters met in San Francisco for an All Koreans Conference to establish a KNA central headquarters. It would serve as a central administrative office to ensure uniformity of rules across all chapters and to direct Korean independence movement activities.[2] Ahn Changho and Park Yong-man were elected as the organization's chairman and vice chairman.[1] As the leader of the central body, Ahn continued his work organizing KNA regional branches and further strengthening and unifying the organization. Though becoming more centralized, there remained conflicting interests between key leaders in Hawaii and North America. For example, Syngman Rhee looked for liberation through education and diplomacy, while Park Yong-man preferred military action. Ahn Changho went to Hawaii to mediate between the two leaders but with little success.[1]
As an organization declaring its service as a legitimate governing body for the interests and well-being of Koreans, its state functionings was put to the test on June 13, 1914, when a group of Korean Americans working at an apricot farm in Hemet, California was attacked by local citizens who didn't want Asians working in that area. Initially, the Japanese consulate interceded with the government on behalf of the Korean Immigrants but that caused outrage within the Korean-American community. David Lee, the president of the North American branch of the KNA, sent a telegram to the US Secretary of state William Jennings Bryan, requesting that the Japanese government no longer represent Koreans. Despite the pressures from Japanese diplomats in Washington DC, Bryan ruled in the KNA's favor. Ever since, matters regarding the Korean immigrants or students would be handled by the KNA instead.[5]
World War II[edit]
In 1936, the Korean National Association relocated its central headquarters to Los Angeles where it continued its independence activity and communication with the US government on behalf of Koreans. By that year, the KNA had become the largest Korean immigrant political organization and a key source of resistance and political empowerment, primarily through unifying the efforts of Korean immigrants and lobbying allied governments. However, the Hawaiian and North American branch of the KNA was becoming increasingly divided due to internal conflicts. It wasn't until internal reforms under KNA chairman Charles Kim and the arrival of World War II that the KNA branches united to join with other organizations such as Comrade Society to form the United Korean Committee. This alliance continued providing support for the KPG[1] and aimed to receive official recognition of the KPG as the government of Korea.
Since liberation[edit]
After Korea's liberation from Japan, the KNA continued its supportive efforts for the Republic of Korea through relief efforts while promoting cultural, educational, and religious activities in Korean-American communities. The organization continued to serve the Korean-American community in the US until dissolving in 1988. After later restoration work, the KNA's former headquarter building in Los Angeles was converted into a Korean Independence Memorial Building to educate the public on Korean American history and the organization's work. In recognition of its part in shaping Korean American history, in 1991, the city of Los Angeles declared the building as a historical landmark.