Independence activist who supported the righteous army, funded Sinheung School and led the Ulsan branch of Singanhoe; posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation (Patriotic Medal)
| Life | 1875 ~ 1939 |
| Era | 일제강점기 |
| Clan | 평해 황씨 |
Hwang Man-yeong (1875-1939) was an independence activist from Pyeonghae, Uljin, of the Pyeonghae Hwang clan, introduced with the pen name Gugo. The Korean Wikipedia clan entry lists him as an eleventh-generation descendant of Haewol Hwang Yeo-il. Born on 20 June 1875 in Pyeonghae, then in Gangwon Province, he was adopted by his uncle Hwang Won, studied classical Chinese and worked as a farmer. His death date is given as 24 or 25 April 1939 depending on the source.
When the 1905 Eulsa Treaty was signed, he delivered 800 nyang of funds to the righteous army stationed in Pyeonghae. In 1907 he joined the Sinminhoe and founded Daeheung School to train talent. After the loss of sovereignty in 1910 he went into exile in Gando, where at Samwonbo, Liuhe County, he handled the finances of Sinheung School with Yi Si-yeong and others, associating with patriots such as Mun Chang-beom and Yi Sang-seol. During the March First Movement of 1919 he toured Manchuria with Ju Jin-su giving lectures to raise anti-Japanese awareness.
He later joined the Provisional Government and came back to Korea to raise funds, but under Japanese surveillance could not return to Manchuria. In 1927 he was elected head of the Ulsan branch of the Singanhoe and continued the resistance. In 1995 the government awarded him the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Patriotic Medal. A memorial stele raised in December 1976 stands at Pyeonghae-eup, and the Gyeongbuk Southern Veterans Office named it the monthly commemorative site for February 2023; a monument to his merits is also said to stand before the founder's altar beside Woljeongjeong. Claims in some introductions about a planned vice-ministership at the Provisional Government could not be confirmed against the official merit record here and are not stated.
His tomb could not be confirmed here. A memorial stele raised in 1976 stands at Pyeonghae-eup, Uljin.