Independence activist in America; Korean National Association and Young Korean Academy; Order of Merit for National Foundation (Independence Medal)
| Life | 1879 ~ 1945 |
| Era | 일제강점기 |
| Clan | 영양 천씨 |
Cheon Se-heon (千世憲, 1879-1945) was an independence activist in America and a member of the Yeongyang clan. He was born on 17 May 1879 in Mungyeong (now around Sanyang-myeon, North Gyeongsang) and died in the United States on 14 June 1945. He studied classics in Seonsan, entered the foreign-language school in Seoul and served as a secretary in the Foreign Office under Gojong.
He moved to Hawaii in 1903 and to New York in 1910, where he began work with the Korean National Association. He joined the Young Korean Academy founded by Ahn Chang-ho in 1914, became head of the New York chapter in 1917, and took part in the 1919 Philadelphia Korean Liberty Congress resolution to seek recognition and support for the Provisional Government.
In 1921 he was sent to Shanghai as a member of the Korean delegation, and in 1922 petitioned the Provisional Assembly to support a national representative conference. With Ahn Chang-ho he organized the Sisa chaekjinhoe and joined the "creationist" faction seeking to rebuild the Provisional Government. He later helped compatriots in Chicago, was active in the American support group of the Korean Volunteer Corps, moved to Los Angeles in 1940, and in 1942 discussed Korean-American participation in the war against Japan with American authorities. He was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Independence Medal, in 1995.
Cheon Se-heon worked in Korean communities across America, including Hawaii, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles, and is introduced as a participant in Ahn Chang-ho's line through the Korean National Association and the Young Korean Academy.
Sent to Shanghai in 1921, he contacted the Provisional Government and supported the push for a national representative conference from the "creationist" standpoint of rebuilding the government. This was a time of sharp differences of line among activists.
In 1995 the government posthumously awarded him the Independence Medal. He is often named in clan introductions as a proud independence activist.
He died in the United States; the location of his grave was not confirmed.