Patriot / March 1st Movement / Independence Medal (1990)
| Life | 1855 ~ 1940 |
| Era | 근현대 |
| Clan | 밀양 박씨 |
Park In-ho (1855-1940), a native of Yesan in Chungcheong Province, joined Donghak (the precursor to Cheondogyo) in 1883 and, as a local leader during the Donghak Peasant Revolution, fought in battles across several counties. On January 18, 1908, he succeeded Son Byeong-hui as the fourth patriarch of Cheondogyo, and took over or founded numerous schools, including Bosung College, training national leaders who later joined the independence movement.
As one of the 48 national representatives in the March First Movement of 1919, he directed roughly 65,000 won in Cheondogyo funds toward the movement and had about 10,000 copies of the Chosun Dongnip Sinmun (Korea Independence News) distributed. He was arrested on March 10, 1919, and held for a year and nine months before being acquitted by the Gyeongseong Court of Appeals on December 10, 1920.
After Son Byeong-hui's death, Park maintained an uncompromising line against Choi Rin's more accommodating faction within Cheondogyo. He stepped down from leadership on February 1, 1939, and died in Seoul the following year. His grave was relocated to Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, in 1964, and the government posthumously awarded him the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Independence Medal, in 1990.
Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province (grave relocated there in 1964)