Patriot of Independence · China Theater · Independence Medal (Dongnip-jang) (1977)
| Life | 1901 ~ 1988 |
| Era | 근현대 |
| Clan | 안동 권씨 |
Gwon Gi-ok, Korea's first female pilot, was born in Pyongyang. After taking part in the March 1st Movement, she went to China and in 1925 graduated from the aviation department of the Yunnan Army Military Academy, becoming the first Korean woman to fly; she went on to serve as a pilot in the Nationalist Revolutionary Army's air force, rising to the rank of captain.
Working with the Korean Provisional Government, she raised funds for the independence movement, and after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937 she moved to Chongqing, where she served as an instructor at the Army Staff College while also rebuilding and leading the Korean Patriotic Women's Association.
After liberation she returned to Korea in 1949 and worked as a specialist adviser to the National Defense Committee, contributing to the founding of the Republic of Korea Air Force. From 1957 to 1972 she published the Korea Annual, becoming the country's first and only female publisher. She died in Seoul in 1988.