Mr. Song Hurn Joo Collection (2019.01)

The Legacy of Song Hurn Joo

October 22, 1880 – July 31, 1965

Song Hurn Joo was born in Seoul, Korea on October 22, 1880.  After graduating from the Royal Academy of English in 1904, he moved to Hawaii in order to participate in the independent resistance movement against Japanese imperialism and the illegal occupation of Korea, leaving behind his wife and only child. 

In 1906, Song Hurn Joo moved to the U.S. mainland to further his education by attending Roanoke College in Virginia.  On June 15, 1907, during his first year at Roanoke College, the last king of the Josun Dynasty, Emperor Gojong of Great Han Empire, decided to send three envoys (Lee Jun, Lee Sang-Sul, Lee Whi-Jong) to the Netherlands to secretly attend the International Peace Conference, also known as The Hague Convention. Song Hurn Joo was directed by the Korean government to join the delegates as an official translator using a passport issued to him confidentially a year before.  Unfortunately the envoys were not admitted as an official delegation representing the Korean government by The Hague Convention due to interference by the Japanese authority.

Thereafter, for the next three years, Song Hurn Joo accompanied two of the delegates, Lee Sang-Sul and Lee Whi-Jong, as a diplomatic envoy to visit various European countries and America to advocate for the independence of Korea from Japanese occupation.

In 1910, Song Hurn Joo returned to Roanoke College in Virginia and received his BA degree.  Immediately upon graduation, he was accepted into Princeton University in 1914, where he obtained a master’s degree in History and Politics.

In 1919, Dr. Syngman Rhee, a former senior classmate and associate at Princeton, formed the Korean Commission to America and Europe for the Republic of Korea on behalf of the Korean government-in-exile in China.  Song Hurn Joo was appointed by Dr. Rhee as one of the three commissioners in charge of finance.  As a commissioner of finance Song Hurn Joo was highly credited for issuing the bonds that raised funds in support of the Korean government-in-exile.  His innovative bond initiative was highly praised and the results were very successful leading to establishing financial support for the official government-in-exile in Shanghai and Chongqing, China.

In 1934, Song Hurn Joo was appointed as the finance commissioner heading the 4^th District covering the western United States.  Again, his creative bond initiatives were highly successful in providing financial support to the official government-in-exile.  The level of trust and respect held for him by early Korean diaspora in Hawaii and California involved in the movement for Korean independence was unsurpassed.

During the latter part of the 1930’s, Song Hurn Joo endeavored to merge the various independence movement associations and was able to unify them into one organization, the Korean National Association.  As a symbol of the independence movement’s unification, he successfully raised the capital to build new headquarters in Los Angeles, California.  His outstanding leadership and contributions were recognized and honored.  He was elected as chairman of the association for three terms, though he only served two terms by his own will.

In 1941, Song Hurn Joo and other patriots made efforts to establish the Korean National Guard, known as the Tiger Unit, under the California National Guard, which was formally approved by the U.S. Army command.  He was appointed as minister of foreign affairs of the Korean National Defense Guard, and in response to the U.S. government’s Strategic Planning Office, Song Hurn Joo published a memorandum entitled War Between Korea and the Pacific, a document that was highly utilized by U.S. officials in the Strategic Planning Office.

In September of 1943, Song Hurn Joo was appointed as a high commissioner by the Korean government-in-exile to carry out diplomatic missions in the U.S., at the same time, he served as chairman of the Korean National Association.

As WWII draws to a close, Song Hurn Joo was appointed by the Korean government-in-exile as one of the three delegates to attend the United Nations Conference to international organizations held in San Francisco, California, on April 25, 1945.

After extraordinary service and dedication to his country for over 40 years of his life, mostly painstakingly restore the sovereignty of Korea from Japanese imperialism. Though Song Hurn Joo played critical roles in every important political event surrounding the independence movement, he strongly disapproved of a divided Korea. Song Hurn Joo passed away on July 31, 1965 in the U.S. from natural causes, after neither being able to see his wife and only daughter nor touching on his fatherland again.
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Dr. Dennehy, CSUF History Department Chair, Dr. Granata, COPH Director, and Jennifer Keil, CSUF MA graduate, gathered at the Korean Consul General’s Residence in Los Angeles for the second annual Korean Diaspora Colloquium on July 31, 2018. This evening was opened by Dr. Shiyoung Park, Education Consul, to welcome the group of community leaders, scholars, and friends. Consul General Wan-joong Kim provided congratulatory remarks for the commemorative program in his home. Jennifer Keil, SOHA 1st VP, provided the keynote presentation on the life of Song Hurn Joo, a Seoul born Korean patriot who used his political connections to liberate his country from Japanese imperialism. Mr. Dong K. Kim concluded this evening with a memoir of his visionary grandfather which included personal memories. The Kim family provided archival materials and a written history that will be preserved for future scholars to analyze. We hope to create a robust oral history project that not only maintains Mr. Song Hurn Joo’s contributions, but other incredible patriots. Please contact Jennifer Keil at jennifer@70degrees.org if you’d like to contribute to this ongoing project. 
https://sohanews.wordpress.com/2018/08/07/korean-diaspora-colloquium/