Chang Chun-ha (; August 27, 1918 in

Uiju County Ŭiju is a kun, or county, in North Pyongan Province, North Korea. The county has an area of 420 km2, and a population of 110,018 (2008 data). Name Ŭiju appears as Uiju in South Korea's Revised Romanization and as Yizhou in Chinese sourc ...

– August 17, 1975 in

Uijeongbu Uijeongbu (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It is the tenth-most populous city in the province and a suburb of Seoul within the greater Seoul Metropolitan Area. History Uijeongbu was estab ...

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

) was a

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

n independence and democracy activist who later became a journalist in South Korea.

Military career

When Korea was under Japanese rule, he participated in education activities and voluntarily joined the Japanese army called Sugada but he escaped the army in 1944 when he was in

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

. His joining of Sugada army was only nominally voluntarily as it was forced by the Japanese army for Korean males to join the army. He then was trained at China Central Officer School and became a warrant officer in the Chinese Central Army. In 1945, he visited

Korean Liberation Army The Korean Liberation Army (KLA; ), also known as the Korean Restoration Army, was the armed forces of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. It was established on September 17, 1940, in Chongqing, Republic of China (1912–1949), ...

located in Suzhou and joined the army from the February as a commissioned officer. While serving the Korean liberation army, he participated activities with the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...

(OSS; the predecessor of the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

). In November 1945, he came back to Korea via the

Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea The Korean Provisional Government (KPG), formally the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (), was a Korean government-in-exile based in Republic of China (1912–1949), China during Korea under Japanese rule, Japanese rule over K ...

In politics

After returning to Korea, Chang worked as a secretary of

Kim Ku Kim Ku (; August 29, 1876 – June 26, 1949), also known by his art name Paekpŏm, was a Korean independence activist and statesman. He was a leader of the Korean independence movement against the Empire of Japan, head of the Provisional Gove ...

and participated in Lee Beom-seok's Chosun Ethnic Youth League. After the establishment of Republic of Korea, during the

First Republic of South Korea The First Republic of Korea () was the government of South Korea from August 1948 to June 1960. The First Republic was founded on 15 August 1948, and it became the first independent republican government in Korea. Syngman Rhee was the first pr ...

, he worked for the government as a secretary. In 1950, he was in charge of citizen spirit reformation in the Ministry of Education and Culture (). In 1952, he was the directing manager of national ideology research institution. He also worked in two more positions in the Ministry of Education and Culture and founded a periodical called '' Sasanggye''. He established the

Dong-in Literary Award The Dong-in Literary Award () is a South Korean literary award named after novelist Kim Dong-in, established in order to honour the literary achievement of The Republic of Korea. In commemoration of the Korean modern literature pioneer, Kim Dong- ...

in 1956. ''Sasanggye'' acrimoniously denounced the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

administration and became the starting fire of the 4.19 revolution. After the 4.19 revolution took place, he took positions in the Ministry of Munkyo during the second republic. After the

May 16 coup The May 16 military coup d'état () was a military coup d'état in South Korea in 1961, organized and carried out by Park Chung Hee and his allies who formed the Military Revolutionary Committee, nominally led by Army Chief of Staff Chang Do ...

, he opposed the South Korea–Japan conference and the sending of troops to

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. During the

1967 South Korean presidential election Presidential elections in South Korea, Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 3 May 1967. The result was a victory for Park Chung Hee, who received 51% of the vote. Voter turnout was 84%. Nominations Military The Democratic Republica ...

, he made an issue out of the career of

Yun Bo-seon Yun Po-sun (, or ; August 26, 1897 – July 18, 1990) was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the president of South Korea from 1960 to 1962. He was the only president of the short-lived Second Republic of Korea, and served as ...

Park Chung Hee Park Chung Hee (; ; November14, 1917October26, 1979) was a South Korean politician and army officer who served as the third president of South Korea from 1962 after he seized power in the May 16 coup of 1961 until Assassination of Park Chung ...

's pro-Japanese and

Workers' Party of South Korea The Workers' Party of South Korea () was a communist party in South Korea from 1946 to 1949. It is also sometimes colloquially referred to as the "Namro Party" (). It was founded on 23 November 1946 through the merger of the Communist Party of ...

activities. He was then sent into prison for insulting the head of the state. After he came out of prison, he worked with

and

New Democratic Party (South Korea) The New Democratic Party (NDP; ) was a South Korean opposition party that existed from 1967 to 1980, when it was forcibly dissolved by the ninth amendment of the constitution promulgated by Chun Doo-hwan the same year. It was the main opposition ...

in the

Korean National Party The Korean National Party () was a political party in South Korea. History The party was established on 23 January 1981 following a meeting of fifteen former MPs from the Democratic Republican Party and Yushin Political Alliance on 18 Decembe ...

. From 1975, when he was preparing to fight against the

administration, he died mysteriously in

Pocheon Pocheon (; ) is an landlocked, inland Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in northeast Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It covers 2 with a population of 160,176 people, according to the 2008 census. Pocheon lies between Seoul and the mou ...

. The South Korean government announced that Chang's death had been caused by loss of footing while climbing down a mountain. However, after Chang's death, continuous doubts were raised whether it was a homicide by Park's government. To such doubts, the Park administration declared the state of national emergency and arrested anyone who mentioned the death of Chang Chun-ha. The death of Chang Chun-ha has been re-investigated, but there have not been any clear conclusions yet.

Awards

Chang was the first Korean to win the 1962

Ramon Magsaysay Award The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, ...

for Journalism, Literature, and the Creative Communication Arts.Awardees

References

External links

Chang Chun-ha Memorial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Chun-ha 1918 births 1975 deaths People from Uiju County Korean resistance members South Korean anti-communists South Korean democracy activists Korean revolutionaries South Korean Methodists South Korean civil rights activists South Korean journalists Liberalism in South Korea South Korean religious leaders Democratic Party (South Korea, 1955) politicians Ramon Magsaysay Award winners Andong Jang clan 20th-century journalists South Korean people of North Korean origin Korean Liberation Army personnel Members of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea

Military career

In politics

Awards

See also

References

External links